Stunning & Imposing 19th Century French Sèvres Large Covered Urn Centerpiece in Cobalt Blue Porcelain with Hand Painted Romantic Vignettes & Bronze Gilt, Circa 1860

This stunning vase was created in Paris, France circa 1860. The hand painted vignettes depicting a “romantic scene” in a garden landscape setting and a back view with a “cupid in floral rose clouds” are remarkable Sèvres signed paintings.  The traditional “bulbous” shape with raised gilt detail on a rich cobalt blue ground stems from a circular base with four gilded outcroppings. The blue background with rich gold leaf accents and scrolling bronze gilt handles are a signature Sèvres. The stately and colourful vessel is further embellished with a brass mount at the neck and an attached lid decorated with a bronze top finial.

Sèvres was the preeminent porcelain manufacturer in Europe in the second half of the eighteenth century and in the nineteenth century resists easy characterization, and its history during this period reflects many of the changes affecting French society in the years between 1800 and 1900.

Among the remarkable accomplishments was that King Louis XV had been an early royal supporter along with his mistress Madame Pompadour ( who had the factory moved near her chateau) and then became its sole royal owner in 1759. However, due to the upheavals of the French Revolution, its financial position at the beginning of the nineteenth century was extremely precarious as it was no longer a royal enterprise. The appointment in 1800 of Alexandre Brongniart (1770–1847) as the administrator of the factory marked a profound shift in its fortunes. Under Brongniart, the factory sought to copy famous paintings with the specific intention of recording the “true” appearance of works increasingly perceived to be fragile. Works by a wide variety of artists were copied, but those by Raphael were especially popular. The eclecticism and historicism that characterized so much of the production during Brongniart’s tenure continued after his death in 1847.

The factory’s output reflected an ongoing desire for technical innovation as well as a wide embrace of diverse decorative styles that were employed simultaneously. This splendid tall decorative urn is in excellent condition making it an important pair of Sèvres history.

Dimensions: height 25″ x width 8″ x depth 8″