CIRCA 1830

By combining brilliant ormolu and precious bloodstone, the craftsman responsible for these wonderful ewers created exquisite jewel-like objects conceived in the befittingly luxurious goût étrusque style. Although not after an exact model, the inspiration for these ewers is clearly rooted in the oeuvre of Pierre Gouthière (1732-1813), who used figural mounts to embellish the handles of his vases and ewers. Casting or mounting the underside of the spouts of their vases with masks was also a design feature found in the oeuvre of this master bronzier. The design of these ewers relates most specifically to the works executed for the duc d’Aumont. A drawing of lot 114 in the catalogue of the sale of the collection of the duc d’Aumont in 1782, now in the Municipal Library, Besançon, shows a Japanese celadon vase mounted with a crouching mermaid and a closely related mask on the ormolu spout, see H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Vol. II, Munich 1989, p. 579, fig. 18. A shallow mask on the lip and figural handles also appear on a pair of vases, sold from the Talleyrand Collection, see Christie’s, Paris, 26 November 2005, lot 307. Lastly, mermaid-form ormolu handles are also featured on a pair of ewers delivered by Gouthière to Madame du Barry in 1770, see ibid. p. 565. Gouthière's splendid mounted objects remained fashionable throughout the nineteenth century and were emulated by celebrated ébénistes and bronziers such as Henry Dasson (1825-1896), who made direct copies of earlier royal pieces, but also his own interpretation of the original models.