A SEVRES PORCELAIN YELLOW-GROUND THREE VASE GARNITURE (VASES DES AGES, 2EME AND 3EME GRANDEUR)
A SEVRES PORCELAIN YELLOW-GROUND THREE VASE GARNITURE (VASES DES AGES, 2EME AND 3EME GRANDEUR)
A SEVRES PORCELAIN YELLOW-GROUND THREE VASE GARNITURE (VASES DES AGES, 2EME AND 3EME GRANDEUR)
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A SEVRES PORCELAIN YELLOW-GROUND THREE VASE GARNITURE (VASES DES AGES, 2EME AND 3EME GRANDEUR)
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PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
A SEVRES PORCELAIN YELLOW-GROUND THREE VASE GARNITURE (VASES DES AGES, 2EME AND 3EME GRANDEUR)

CIRCA 1780, BLUE INTERLACED L MARKS ENCLOSING DATE LETTER CC, GILDER'S MARK FOR HENRY-FRANCOIS VINCENT, THE MOUNTS PROBABLY LOUIS XVI AND ASSOCIATED

Details
A SEVRES PORCELAIN YELLOW-GROUND THREE VASE GARNITURE (VASES DES AGES, 2EME AND 3EME GRANDEUR)
CIRCA 1780, BLUE INTERLACED L MARKS ENCLOSING DATE LETTER CC, GILDER'S MARK FOR HENRY-FRANCOIS VINCENT, THE MOUNTS PROBABLY LOUIS XVI AND ASSOCIATED
Comprised of a large vase à tête de femme and a pair à têtes d’enfants, each with finely painted ruins in a landscape within chased gilt oval bands, the obverse with a floral bouquet, all on a Taillandier ground, the ormolu base molded with laurel leaves
18 ¾ in. (47.5 cm.) high, the larger
Provenance
Probably Houssaye Collection, Paris, sold 9-10 March 1838, lot 90, described as "3 vases en porcelaine de Sèvres avec cartels de paysages et fleurs sur fond jaune".
Almost certainly sold Paris, 6-7 December 1841, lot 63, where described as "3 vases forme oeufs en vieux Sèvres dur fond jaune.".
With Galerie Vandermeersch, Paris.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, Monaco, 24 June 2000, lot 211.
Sale room notice
Please note that the present lot was originally part of a five vase garniture, part of which was acquired by Prince Bariatinsky for the Comte and Comtesse du Nord. The sale of the present three vases cannot be traced in the archives, but are probably those sold in the Houssaye Collection in Paris in 1838, rather than those acquired by Prince Bariatinsky. Please see www.christies.com for further details.

Brought to you by

Amjad Rauf
Amjad Rauf International Head of Masterpiece and Private Sales

Lot Essay

The present three vases were made in 1780 as part of a garniture of five Vases des Ages. The distinguishing features of this rare model are the handles which depict the heads of three figures at various ages in life: childhood, adolescence, and old age. Each is marked in blue with an interlaced L mark, date letters CC for 1780. Some of the vases also have the gilder Vincent's mark.

The original garniture comprised a single vase à tête de viellard of the first size, a pair of vases à tête de femmes of the second size, and a pair of vases à têtes d’enfants of the third size. This garniture was subsequently separated into two smaller garnitures: the present group of three and a second, comprised of the single vase à tête de viellard of the first size that centred the original garniture, the vase à tête de femmes remaining from the five-vase garniture, and a second vase à tête de femmes painted and gilt to match the others in the garniture, in 1782 by the same artists. Although it has not yet been possible to trace the present garniture in the factory’s archives, it was most likely that in the Houssaye Collection, sold in Paris in 1838 and again three years later in 1841.

The second garniture, assembled in 1782, sold Christie’s Paris, 24 June 2002, lot 178, is more likely the garniture of vases chosen by Prince Bariatinsky for Grand Duke Paul and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, future Tsar and Empress of Russia, travelling incognito through Europe as the Count and Countess du Nord. These vases were probably intended for their future apartment at Pavlosk Palace. Bariatinsky’s list of Sèvres porcelain chosen for the Russian couple appears in the factory’s sales ledger between entries dated 24 and 26 June 1782.

The central vase and one flanking vase sold in Paris are marked in blue identically to the vases in the present lot. However, the second vase à tête de femmes is marked in gold with the factory’s interlaced L mark but with no date letter, indicating that it is the additional vase painted by Rosset. Had the Bariatinsky order arrived before the five-vase garniture was split, the original three central vases would have been selected to complete the order and there would have been no need for Rosset to paint the sixth vase.

The British Royal Collection holds several vases des âges including a pair à têtes d'enfants with the same gilder's mark as the present lot (RCIN 2296). However these vases are decorated with scenes of children playing within an interior on a green ground with gilt leaves. Another green-ground garniture with one vase à têtes d'hommes and two à têtes de femmes belongs to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild (villa Île-de-France), Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France.

THE DECORATORS
Three artists contributed to the decoration of these vases:

Pierre-Joseph Rosset, l'Ainé: active at Sèvres from 1753 to 1799 as a painter specialising in landscapes and flowers. His work on this garniture is described in the payment records for January-April 1780 as 5 vases faisant garniture: paysage et groupe de fleurs sur le derrière. He is further credited as having painted a single vase of the second size with identical decoration in 2 July 1782: 1 Vase Age 2g ….. Paysage et groups

Vincent or Geneviève Taillandier: active respectively 1753 - 1790 and 1774 -1798 as painters specialising in flowers and patterned grounds. One or the other is mentioned in the work records for July-September 1780: Taillandier juillet-septembre 1780 : 5 vases ages de M. Rosset fond pointillé.

Henry-François Vincent, le Jeune: active at the factory as a gilder from 1753 to 1800.

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