Lidded Vase [1 of 2]

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

Additional Title(s)

Pot Pourri Entourré

Collections

European Decorative Art Highlights

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Dateca. 1762

Mediumsoft-paste porcelain, overglaze pink and blue ground colors, polychrome enamel decoration, gilding

Dimensions20 1/2 x 9 x 9 in. (52.1 x 22.9 x 22.9 cm.)

DescriptionLarge ornamental lidded vase in the form of a fortified tower; part of an extremely rare set produced in soft-paste porcelain.

Inscribed27.31: Painted in blue enamel, the crossed Ls of the Sèvres manufactory; a heavily abraded date letter, possibly J for 1762; in red paint on the interior rims of both the vase and the lid, I and II. 27.32: Painted in heavily abraded blue enamel, an indecipherable mark, probably originally the factory mark and a date letter; in red paint on the interior rims of both the vase and the lid, III and IV

Markings27.31: Painted in blue enamel, the crossed Ls of the Sèvres manufactory; a heavily abraded date letter, possibly J for 1762; in red paint on the interior rims of both the vase and the lid, I and II. 27.32: Painted in heavily abraded blue enamel, an indecipherable mark, probably originally the factory mark and a date letter; in red paint on the interior rims of both the vase and the lid, III and IV

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

Status

Not on view

Label TextThese three vases (27.31-27.32 and 27.37) are among the largest and most extravagant ever produced by the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory. The central vase (see object number 27.37) with goat-head handles is painted with a battle scene; the side vases (27.31-27.32), in the form of fortified towers, bear military trophies, garlands, and wreaths. These details suggest that the set was made for a military hero; perhaps, a veteran of the Seven Year’s War, which ended in 1763.

Object number27.31