Doccia Ginori Factory, Italian, circa 1750-1760

There are only a few known white porcelain vases which feature the characteristic shape, called ‘a palla’ in the inventories of the Ginori manufactory and the relief istoriato decoration. The rarity of this vase is emphasized by the form fire shape and by the subject of the istoriato relief depicting Venus and Amor at the Forge of Vulcan, after Alessandro Algardi.

This vase, complete with cover, belongs to an extremely rare typology of an early phase of production of the manufactory. Very few pieces of this type are known, often missing the cover and decorated with a cortege of putti.

Its twisted shape, due to the process of firing, makes this piece unique.

The low relief istoriato is studied in the catalogue of the exhibition in Lucca curated by A. d’Agliano (op. cit., pp. 207-212, nos. 146-153).

A similar vase was sold at Sotheby’s Milan, 19 December 2006, lot 316.

RELATED LITERATURE

J. Montagu, Alessandro Algardi, New Haven and London, 1985, Vol. I, fig. 232, p. 199; G. Turchi, 'Sulle Origini e l’iconografia di due vasi in porcellana a bassorilievo istoriato dal primo periodo di Doccia', in Ceramica Antica, December 2000, p. 11; A. d’Agliano, A. Biancalana, L. Melegati, G. Turchi (eds.), Lucca e le porcellane della Manifattura Ginori. Commissioni patrizie e ordinativi di Corte, Lucca, 2001, p. 208, no. 147

This lot has an artistic export license. Please refer to the specialist department for further information about export procedures and shipping costs.