THE PORCELAIN CIRCA 1750, THE MOUNTS POSSIBLY GERMAN, MID-18TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED MEISSEN VASES
THE PORCELAIN CIRCA 1750, THE MOUNTS POSSIBLY GERMAN, MID-18TH CENTURY
The bodies applied with densely-packed white flowerheads with yellow and white stamens, each reserved with two ogival cartouches with raised gilt and brown-line borders painted with Watteauesque scenes of figures in rustic landscapes, the swollen necks with ormolu mounts with stylised cabochons and scrolled acanthus and with simulated shell collars with closed gilt lid to the top, on a spreading circular base pierced with acanthus and C-scrolls and foliage, inscribed to the underside '1576', the mounts re-gilt with mercury gilding in the late 18th century, both vases with old repairs and restoration
10¾ in. (27.3 cm.) high (2)

Provenance

Acquired 28 October 1909.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The fashion for park scenes inspired by the works of Watteau, his master Claude Gillot and followers Nicolas Lancret and J.B. Pater was first seen on Meissen porcelain in the mid-1740s, for example in the case of the celebrated green Watteau service given as a wedding gift to Maria Amalia Christiana, daughter of Augustus III on the occasion of her marriage to Don Carlos de Borbón, King of the Two Sicilies, later Carlos III of Spain, made between 1745-7 and delivered to Naples in 1748.

As these vases were undoubtedly the creation of a marchand-mercier, it is intriguing to note that Lazare Duvaux was certainly involved in the sale of similar pieces; an entry in his Livre-Journal dated 1 September 1750 records 'Un pot pourri de Saxe peint de sujets de Watteau, garni en bronze doré d'or moulu', which he sold to Mme la marquise de Pompadour for 120 livres (F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, Vol. II, New York, 1966, no.267 A-B, pp.474-75).

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