A pair of Régence gilt-bronze mounted tortoiseshell brass inlaid premiére-partie boulle marquetry câche-pots circa 1720

of circular shape, the front and sides inlaid with scrolling foliage, with a foliate bronze cast rim and base, flanked by two handles with mermaids with entwined tails 

One photographed in the Red Drawing Room, Crewe House, London, circa 1937.
West Horsley Place, Surrey, Inventory, 1938, Vol. 1, p.70, in the Drawing Room; 12” circular antique buhl tortoiseshell and brass Jardinières with woman figures as gilt handles. £40. 

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Pierre Kjellberg, Objets montés, Paris, Les Editions de l’Amateur, 2000, p.43.

Daniel Alcouffe, et al., Gilt bronzes in the Louvre, Dijon, Editions Faton, 1994, p.15.

In country house condition. The mounts are all original, however, there are significant losses to the marquetry inlay. Notably to one of the pots which is missing both of its corresponding central cartouche. All mounts are tarnished and would benefit from a clean according to taste. One pot requires the brass mounted figures and rim to be secured as they are attached but loose. The wooden carcass has signs of shrinkage along the line of construction but are structurally sound. With old marks and scratches throughout commensurate with age and use.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A pair of similar câche-pots, in contrepartie marquetry with mother-of-pearl and coloured tortoiseshell was in the collection Hubert de Givenchy (Christie’s Monaco, 4th December 1993, ex-collection Baron de Montesquieu Fezensac, lot 11, FF999,000). Another pair of Boulle marquetry cache-pots but with satyr-masks handles was sold with Sotheby's London, 3rd December 1997, lot 82 (£27,600).

Régence mounted Chinese porcelain vases using similar model of handles with mermaids are known, as the pair of covered vases from Château Saint-Cloud, now in the Louvre (inv.OA5492), a pair in the Residenz in Munich and a group of pairs of celadon porcelain vases that were in the market, one pair sold from the Keck Collection, Sotheby’s New York, 5^th December 1991, lot 10 ($176,000).