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Lot Essay
The present pair of vases ‘Hollandois’ 2me grandeur almost certainly forms a garniture with a vase ‘Hollandois’, 1re grandeur formerly in the collection of Elizabeth Parke Firestone; Christie’s, New York, 21 March 1991, lot 229 where purchased by the noted New York dealers Dalva Brothers and since sold on. All three vases are marked with date letter H. All three have a deep ground color and are richly gilt and chased with diaper pattern and foliate scrolls outlining the cartouches painted with bouquets (fleurs détachés). All three are gilt along the flat panels flanking the painted cartouches with distinctive seeded rosettes issuing flower sprays. Each is also gilt and chased with harebells along the angles of these panels, thus articulating the serpentine form of the vase. The central Firestone vase lacks the gilt ‘sunburst’ elements found on the front panels of the stands of the flanking Stafford vases, likely a simple omission on the part of the gilder.
The Firestone vase has traditionally been associated with the entry for a single vase ‘Hollandois’ decorated with flowers on a bleu celeste ground [1 Vaze holandois B.C.fleurs], noted with no mention of size in the factory’s records for 18 December 1760 and as selling for 324 livres cash [archives Sèvres - cité de la céramique Vy2 fo 28v]. However, the entry may well refer to a completely different vase, as the selling price seems too inexpensive for a vase of the first or largest size as richly decorated as the Firestone example.
This vase shape was introduced in three sizes in 1754, with the name of the form evolving from 'à la hollandoise' to 'hollandois' by 1756. For a discussion of the form, and for illustrations of the vases in the Wallace Collection, London, see Rosalind Savill, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain, London, 1988, Vol. I, pp. 69-91.
Jean-Baptiste Noualhier l'aîné is recorded as a flower painter at the Sèvres manufactory from 1753-54 and 1757-66.
The Firestone vase has traditionally been associated with the entry for a single vase ‘Hollandois’ decorated with flowers on a bleu celeste ground [1 Vaze holandois B.C.fleurs], noted with no mention of size in the factory’s records for 18 December 1760 and as selling for 324 livres cash [archives Sèvres - cité de la céramique Vy2 fo 28v]. However, the entry may well refer to a completely different vase, as the selling price seems too inexpensive for a vase of the first or largest size as richly decorated as the Firestone example.
This vase shape was introduced in three sizes in 1754, with the name of the form evolving from 'à la hollandoise' to 'hollandois' by 1756. For a discussion of the form, and for illustrations of the vases in the Wallace Collection, London, see Rosalind Savill, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain, London, 1988, Vol. I, pp. 69-91.
Jean-Baptiste Noualhier l'aîné is recorded as a flower painter at the Sèvres manufactory from 1753-54 and 1757-66.