A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED CHINESE LACQUERED PORCELAIN (LAC BURGAUTE) VASES
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION (LOT 48)
A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED CHINESE LACQUERED PORCELAIN (LAC BURGAUTE) VASES

THE CHINESE VASES LATE 17TH EARLY 18TH CENTURY, THE BASE MOUNTS CIRCA 1775-80, RIM MOUNTS AND HANDLES ADDED IN THE 19TH CENTURY

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A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED CHINESE LACQUERED PORCELAIN (LAC BURGAUTE) VASES
THE CHINESE VASES LATE 17TH EARLY 18TH CENTURY, THE BASE MOUNTS CIRCA 1775-80, RIM MOUNTS AND HANDLES ADDED IN THE 19TH CENTURY
Each vase decorated with scenes of chinoiserie figures within a landscape of hills, trees and clouds, the reverse with a pagoda amid further hills, rocks and trees, with egg-and-dart-cast rim and paired handles in the form of entwined serpents, the removeable lid with a fruiting finial, the foot with leaf-tip-cast edge, on a rounded square base with side panels cast with floral arabesque, on toupie feet, label to interior of one inscribed '31130' minor variations to lacquer of vases, the lids associated and in lacquered copper and with slight variation in size and finial
21 in. (54.5 cm.) high, 9¼ in. (23.5 cm.) wide (2)

Lot Essay

Lac burgaute probably originated in China, with examples as early as the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and gaining popularity in the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911/12), when it became used to cover unglazed porcelain. It was widely used by Japan craftsmen in the Tokugawa (Edo) period (1603-1867). With inlaid designs employing shaped pieces of iridescent blue-green shell of the sea-ear, typically this type of decoration is used on small scale objects such as snuff bottles and sake cups, and these large vases are a remarkable survival.

It has been suggested that in Europe the term 'lac burgaute' was perhaps first coined in Histoire de la Porcelaine (1862) to describe porcelain covered in mother-of-pearl lacquer and subsequently to refer to any type of mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer. The word is derived from 'Burgau', a type of brightly-coloured mother-of-pearl.

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