An Important Pair Of Large Chinese Canton Porcelain Vases

An important and striking pair of large Chinese polychrome Canton porcelain vases, baluster-shaped, featuring exceptionally rich decoration in the Rosa Family style, executed in polychrome glazes and embellished with gilded details. The bodies are entirely decorated with large figurative panels depicting court scenes and figures in traditional Chinese attire, alternating with dense ornamentation of flowers, peonies, fruits, butterflies, birds, and plant motifs. Elaborate geometric and floral borders harmoniously delineate the various parts of the composition. Particularly refined is the three-dimensional decoration applied to the porcelain: on the shoulders, zoomorphic figures and dragons are modeled in relief and gilded, while the necks are embellished with polychrome fantastical birds modeled in the round, lending the ensemble a distinct three-dimensional character. Each vase rests on a sumptuous, openwork base in gilded bronze, finely chiseled in the Rocaille style, composed of an elaborate interlacing of volutes, acanthus leaves, and plant motifs. The base is further embellished with gilded bronze ram’s heads, featuring long, curved horns, perfectly integrated into the ornamental composition. Rising from the top of each vase is a spectacular gilded bronze branching design, conceived as a large naturalistic bouquet of modeled stems, leaves, and flowers, into which eight light fixtures are set. The pair thus features a total of sixteen lights. The combination of the exuberant decoration of Chinese porcelain and the rich European gilded bronze mountings fully reflects the 19th-century taste for chinoiserie and for incorporating precious Oriental artifacts into European reception rooms.

China and Europe, 19th century
Polychrome and gilded porcelain; gilded and chased bronze.
Total height: 85 cm
Eight lights per piece—sixteen lights in total.