THIRD QUARTER OF THE 18TH CENTURY, PAINTED IN THE GILES WORKSHOP

The source for the distinctive painted figures subjects on this pair of vases has not been identified, although they recall the work of both Pillement and Boucher and chinoiserie figure decoration on Chelsea vases of the Gold Anchor Period. Indeed it is possible that the artist came to the London workshop of James Giles from Chelsea as Giles employed several painters from the Chelsea factory following its closure in 1768 and advertised the copying and adaptation of Chelsea designs as a speciality. A Worcester hexagonal vase from the Lady Binning Collection at Fenton House, London (National Trust inventory no. 1448132), is painted with similar figures, where the decoration has also been tentatively attributed to the Giles workshop. On the vases in the present lot, the decorator has incorporated carefully drawn flowering branches into the design, typical of Giles' middle period, and the vases also feature the distinctive thin gilding associated with the Giles workshop.