MID-19TH CENTURY, LIKELY RETAILED BY FRANÇOIS-EUGÈNE ROUSSEAU

François-Eugène Rousseau (1827 - 1891) was a Parisian designer and retailer of glass and ceramics. As both collaborator and benefactor he sponsored works made by a variety of artists including pâte-sur-pâte vases made by Louis Solon. A number of these, which bear striking similarities to the present pair, were exhibited by Rousseau at the International Exhibition, London, 1862 and at the Exposition des Beaux-Arts appliqué à l'industrie, 1863. See B. Bumpus, Pâte-sur-Pâte, London, 1992, p. 52-65 for a full discussion on the collaborative works made by Louis Solon and the Parisian porcelain manufacture Alphonse-Marx Clauss for Rousseau. Also illustrated are a number of works purchased from these exhibitions by the South Kensington Museum in 1864. Of the twenty-three items conserved twenty were works by Solon, some of which can be seen on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum today.