The present pair of mounted celadon vases is a splendid example of the luxurious French fashion to place gilt-bronze mounts on Oriental porcelain as popularised by the Parisian marchand-merciers throughout the 18th century. These vases are rare not only for their size, but also for the quality of the casting and chasing of the gilt-bronze mounts.

Le Goût Français: mounted porcelain in the 18th century

According to Kristal Smertek (in Rococo Exotic French mounted porcelain and the Allure of the East, New York, 2007), quoting Jean Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d’Argens in his Chinese Letters between 1739 to 1740: "The French do not have any aversion for foreign culture, which they adopt easily, but the thing is they like to add or remove things to it, that’s what we call 'le goût français'." This comment perfectly encapsulates the history of the fashion for mounted porcelain in France. Asian porcelain was considered exotic and rare but the use of mounts amplified the preciousness of the object it framed, while also lending the objects a French aspect.

The enthusiasm for this type of exotic porcelain commenced with the various 'Compagnie des Indes', which from the 17th century onwards traded with the Orient in all manner of luxurious Oriental ware and which greatly inspired the Parisian marchands-merciers who were driven to supply their illustrious clientele with the latest fashion and novelties, such as gilt-bronze mounted objects. As soon as the Oriental ware arrived in Europe, the rarest pieces were cut, carved or even associated, before being applied with gilt-bronze mounts by the leading bronziers of the day and then supplied to the French Court and members of the aristocracy.

The acquisition of fine oriental ceramics with gilt-bronze mounts was an integral component of the most important collects ions of the 18th century in Paris, notably that of the great connoisseur the Duc d'Aumont (1709-1782), who acquired many objects during the 1770s, and was also having ceramics mounted during this period. Another indication of how highly prized these objects were, is the fact that they were very carefully described in 18th century sale catalogues and inventories.

Chinese celadon porcelain

The present vases are made of Celadon porcelain, also called greenware, and they are characterized by their olive green feldspathic glaze obtained through the high firing (minimum 1,200°C) of iron oxides which are applied directly onto the earthenware body. Whilst most celadons in the 18th century are described as Japanese in sales catalogues 'porcelaines d'ancien céladon du Japon', this type of porcelain originated from China.

Chinese celadon is usually classified in two types: Northern and Southern. Northern celadon was mainly made during the Song dynasty (960-1279) but not after that when its capital moved South in 1127 and it does not seem to have been exported. Southern celadon was made throughout the Song dynasty and later. This type of celadon, often carved in relief as in the present case with peony scrolls, was widely exported and thus is mainly found in European gilt-bronze mounted objects such as the present vases. Celadon has always been highly prized for its colour: amongst other reasons, French collects ors appreciated monochrome colours for their brilliant reflectiveness and they admired the infinite refinement of the celadon colour, up to a pale green, silvered, almost transparent shade.

Furthermore, the large size of the present vases are quite uncommon, and very few celadon vases of this size are described in sale catalogues and inventories of the late 18th century. However, their shape, known as 'Gu' which was characterized by trumpet-shaped top, a restricted centre section, and a slightly flared base was quite common. Deriving from the early Bronze Age, gu vases were a common wine vessel to be found in sophisticated societal circles.

French gilt-bronze mounts

The practice of mounting porcelain in Europe dates back to the Middle Ages and according to Sir Francis Watson (in Mounted Oriental Porcelain in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 1999): '…during the eighteenth century the main reason for setting these oriental objects in mounts of European design was to naturalize them to the decoration of French interiors of the period; to modify their exotic character by giving them a quasi-French appearance.'

Oriental porcelain commanded high prices when it was sold by the marchands-merciers to collects ors, and even later made high prices at auction. According to Watson, op. cit.,`The high price and the infrequent.mes ntion of this porcelain in the marchand-mercier's accounts suggests that it was rare and highly prized in the eighteenth century'. For example, in the Monsieur Gaignat sale in February 1769, a single celadon vase with mounts fetched 2,489 livres (no. 91) and at the Randon de Boisset sale in 1777, two urns (no. 507) mounted in the rococo style made 6,001 livres. In 1782, over 7,500 livres was paid by Louis XVI for a pair of large celadon vases (no. 110), now in the Louvre, mounted in the neo-classical style by Gouthière (inv. no. OA 5151-2).

The mounts on the present pair, consisting predominantly of a short chute on either side of a vase, ornamented at the top with a distinctive garland attached to a scroll clasping the foliate-cast frieze of the vase, are extremely finely cast and clearly specifically cast for the present vases as they follow the form of the vase. They are also extremely well executed in terms of burnishing with polished and matt areas of chasing which are conceived to contrast and highlight the details. Each celadon vase is further ornamented to the foot with a gilt-bronze base cast with a frieze of stylized acanthus leaves flanked on either side and aligned with the chutes above, a foliate clasp.

Some similar mounts, which suggest they may have all been produced in the 1770s by the same workshop as the present pair, are recorded in private collects ions:

- a pair of vases cornets sold at Piasa, Paris, 9 December 2011, lot 25, formerly in the collects ion of the French banker François-Michel Harenc de Presle (1710-1802) whose sale catalogue dated from 1792 describes his vases as: “Deux grands cornets à dessin de feuilles de relief, richement garnis en bronze, de genre à rinceaux ornement. Nous croyons que l’un de ces deux vases a été cassé et caché par la monture. Hauteur 19 pouces, diamètre 10”.

- a pair of vases sold at Replica Shoes ’s London, 24 November 1988, lot 23, by repute formerly owned by Machault d'Arnouville and thence by descent owned by the Comte de la Panouse at the Château de Thoiry (fig.2).

- a vase illustrated in Anne Vallyer-Coster’s painting from 1776 Still Life with a Porcelain Vase, Pieces of Coral, Shells and Various Mineralogical Specimens and now in a private collects ion (fig.3).

The Viscountess de Courval (1835-1901)

The Viscountess de Courval, born Mary May (fig.1) was a lady of exquisite taste who was born into an important and wealthy family in New York. Brought up in France where her parents had settled, Mary Ray was a perfect match for a French aristocrat. In 1856 she married Arthur Dubois de Courval, the Viscount de Courval and moved back to France. A lover of the arts, the Viscountess looked for fine and delicate objects and works of art in Paris auctions to furnish and embellish her hôtel particulier at 6 rue Paul Baudry, near the Champs Elysées. Madame de Courval’s descendants enriched this luxurious collects ion and perpetuated the taste of this great French aristocratic family, by acquiring further paintings and fine furniture.