Ref. 1847

Paris Porcelaine Manufacture

(Attributed to)

Pair of neo-Greek Vases

France
Circa 1880

Porcelain

Height : 45 cm (17,7 cm) ; Width with handles : 33 cm (12,9 in.) ; Depth : 22 cm (8,6 in.)

Beautiful pair of amphora vases in polychrome porcelain. They are decorated with cartouches, one representing Alexander defeating his enemies, accompanied by allegories of Peace holding a lowered torch and a palm frond, and blindfolded War fleeing; the other Alexander crowned by Nike, the goddess of Victory, announcing his triumph, while the goddess Athena shows him the way. At the back are painted weapon trophies. Two scrolled handles start from the body and flourish on the collar, decorated with a Greek frieze. They rest on feet decorated with palmettes.

Paris porcelaine Manufacture

Paris, capital of art, fashion and luxury, could not, when Kaolin was discovered around 1765, in Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche near Limoges, fail to produce prestigious porcelain. Paris Porcelain, more commonly called “Old Paris”, is a hard paste porcelain, pure white, milky, very shiny, decorated with paint and very often with gold.
There were porcelain factories in Paris, of a very high level, with their well-defined brand.
But above all, in the back rooms, we decorated the whites cooked in the Limoges region. Unmarked, these blanks often have letters or numbers that are covered in enamel. It is not the mark of a decorator or a factory. It is quite simply a sign that the worker made, before cooking, to recognize his work and to have the pieces thus produced paid for.

Bibliography

Faïence et Porcelaine de Paris XVIIIe-XIXe siècles, Régine de Plinval de Guillebon, Ed. Faton, 1995