Pair of gilt and patinated bronze cassolettes by Dasson

This pair of cassolettes—a cassolette is a decorative vase intended to store potpourri—is designed in the distinctive Louis XVI style and was created by Henry Dasson, one of the most celebrated ébénistes working in Paris during the latter 19^th Century.

Each cassolette is raised on a triform white marble base, the base bordered with ormolu, raised on a moulded ormolu step above three toupie feet, and set to the centre with an elaborate ormolu foliate finial. The base of each cassolette supports three patinated bronze legs, each leg modelled as an elongated caryatid that terminates in a hoof foot. The legs, which are joined by finely wrought ormolu garlands, support the bowl of the vase.

The bowl of each is crafted from tôle peinte, or painted sheet metal. The rim of each bowl is finished with a pierced ormolu frieze—through which the scent of the potpourri escapes—while each bowl is topped with a flat cover, the cover surmounted by an elaborate ormolu finial comprised of an abundance of fruit and foliage.

Each cassolette is signed to the ormolu base ‘henry Dasson’.