Lot Essay
The fashion for ormolu-mounted celadon porcelain fishes was popularised by the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux, whose Livre-Journal for the years 1750-6 records the sale of ten, including three to Madame de Pompadour. It has been suggested that the favour such objects enjoyed resulted in part from the play on Madame de Pompadour's maiden name, Antoinette Poisson. Further purchasers of celadon fish vases from Duvaux inlcuded the celebrated amateurs Blondel d'Azincourt and Gaignat
One of the bajixiang or Eight Auspicious Emblems of Buddhism, the double fish motif, emblematic of marital harmony and fecundity, appeared frequently in Chinese ceramics after its introduction through Tibetan Buddhism in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). The carp further symbolised longevity. Such double fish vases enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in China in the 18th Century
A similar pair of vases are in the Forsyth Wickes Collection (see: J. Munger et al., The Forsyth Wickes Collection in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 1992, no. 265, pp. 292-3). A related pair are at Waddesdon (see: G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, Fribourg, 1974, vol. II, no. 202, pp. 766-7)
One of the bajixiang or Eight Auspicious Emblems of Buddhism, the double fish motif, emblematic of marital harmony and fecundity, appeared frequently in Chinese ceramics after its introduction through Tibetan Buddhism in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). The carp further symbolised longevity. Such double fish vases enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in China in the 18th Century
A similar pair of vases are in the Forsyth Wickes Collection (see: J. Munger et al., The Forsyth Wickes Collection in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 1992, no. 265, pp. 292-3). A related pair are at Waddesdon (see: G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, Fribourg, 1974, vol. II, no. 202, pp. 766-7)