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A very fine pair of Louis XVI style gilt bronze mounted agate vases, each vase having an agate body of ovoid form, mounted with a reeded rim above a foliate and beaded border flanked at either side by a dove with wings splayed and holding in its beak a floral, foliate and fruiting swag, the agate body on a foliate cup issuing from a spreading foliate foot on a square gilt bronze plinth on a square agate base headed by a beaded border
Paris, date mid nineteenth century
Height 30 cm, width 15 cm. each.
A pair of Louis XVI period vases of identical design, but made in white marble rather than agate, were in the Founès Collection and were sold at Galerie Charpentier, Paris on 27th June 1936, lot 79. Other examples are known including a pair with bodies formed from ostrich eggs.
The art of mounting vases, bowls and other artifacts made from semi-precious stone, porcelain, marble or ostrich eggs reached its apogee during the eighteenth century. The vogue was very much promoted by the Parisian marchands-merciers who would commission the creation of the various parts and an artisan for their final assembly. The present vases are based on these earlier Neo-classical prototypes, appealing to the same clientele among the richer sectors of society who recognizing the scarcity of original works were equally content with modern reinterpretations. One of the great appeals of these vases is the way the light falls upon the translucent agate body and highlights the wonderful variety of colours from deep reds to pale pink and from a golden yellow to a rich orange.
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