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1 of 253523 objects
Vase angora or vase angola 1772
Soft-paste porcelain, bleu nouveau ground, gilded decoration and gilt bronze | 46.5 x 28.6 x 25.9 cm (parts .a and .b together) | RCIN 36101
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Painted by Charles-Nicolas Dodin (active 1754-1803), one of the most talented artists working at Sèvres, the mythological scene on the front reserve depicts the education of Cupid. The source for the scene was an engraving by René Gaillard, L’Amour à l’Ecole, after Jean-Baptiste Van Loo (1684-1745), in which Venus watches her son Cupid receiving instruction from Mercury.
The vase is one of the most sumptuous pieces ever produced by the factory. Its design dates from 1772 and it is thought to be the work of Jean-Jacques Bachelier (artistic director of the manufactory 1748/51-93). Of particular note are the three finely sculpted figures. Mounted on either side of the vase are an eagle trampling on a serpent and a King Charles spaniel barking. The knob of the cover is formed by a hissing Angora cat. These finely executed sculptural elements owe much to the factory’s répareurs, who picked out and sharpened the detail of the relief decoration.
Today, only two vases of this shape are known and both are in the Royal Collection.
Text adapted from French Porcelain for English Palaces, Sèvres from the Royal Collection, London, 2009Provenance
This vase formed part of a garniture which George IV bought from Robert Fogg for £346 10s (bill dated quarter ending 10 October 1813: ‘Three Sève Porcelaine Vases fine blue ground and painted in Mythological Subjects’). Their receipt at Carlton House in October 1813 from Fogg was entered by Benjamin Jutsham in the receipts’ ledger: ‘Three handsome Seve Porcelain Vases Blue ground and Gold painted in Figures, Mythological Subjects, the Centre one has A Bird, A Dog, & A Squirrel for handles’, annotated, ‘now in the Bow Room Basement Story’. By 1826 cat. no. 82 had been moved to the Crimson Drawing Room, Principal Floor, where it is recorded in the inventory of that date: ‘ No.6. A magnificent blue ground Seve Porcelain Vase and cover, the cover having a Cat on a gilt ball, and the handles being in form of a Bird and a Dog – Two Compartments, one painted in mythological figures, the other in flowers, – 18 In. high. carved and gilt stand’.
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Creator(s)
(porcelain manufacturer)(nationality)(engraver)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Soft-paste porcelain, bleu nouveau ground, gilded decoration and gilt bronze
Measurements
46.5 x 28.6 x 25.9 cm (parts .a and .b together)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
Vase and cover
Place of Production
Sèvres [France]
