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Lot Essay
This richly mounted vase was designed by Matthew Boulton (d.1810), Georgian England’s premier designer and supplier of ormolu objects de luxe. A genius of self-promotion, Boulton had a Soho showroom, agents who plied his wares in the Russian and French Courts, and even enlisted the auctioneer James Christie to hold selling exhibitions of his works; the 1771 sale alone had 265 lots.
The pattern for this lot is featured in Boulton’s 1782 stock list as 'Lyre essence vase, white marble' and the pierced lid was to allow the escape of the perfumed essences inside the well. Although a specific design has not been located, a less elaborate version is illustrated in the pattern books from around 1770 (N. Goodison, Ormolu: The Work of Matthew Boulton, London, 1974, fig. 161, f). Identical examples of this lyre vase include a pair sold anonymously at Christie’s, New York, 17 October 1992, lot 160, another pair sold anonymously at Christie's New York, 17 October 1997, lot 218 and a third pair sold anonymously at Sotheby’s, London, 18 November 2008, lot 77. A further pair with blue john bodies in a private collection are illustrated in N. Goodison, Matthew Boulton: Ormolu, London, 2002, p. 343, fig. 346.
The pattern for this lot is featured in Boulton’s 1782 stock list as 'Lyre essence vase, white marble' and the pierced lid was to allow the escape of the perfumed essences inside the well. Although a specific design has not been located, a less elaborate version is illustrated in the pattern books from around 1770 (N. Goodison, Ormolu: The Work of Matthew Boulton, London, 1974, fig. 161, f). Identical examples of this lyre vase include a pair sold anonymously at Christie’s, New York, 17 October 1992, lot 160, another pair sold anonymously at Christie's New York, 17 October 1997, lot 218 and a third pair sold anonymously at Sotheby’s, London, 18 November 2008, lot 77. A further pair with blue john bodies in a private collection are illustrated in N. Goodison, Matthew Boulton: Ormolu, London, 2002, p. 343, fig. 346.