Pair of very large Sèvres style porcelain and ormolu ewers

The porcelain ewers (jugs) feature ovoid bodies on flared feet. They stand on ormolu (gilt bronze) square bases with rounded corners, their tops decorated with gadrooned bands. The ewers’ porcelain feet and bodies are ‘bleu celeste’ (sky blue) in colour and are finely parcel gilt and painted. Their feet are encircled by bands of colourful flowers, and their bodies feature paintings of young lovers in Arcadian landscapes. Ormolu stiff leaf bands are mounted onto the lower bodies of the ewers. The bodies are topped by shaped ormolu necks and spouts which are finely decorated with stylised foliage, vines, clusters of grapes and bead-and-reel bands.

Each ewer is fitted with an ormolu single looping handle which is crowned by a sculpture of a nude putto, holding a cluster of grapes and a pinecone-tipped staff. In the arts, this staff is carried by followers of Bacchus (or Dionysus), the classical god of wine and ecstasy. The handles are further decorated with bird models, stylised leaves and fluting, and they terminate in ram heads.