Lidded Vase [1 of 2]

Maker Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory (French, active from 1756 to the present)

MakerFront reserves painted by Jean-Louis Morin (French, 1732 - 1787, active 1754 - 1787)

Additional Title(s)

Vase à Pied de Globe

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Date1769

Mediumsoft-paste porcelain, overglaze turquoise-blue ground color, polychrome enamel decoration, gilding; later gilt-bronze bases

Dimensionswithout gilt-bronze mounts: 11 x 5 x 4 3/8 in. (27.9 x 12.7 x 11.1 cm.)

DescriptionTall cylindrical vases , on slender stems with bulbous, fluted collars, and round feet resting in a globe stand of fluted pilasters with beaded capitals, triglyphs, and guttae with a plain architrave and ring handles. The rounded shoulders taper to bay-leaf garland necks. The tall domed covers have flutes containing husks and knops. On either side are marine scenes.

InscribedBoth vases, painted marks: in dark blue enamel, the crossed Ls of the Sèvres manufactory; the date letter q, for 1769; the letter m, the mark of Morin. In turquoise-blue enamel, the letter Y or T. In turquoise-blue enamel painted over with brown enamel, the letter D. Incised mark (27.67): P·t and N

MarkingsBoth vases, painted marks: in dark blue enamel, the crossed Ls of the Sèvres manufactory; the date letter q, for 1769; the letter m, the mark of Morin. In turquoise-blue enamel, the letter Y or T. In turquoise-blue enamel painted over with brown enamel, the letter D. Incised mark (27.67): P·t and N

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. The Arabella D. Huntington Memorial Art Collection.

Label TextThe name for this model, vase à pied de globe, refers to the lower section that is in the form of a globe stand. That term appears in the Sèvres documents once in 1769, the same year in which the first examples of vases made in this form are known (although the shape may have been introduced the previous year). The model was made in three sizes, this pair being of the smallest size, which also seems to be the most common. A simplified version of the shape was introduced in about 1774. A plaster model survives at the Sèvres manufactory with a similar silhouette but without the globe stand base and with Chinese heads at the sides. This plaster model is catalogued in an inventory of 1814 with the title vase chinois, however no surviving examples are known of this model with the Chinese heads. The title vase chinois also appears in the eighteenth-century documents; it is unclear, however, to which shape this term applies. The vase à pied de globe model may have been referred to by both terms in the eighteenth century and the shape was frequently described as a vase chinois from the nineteenth century.
The vases are decorated with an overglaze turquoise-blue (bleu céleste) ground color and painted in oval, colored reserves of equal size on the front and back of each vase. The front reserves are edged with a broad tooled gilded band flanked by sprays of oak leaves. The back reserves are edged with a broad tooled gilded band surrounded by a narrower tooled band.
The reserves on the fronts are painted with harbor scenes by Jean-Louis Morin. The scene on the left vase (27.67) shows a quayside scene with an officer giving direction to two men moving a large barrel; a ship whose stern is marked "Le St. Jean" is represented in the background. The large barrel is marked on its end "7 43 / # / B," and a bundle beside the officer is marked "R." The scene on the right vase (27.66) shows a quayside with an officer giving direction to two men kneeling on either side of a large bundle marked on its end "# / G/ no 6." The same scenes with minor variations are found on other vases painted at Sèvres, especially between about 1767 and 1775. Such scenes became associated with Morin, whether painted by him or not. Primary among the related examples is a pair of vases à panneaux of 1767 in the British Royal Collection that are decorated on the fronts with slightly extended versions of the same two scenes. They are attributed to Morin and the inscription on the large bundle being attended to by two men is the same as that on The Huntington's example.
The reserve on the back of each vase is painted with an extravagant landscape with small figures, each scene having a river or seashore in the background. Although by a different artist, the marine or coastal theme is consistent with the harbor scenes on the front. A pair of vases à pied de globe of the same size and date at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, is decorated with landscapes of similar character on the back. Roth notes that they are by an unidentified landscape painter who is known to have painted the secondary reserves on ornamental vases and similar scenes on other wares.

Status

On view

Object number27.66