A Pair of Large French Sevres Style Hand Painted Vases and Lids 19th Century Era For Sale

An exceptional and imposing pair of 19th-century French porcelain covered urns, standing approximately 35 inches tall, richly decorated with hand-painted figural and landscape scenes and mounted throughout with elaborate gilt-bronze ornament.Of grand baluster form, each urn is executed in a deep cobalt-black glazed porcelain, providing a dramatic ground for extensive gilt floral, foliate and classical decoration. The monumental scale, elaborate bronze mounts and richly painted reserves give the pair a commanding architectural presence.The principal oval reserves are individually hand painted with elegant romantic scenes in the 18th-century French taste. One depicts a gentleman engaged in conversation with two elegantly dressed ladies in a pastoral garden setting, while its companion depicts a musical courtship scene with figures dressed in period costume. The finely rendered figures are surrounded by atmospheric landscapes and architectural elements executed in a soft palette of blues, greens, rose and earth tones.Additional reserves depict European pastoral landscapes, including waterways, trees, distant architecture and countryside views. These secondary compositions demonstrate that the urns were conceived to be appreciated from multiple viewpoints rather than simply as frontal decorative pieces.Particularly noteworthy are the extensive gilt-bronze mounts. Each urn is flanked by large scrolling acanthus-form handles embellished with suspended swags, tassels, foliate elements and finely chased surface decoration. Additional gilt-bronze foliage embraces the lower body.The removable domed covers are decorated with intricate gilt ornament and finished with sculptural gilt-bronze pinecone-form finials. The necks display additional gilt motifs against the dark porcelain ground, while the waisted socles are similarly enriched with elaborate gilded decoration.Each urn terminates in a substantial square gilt-bronze plinth base, completing the strongly architectural composition and providing visual balance to the large-scale bodies above.The undersides of the covers retain blue painted double L underglazed marks, as illustrated in the accompanying photographs.Dating to the 19th century, this impressive pair embodies the French fascination with richly mounted ornamental porcelain and the revival of Louis XVI and Neoclassical decorative vocabulary during the period.At approximately 35 inches high, these are substantial statement pieces particularly well suited to placement on consoles or pedestals, flanking a fireplace, doorway or important piece of furniture, or within a grand entry hall, salon or formal interior.DimensionsHeight: approximately 35 in.
Width: approximately 18 in. ConditionGood antique condition consistent with 19th-century age and use. Expected age-related wear is present, including rubbing and variation to the gilding and gilt-bronze surfaces, minor surface marks and signs of oxidation/patina. Please examine the detailed photographs, including close-ups of the mounts, painted decoration, undersides and marks, as they form an important part of the condition description.