LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Decorated in imitation of Chinese Celadon porcelain, this unusual faience vase was almost certainly purchased by the celebrated connoisseur Sir Julius Wernher Bt. for Bath House, Piccadilly. Acquired by 1900 and remodelled in the dix-huitième style, Bath House was enriched with the finest ormolu-mounted porcelain, including the magnificent Marie-Antoinette ewers executed by the bronzier Pierre Gouthière and the three Louis XV ormolu-mounted Celadon pots-pourri stamped with the C couronné poinçon, which may well have been intended for the same room as this vase (C. S. Sykes, 'Private Palaces', London, 1985, p. 317; the ormolu-mounted Chinese porcelain was sold by the Trustees of the Luton Hoo Foundation at Christie's London, 9 June 1994, lots 32-5).
The construction of the collar mounts, together with the bulrush and acanthus handles, features on a pair of Chinese vases with Louis XV mounts at Waddesdon (G. D. Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture, Clocks and Gilt-Bronzes, vol. II, London, 1974, no. 197).