A fine pair of Louis XV/XVI ormolu-mounted Chinese blue porcelain vases circa 1765-70

each with tall flared neck fitted with a fluted serpentine ormolu rim flanked by angular ormolu handles cast with leaf tips and with pendant acorns and oak leaves, the tapered lower part raised on a spreading ormolu base marked with paterae and cast with acanthus leaves. 

Sold Christie's, New York, November 2, 2000, lot 266

The color less dark and more attractive than in the catalogue illlustration. The mounts well chased , with minor traces of verdigris consistent with age. The porcelain in overall good condition, with an old break to the socle of one, which is slightly visible on the lower left of the right vase.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

These vases which reflect the influence of the goût grec style, were almost certainly influenced by the designs of the ornemeniste Jean-Charles Delafosse.  A comparable vase, the central part of a group of five acquired by the 5th Earl of Essex in Paris shortly after the Revolution, is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (Hodgkins bequest), illustrated, S. de Ricci, Catalogue of a Collection of Mounted Porcelain belonging to E.M. Hodgkins, Paris, 1911, p. 42.