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Lot Essay
Indicative of the enduring taste for rococo ormolu-mounted Chinese porcelain, this pair of ewers emulates the exuberant and luxurious objects supplied in the mid-18th century by marchands-merciers like Lazare Duvaux, with the mounts and porcelain recalling in particular the celebrated garniture supplied to Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brünstatt (1722-1795).
The celadon porcelain in the form of paired carp, one of the eight symbols of Buddhism and an important motif in Chinese decorative arts, found particular popularity with the marchands-merciers of mid-18th century Paris as well as the art dealers of Regency London and this appeal continued into the Rococo Revival of the later 19th century. The exuberant mounts mimicking bulrushes and shells which adorn these vases derive from a series of mounted carp porcelain ewers. Likely supplied by Lazare Duvaux, whose livre-journal contains records of similar pieces, some eight pairs are known to exist, including those supplied to Besenval (probably the pair most recently sold anonymously Christie’s, London 8 July 2021, lot 5, £562,500 including premium) and a pair sold from the collection of Consuelo Vanderbilt. As the Weinstock vases feature paired carp rather than the single carp of the Besenval ewers, the design of the mounts has been modified accordingly to fit both fish and has been repeated on both sides so that the end product is a two-handled vase rather than a ewer. Related examples of paired porcelain carp are preserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum (mounts with the 'C' couronné poinçon, inv. FE.34-1970) and in the Royal Collection (RCIN 18), likely acquired in the early 19th century through the dealer Robert Fogg.
The celadon porcelain in the form of paired carp, one of the eight symbols of Buddhism and an important motif in Chinese decorative arts, found particular popularity with the marchands-merciers of mid-18th century Paris as well as the art dealers of Regency London and this appeal continued into the Rococo Revival of the later 19th century. The exuberant mounts mimicking bulrushes and shells which adorn these vases derive from a series of mounted carp porcelain ewers. Likely supplied by Lazare Duvaux, whose livre-journal contains records of similar pieces, some eight pairs are known to exist, including those supplied to Besenval (probably the pair most recently sold anonymously Christie’s, London 8 July 2021, lot 5, £562,500 including premium) and a pair sold from the collection of Consuelo Vanderbilt. As the Weinstock vases feature paired carp rather than the single carp of the Besenval ewers, the design of the mounts has been modified accordingly to fit both fish and has been repeated on both sides so that the end product is a two-handled vase rather than a ewer. Related examples of paired porcelain carp are preserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum (mounts with the 'C' couronné poinçon, inv. FE.34-1970) and in the Royal Collection (RCIN 18), likely acquired in the early 19th century through the dealer Robert Fogg.