A pair of Louis XV ormolu-mounted Chinese export porcelain cafe-au-lait-ground famille-rose vases and covers circa 1740, stamped with the C Couronné poinçon

Ormolu mounts with oxidation, rubbing and surface dirt. Cracks to one lid. In good overall condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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An almost identical pair of vases from the Riahi collection is illustrated, Quelques chefs-d'oeuvre de La Collection Djahanguir Riahi, Paris, 1999, pp.80-81. The dragon-form handles are rare. One recorded example incorporates Meissen porcelain painted in the oriental taste (illustrated, Wannenes, Les Bronzes Ornementaux et Les Objets Montés de Louis XIV à Napoléon III, Milan, 2004, p.92); it is also fitted with identical ormolu rockwork borders around the neck and with an identical foot, clearly deriving from the same bronzier. Another form of handle found during this period is equally exotic, consisting of addorsed mermaids as seen on a pair of covered vases formerly in the Keck collection, sold, Sotheby's, New York, December 5-6, 1991, lot 10. The Keck vases again have identical berried leafy finials. It is possible that the dragon handles and the mermaid handles mark the transition from the strapwork mounts traditionally found on mounted porcelain of the late Louis XIV and Régence period, to the flamboyant and fanciful mounts of the rococo period.