Pair of ormolu mounted Sèvres style porcelain vases

This superb pair of vases is crafted from Sèvres style porcelain and ormolu (gilt bronze) in a distinctive and charming Rococo meets Neoclassical amalgam of styles.

Each amphora-form vase is raised on a waisted socle above a square-sided base, all of which is crafted from the finest quality porcelain. The body of each vase, which tapers from a narrow belly to wider shoulders, is topped by a gently waisted porcelain neck and surmounted by domed porcelain lids. The porcelain throughout features a brilliant bleu celeste ground, which is parcel gilt on occasion. The central register of each vase is adorned in the round with a painted scene in a decidedly Rococo style: figures laze about a landscape in a fête galante within a classical pastoral landscape. The colour palette (pale Rococo pastels) and the genre of subject hark back to 18^th Century themes. In contrast, the twin ormolu handles mounted onto each vase, in their spare geometrical linearity, are distinctively Neoclassical.