Pair of Louis XVI style vases; Sèvres, France, second half of the nineteenth century.

Pair of Louis XVI style vases; Sèvres, France, second half of the nineteenth century.
Enameled and gilded porcelain. With bronze mounts.
Signed "T. Quentin".
Measurements: 94 x 53 x 35 cm (x2).
Pair of vases made of enameled and gilded porcelain, also have elegant gilded bronze mounts that enhance its ornamental and sophisticated character. Their classic urn shape, seated on an octagonal pedestal base, reflects a balanced and majestic aesthetic, typical of neoclassical taste. The characteristic sky blue color, known as bleu céleste, covers the background of the pieces and serves as a frame for the central pictorial scenes. These finely hand-painted scenes depict gallant and pastoral compositions with characters dressed in 18th century fashion, evoking the delicate and romantic spirit of the late rococo. The details are carefully framed by gilded ornamentation with vegetal motifs. The handles of the vases are adorned with gilt bronze ram's heads, a common decorative motif of the Louis XVI style that adds a note of classical nobility. The combination of the technical quality of the porcelain, the detailed painting and the bronze mounts is evidence of the high artistic level of the Sèvres workshops at this time, as well as the refined taste of their patrons.
Originally founded in Vincennes in 1740, the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres was transferred to this location in 1756. One of the main European porcelain factories, the Manufacture was successively named after different political regimes: royal, imperial and national manufacture. Still in activity today, the firm continues to edit the objects created since 1740, although its current production is largely oriented towards contemporary creation. The Manufacture de Vincennes was founded with the support of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, with the idea of creating pieces for the court and to compete with the porcelain productions of Meissen and Chantilly. In fact, the first experiments were carried out by the brothers Robert and Gilles Dubois, who came from the manufacture of Chantilly. Important results were obtained as early as 1745, under the direction of the Gravant couple, especially the creation of models of porcelain flowers to decorate all kinds of pieces. The new building in Sèvres, where the manufacture moved in 1756, was built on the initiative of Madame de Pompadur. Three years later, it was named a royal factory, and from that moment on it would use fine gold, the only one with this privilege in all of France. In its early years the factory produced mainly soft paste; hard porcelain, with kaolin, was not marketed in Sèvres until 1770. Among the innovations of this manufacture, in the 18th century, were colored backgrounds and the use of biscuit for small sculptures. During the French Revolution, the factory suffered a decrease in production, but experienced a resurgence between 1800 and 1847 thanks to the direction of Alexandre Brongniart, who gave the factory international fame. During these years, many important technical innovations were made, and several contemporary artists collaborated with the manufacture. At this time, a new gilding was introduced, which was made shiny by burnishing the surface with an agate stone. The pieces were also decorated with opaque gilding, which was done by rubbing the gold with very fine sand. It was at this time that a cartouche became established for ornamental vases as a central theme, in the manner of an oil painting, with gilded cartouche on a monochrome background. From the middle of the 19th century onwards, the dominant styles will be eclecticism and historicism, and some models will recover typologies of the past, such as the mannerism of Fontainebleau and the baroque of Versailles.