Flower Holder thumbnail 1
Flower Holder thumbnail 2
+1
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 139, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Flower Holder

1760 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This shape is listed as 'Vase hollandois' in the Sèvres factory records, indicating its shape originated in Holland and was copied from Dutch Delftwares. Vases of this type would have been used for planting and growing bulbs in season, hence the pierced separate stands which allowed for watering the growing bulbs. Out of season, porcelain flowers on painted metal stems are known to have been displayed in vases of this type. They were usually grouped in pairs with other shapes to form sets known as 'garnitures', and placed on mantelpieces and pieces of furniture, often with mirrors behind them, adding to the rich decorative effect.

Juliet Carey (see below) has discussed the use of prints after Teniers by the Sèvres factory. The figure scene on this vase has been copied from a detail of an engraving by Jacques-Philippe Lebas after David Teniers the younger, entitled Feste de village published in 1737. When it was engraved, the original painting was in the collection of the comtesse de Verrue, to whom the print is dedicated. It was later in the collection of the duc de Choiseul and can be seen in Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe's famous snuffbox (1770-71) which is decorated with a detailed miniature view of the interior of the premier cabinet of his Paris hôtel.

Carey, Juliet. Peasants on porcelain: Sèvres and the taste for Teniers. In Oliver Fairclough, John Whitehead and Aileen Dawson eds. French Porcelain Society Journal III , 2007. pp. 111-130 ISSN 1479-8042.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Flower Holder
  • Stand
Materials and techniques
Soft paste porcelain, applied with ground colour, pierced, painted in enamels, gilded
Brief description
Flower vase and stand of soft-paste porcelain, probably painted by André-Vincent Vielliard, Sèvres porcelain factory, Sèvres, 1760.
Physical description
Flower vase and stand of soft-paste porcelain decorated with a green ground reserved with scenes and flowers painted in enamels, the rims and ground with gilded patterns.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • crossed Ls mark enclosing date letter G (for 1760)
  • mark of three dots (for the flower painter Jean-Baptiste Tandart)
Credit line
Bequeathed by John Jones
Object history
One of a pair with 756/1, 2-1882. A turquoise ground vase hollandois in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (C.21 & A-1961) is decorated with the same scene after Teniers.
Production
The enamel painting and subject matter on these vases are typical of Vielliard at this period, despite not bearing his mark. Tandart specialised in flower painting and presumably painted the flower panels only.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This shape is listed as 'Vase hollandois' in the Sèvres factory records, indicating its shape originated in Holland and was copied from Dutch Delftwares. Vases of this type would have been used for planting and growing bulbs in season, hence the pierced separate stands which allowed for watering the growing bulbs. Out of season, porcelain flowers on painted metal stems are known to have been displayed in vases of this type. They were usually grouped in pairs with other shapes to form sets known as 'garnitures', and placed on mantelpieces and pieces of furniture, often with mirrors behind them, adding to the rich decorative effect.

Juliet Carey (see below) has discussed the use of prints after Teniers by the Sèvres factory. The figure scene on this vase has been copied from a detail of an engraving by Jacques-Philippe Lebas after David Teniers the younger, entitled Feste de village published in 1737. When it was engraved, the original painting was in the collection of the comtesse de Verrue, to whom the print is dedicated. It was later in the collection of the duc de Choiseul and can be seen in Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe's famous snuffbox (1770-71) which is decorated with a detailed miniature view of the interior of the premier cabinet of his Paris hôtel.

Carey, Juliet. Peasants on porcelain: Sèvres and the taste for Teniers. In Oliver Fairclough, John Whitehead and Aileen Dawson eds. French Porcelain Society Journal III , 2007. pp. 111-130 ISSN 1479-8042.
Associated object
Bibliographic references
  • Carey, Juliet. Peasants on porcelain: Sèvres and the taste for Teniers. In Oliver Fairclough, John Whitehead and Aileen Dawson eds. French Porcelain Society Journal III , 2007. pp. 111-130 ISSN 1479-8042. See figure 11, 121p. for the engraving by Jacques-Philippe Lebas after David Teniers the younger, Feste de village published 1737 for the group on the far left after which the scene on this vase was copied. At the time when it was engraved by Le Bas, the original 17th century painting was in the collection of the comtesse de Verrue, to whom the print is dedicated. It was later in the collection of duc de Choiseul and can be seen in Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe's famous snuffbox (1770-71) which is decorated with a detailed miniature view of the interior of the premier cabinet of his Paris hôtel.
  • William King, Catalogue of the Jones Collection, II, Ceramics, ormolu, goldsmiths' work, enamels, sculpture, tapestry, books, and prints (London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1924), p. 8, no. 115.
  • Peters, David. An examination of Vincennes and early Sèvres date letters. The French Porcelain Society, A transcript of the talk given at the French Porcelain Society Study Day on 17 June 2014. London, 2014. Following a detailed analysis of the records against existing pieces, Peters has suggested 'G’ is now for 1760, not 1759-60 as formerly thought.
Collection
Accession number
756:1, 2-1882

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdFebruary 25, 2010
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest