THE PORCELAIN KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722), THE MOUNTS LATE 18TH CENTURY

Employing costly and sought-after Chinese celadon porcelain of rare hexagonal shape together with fine figurative ormolu mounts, these elegant vases reflect the enduring allure of ormolu-mounted oriental porcelain throughout the 18th century.

A hexagonal vase of similar form but with earlier rococo mounts is in the collection of the castle of Singraven, Danekamps in the Netherlands, while a pair of turquoise porcelain vases of related from with neoclassical 'triton' mounts was probably in the collection of the celebrated connoisseur Randon de Boisset and sold at Hotel Drouot, Thierry de Maigret, Paris, 3 December 2008, lot 234.

Interestingly, the mounts on this vase, with their proud figural handles with classical headdresses, relate closely to the mounts of a pair of Chinese bottle vases in the British Royal Collection (RCIN 2367) made by Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy in the early 19th century.