Pair of ormolu mounted malachite swan-handle vases

The pair of ovoid baluster form malachite vases feature fine ormolu (gilt bronze) mounts wrought in a grand Neoclassical Louis XVI style. The vases are surmounted with ormolu covers, topped with ormolu pinecone finials. The ormolu mounts are delicately cast and finished into ribbon-tied floral swags that issue from the twin handles, which are shaped into elegantly curved swan necks and heads. Each vases sits on a waisted ormolu socle, which in turn is supported by a square ormolu base with scalloped corners.

While the vases were produced in the late 19^th Century, they have benefited from a later malachite veneer.