Louis XV style ormolu and cloisonné enamel jardinière

This remarkable piece is comprised of a Chinese cloisonné enamel body set with French ormolu, or gilt bronze, mounts, the mounts wrought in the distinctive Louis XV style.

The enamel body is of traditional form, its ashen blue ground adorned profusely with gilt cloisonné wire arranged into geometrical motifs. Above this background decoration, the surface is finished with a host of flowers, foliage, and birds, all delicately wrought from polychrome, variegated enamel.

The enamel bowl is raised by four ormolu legs, each leg taking the form of a Renaissance style dolphin, the scrolled tail of each joined by floral garlands. The legs are supported by an ormolu base, the surface richly detailed with friezes of embossed rosettes. The enamel body is fitted with twin ormolu handles, each composed of a foliate loop set above with a bird and below with a putti-form espagnolette. The rim of the jardinière is mounted with an ornate pierced ormolu gallery.