Mounted Vase

Maker Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory (French, active from 1756 to the present)

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Dateca. 1770-1775

Mediumporcelain, gilt bronze, brass, steel

Dimensions17 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 10 in. (45.1 x 29.8 x 25.4 cm.)

DescriptionOne of a pair of lidded vases with an overglaze bleu nouveau ground. The vase is mounted with gilt bronze lions' heads, lions' pelts, and rings.

Markings13.19: 10 and $15,000 on paper label stuck on underside of lid. Under lid in crayon: 10(2)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Label TextWith their glittering gilt-bronze mounts and costly Sèvres porcelain, these decorative vases are examples of the type of unusual and expensive goods retailed by specialist dealers in 18th-century Paris. Inside each vase is a gilt-bronze candelabrum on a short stem that rises when the lid is lifted, making the vase a functional objet de luxe. The fact that several versions of these vases were acquired by royal and noble patrons likely enhanced their attraction for the Huntingtons.

Status

On view

Object number13.19