.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This monumental ormolu and patinated bronze vase is reputed to have been a diplomatic gift from Napoleon to King Frederick I of Württemberg. Its magnitude, splendour and allegoric imagery would certainly make it worthy of such a provenance. The diplomatic relationship between the two heads of state as well as the career and attributes of the celebrated bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire, Ciseleur de l'Empereur (d. 1843), are discussed in the footnote to the preceding lot (100), which is both stylistically closely related and reputed to have been part of the same diplomatic gift.
The form of this magnificent vase is similarly derived from antique prototypes such as the monumental marble 1st Century AD Medici Vase in the collection of the Uffizi, Florence or the 1st Century BC Borghese vase in the collection of the Louvre, Paris. It is decorated with a band of fruiting vine, representative of the Roman god of wine and merriment, Bacchus, whose masks adorn the plinth; the frieze is decorated with Olympian figures including Flora, Venus and Diana; and in combination these depictions are probably designed to allude to the plentiful existence available when allied to Napoleon and the new Régime. The majesty and power of the Napoleonic Empire are represented by the masks of Jupiter, which issue from the handles, and Jupiter's attribute the eagle was adopted by Napoleon as the symbol of his new empire. Thomire mounted a similar a vase of very closely related form in celebration of Napoleon's second marriage to Marie-Louise of Austria (d. 1847) in 1810, known as the Vase du Marriage de l'Empereur. Elements of the chasing of both the latter and this vase appear almost identical and the treatment of the handles is very close when viewed in profile (J. Niclausse, Thomire, Paris, 1947, pl. 20).
The form of this magnificent vase is similarly derived from antique prototypes such as the monumental marble 1st Century AD Medici Vase in the collection of the Uffizi, Florence or the 1st Century BC Borghese vase in the collection of the Louvre, Paris. It is decorated with a band of fruiting vine, representative of the Roman god of wine and merriment, Bacchus, whose masks adorn the plinth; the frieze is decorated with Olympian figures including Flora, Venus and Diana; and in combination these depictions are probably designed to allude to the plentiful existence available when allied to Napoleon and the new Régime. The majesty and power of the Napoleonic Empire are represented by the masks of Jupiter, which issue from the handles, and Jupiter's attribute the eagle was adopted by Napoleon as the symbol of his new empire. Thomire mounted a similar a vase of very closely related form in celebration of Napoleon's second marriage to Marie-Louise of Austria (d. 1847) in 1810, known as the Vase du Marriage de l'Empereur. Elements of the chasing of both the latter and this vase appear almost identical and the treatment of the handles is very close when viewed in profile (J. Niclausse, Thomire, Paris, 1947, pl. 20).