THE URNS POSSIBLY 18TH CENTURY, THE MOUNTS 19TH CENTURY

This pair of vases is of identical design to one now in the Louvre, Paris, (Cat. C, no. 408), discussed in P. Verlet, Les bronzes dores Franais du XVIII sicle, Paris, 1987, pp. 61-2, no. 58. Verlet incorrectly identified this vase with the celebrated garniture 'trois superbes vases de porphyre monts tous les trois trs richement en bronze dor d'or moulu- acquired by the marquis de Marigny, brother of madame de Pompadour, for his Parisian htel in the rue Saint-Thomas. This garniture is mentioned in the protracted negotiations of 1778, in which Marigny, Directeur Gnral des Btiments, Arts, Acadmies et Manufactures Royales, attempted to cede parts of his collection to the Crown in exchange for money and favours. The Louvre vase remained at the Chteau de Tuileries until the Second Empire.