Literature

These large caisses à fleurs carrées were made to contain blubs growing in soil, so they have drainage holes in the bases. This is a very glamorous early pair of the shape decorated with the bleu céleste ground and fairly elaborate scenes of birds in landscapes painted by Philippe Xhrouet. The gilding is very extravagant indeed for this early date – a similar pair made one year later are in the Carnegie Art Institute, Pittsburgh, USA.

These vases were probably purchased from the Vincennes factory by the Parisian dealer Lazare Duvaux or they were presented by the factory to the Marquis de Courteille. By the late 19th century they were in the collection of Baron Gustave de Rothschild, Paris.

Sold to The Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Texas, USA, 2004