A pair of Louis XVI gilt-bronze mounted Chinese blue porcelain baluster vases, the mounts circa 1780, the porcelain Qing dynasty, Qianlong (1736-1795)

Kraemer gallery, Paris

These vases with the acanthus leaves, scrolls and acorns reflecting the neoclassical style under the reign of Louis XVI embody the fashion to ornate Chinese porcelain with luxurious gilt-bronze mounts. Appreciated for their exoticism, the porcelain wares arrived in France from the East and were mounted according to French tastes, which were promoted at the time by the Parisian marchands-mercier. The elegant and harmonious mounts and especially the handles of the present vases were specifically designed by a skilled bronzier whose creation does not overshadow the deep blue porcelain vases, but rather compliments them.

This pair of vases is related to a garniture sold at Sotheby’s London, From the Estate of Giuseppe Rossi, 12 March 1999, lot 1317. The vase flanked by two beaker vases is identical in design and quality to the present vases. Furthermore, this example suggest the present vases were perhaps once part of a garniture decorating the mantel piece of a rich interior. A pair of vase of the same baluster shape, however with different Louis XVI mounts is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. 56.140.1a, b, .2a, b; also illustrated in L. Scheurleer, Chinesisches und japanisches porzellan in europaïschen fassungen, 1980, p. 306, abb. 274.)