"canton" Porcelain Lamp, China, 18th Century, Composed Of A Vase With A Chiseled Bronze Mount

A superb lamp base composed of a late 18th-century Canton porcelain vase, famille verte; richly decorated with cartouches depicting scenes of female dignitaries, surrounded by floral motifs, birds and butterflies in relief, flowers and various other elements, along with four animated scenes of women in the intimacy of a richly decorated interior; the entire vase that forms the base is teeming with detail and beautiful polychromy, the glaze being equally exquisite. The whole is enhanced by a lyre-shaped mount to illuminate the beauty of the decoration. The beautifully sculpted bronze base, with its flowing lines, sets the tone, as do the collar and the lyre. Of the timeless quality of Chinese porcelain, the meticulous mounting magnifies this remarkably well-preserved piece (China, circa 1780), a Napoleon III mount, from a Parisian workshop intended for the finest apartments of the capital...