CIRCA 1765

This pair of ormolu-mounted urns of richly veined blue john reflect the taste for precious hardstones among enlightened collectors in the 1780s such as the duc d'Aumont and Marie Antoinette. Blue john, a rare fluorspar deposit in Derbyshire, England, has been prized since Roman times and although its use is almost synonymous with the work of Matthew Boulton, (d. 1802), a pair of Louis XVI vases and a ewer in the Wallace Collection indicate that the Parisian marchands-merciers also exploited this uniquely English material (P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Furniture, London, 1996, Vol. III pp.1390-3, F345-7) .
For further information regarding Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan and Colonel Jaques Balsan, please refer to the catalogue note for lot 45.