It's called the Londonderry Vase, an exquisite example of porcelain from Sèvres, France in 1813...
It catches your eye and draws you in immediately...
To drink in all the details...
Check out its history...
An excerpt from The Art Institute of Chicago's online catalogue:
This vase epitomizes the great achievements of the royal porcelain factory at Sévres during the Napoleonic period. Sévres was a chief beneficiary of Napoleon's policy of resuscitating factories after the trauma of the French Revolution: demonstrating the supremacy of French craftsmanship, the emperor used sumptuous porcelain in his palaces as well as for state gifts. With its commanding contours, monumental size, rigorous symmetry, and unabashed splendor, this vase is a superb example of the Empire style, inspired by Greco-Roman art. It is a triumph of the collaborative practice of the Sévres porcelain factory; documents reveal the precise roles played by each artist in its creation. Napoleon's chief architect, Charles Percier, who helped establish the Empire style, created the Etruscan scroll-handled design featured on the vase. Commissioned by Napoleon around 1805, the vase ironically cemented a relationship that sealed the French emperor's defeat. Held by the factory until 1814, after Napoleon's exile, it was used as a diplomatic gift from his successor, King Louis XVIII, to Visount Castlereagh, the English secretary for foreign affairs.
— Entry, Essential Guide, 2009, p. 171.
And a list of its makers:
Londonderry Vase (Vase Etrusque a Rouleaux)1813
Hard-paste porcelain, gilding, ormolu mounts
137.2 cm (54 in.)
Mark: Sevres mark for 1813-1815; (in gold) 30 Mars B. T. Drouet, 1813137.2 cm (54 in.)
How's that for teamwork.
I'm cleaning and running errands today. Have a beauty-filled weekend...
Truly so beautiful x
ReplyDeleteExquisite. It is truly a treasure and thankfully is being shared with many admirers. Wonderful Weekend...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful...thank you for sharing:)
ReplyDeleteWow..it is beautiful!
ReplyDeletethe flowers are so beautiful I really though at first it was a wonderful bouquet not porcelain at all.
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful thank you for sharing. x
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fantastic! Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteGlorious!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't you just love to have been a fly on the wall in the factory when that team was working!
Your photography is amazing! Thank you so much for bringing this lovely vase to us.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! I'm so happy I got to see this!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Susan! Your photography is wonderful and through a glass case,no less.
ReplyDeleteHave to ask, how big was this vase? Such detail in the painting, magnifique!
You have a beautiful weekend as well,
Kimberly
Trivia fun fact: "ormolu" refers to a gilding process which uses gold mixed with mercury--it's never done nowadays, even for otherwise precise copies like the new baptistery doors in Florence, as it's far too dangerous, so this is literally something which could never be made again!
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely gorgeous! I love to see works of art like this, it's just truly amazing. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteStunning indeed and great photography too!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Can you even imagine actually using something like that? With kids around?
ReplyDeleteWow! I could look t that over and over and see different detail each time ~ thanks for sharing such a treasure!
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