A pair of Louis XVI black ground Chinese porcelain vases over-decorated in Holland
A pair of Louis XVI gilt bronze-mounted
black ground Chinese porcelain vases – circa 1775
The porcelain Qianlong period (1736-1795) over-decorated in Holland in the 18th Century
Height: 29 cm. (11 ½ in.) Width: 17 cm. (6 ¾ in.)
Literature :
G.and R. Wannenes, Les bronzes ornementaux et les objets montés, Milan, 2004, p. 346 (illustrated)
Comparative Literature :
The 1747 inventory of Monsieur Angran, vicomte de Fonspertuis, refers to the different varieties and colours of Chinese porcelain during the 18th Century:
I even noticed a black model, which is very rare here [in France in 1747] and could be appealing because of its rarity rather than its sad looking colour
In the 18th Century, the Dutch often added decoration to Chinese and Japanese porcelain objects following their arrival in Europe, making them more appealing to perceived Western tastes. In this case, the black ground is just such an addition.
The mounts are very similar to those found on vases à monter in Sèvres porcelain which were subsequently embellished in gilt bronze by the marchand-merciers. A drawing of a closely related vase is part of the Saxe Teschen Album (now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art).
The Saxe Teschen Album is now thought to be a sort of sale catalogue produced by the marchand-mercier, Dominique Daguerre, for one of his most famous clients, Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, and his wife, Archduchess Marie-Christine, daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and governor of the Austrian Netherlands from 1780-1792.
The Album contains numerous wash drawings of luxury objects, and furniture and especially many mounted and un-mounted in both the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles porcelain vases. It is difficult to say if many or all of the pieces entered the Saxe Teschen Collection in their Palace of Laeken outside Brussels as much of it was lost in a shipwreck after they fled the Netherlands in 1792.
