ATTRIBUTED TO THE PORPHYRY WORKS, ÄLVDALEN, CIRCA 1805-1830

In 1731, porphyry was discovered in the Valley of Älvdalen (Elfdal). However it was not until nearly fifty years later that large-scale mining began when King Gustav III (r. 1771-92) took an active interest. From this period in the late 18th century and through the 19th century, the majority of the manufactory’s designs were created by Carl Fredrik Sundvall. An architect by training and inspired by the contemporary taste for the Neo-classical, Sundvall often referenced the Antique, including an illustration for a vase in 1790 described as 'vase antique à la Villa Borghese à Rome', and which closely recalls the present lot. Porphyry vases of this campana or 'Borghese' shape became particularly favoured at Älvdalen and designs appear in three variants in the firm’s 1805 catalogue. The same form appears once again circa 1830 in a commercial catalogue where it was offered in several sizes and with the option of gilt-bronze mounts. Porphyry works from Älvdalen however were often left unadorned, as seen in the present pair, which scholar Florian Knothe argues may have reflected the more subdued and modest Neo-Classical taste at the Swedish court (see Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2008, p. 348).