VASE (CUVETTE "MAHON")

Creator(s): Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory (Manufacturer)

Currently in storage

About this object

This vase of sinuous shape is a strong statement of rococo design by the chief Sèvres factory designer Jean-Claude Duplessis. The name "Mahon" refers to the town of Mahon on the island of Minorca, which was captured by the French in 1756 in what was celebrated as one of the greatest triumphs of the Seven Years’ War. The vase was among the earliest productions in the famous pink (roze) that would become a trademark of Sèvres. It was purchased in 1758 by the duc d’Orléans at the private sale that the king put together every year at Versailles to promote the products of his beloved factory.

The vase has a Rococo shape of a type known through the factory records as called "Cuvette Mahon" and stands on scroll feet. The ground is white. Each side is framed with a band of pink ribbon edged in gold that forms a loop in the center surrounded by a long swag of flowers. The panel on one side contains a basket filled with grapes suspended by a ribbon and a staff, and on the other side, only a cluster of flowers. The narrow ends of the vase, which are shaped like shells at the top, are similarly decorated with pink ribbons flanked by swags of flowers.

Object name:

VASE (CUVETTE "MAHON")

Made from:

Soft paste porcelain

Made in:

Sèvres, France

Date made:

1757

Size:

8 1/8 × 11 1/2 in. (20.6 × 29.2 cm)

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:

24.91

Class:

CERAMICS

Signature marks:

MARK Crossed L's and a partial date mark (posssibly E); letter P for the painter; P - the mark is very close to that attributed to Parpette, Philippe, painter of flowers; working periods from 1755- 1757 and 1773-1806 (see Eriksen/Bellaigue no.102 p.164; also Dauterman p.117 and 148)

Credit line:

Bequest of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 1973