Vase
1662-1722 (made), 1740-1750 ormoulu mounts (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In 18th century Europe it was fashionable to decorate one's homes with Chinese porcelain. This is one of a pair of vases in the shape of a twin fish which have been given gilt bronze French mounts - a common practice at the time. Madame de Pompadour, mistress to King Louis IV of France, owned several pairs of Chinese fish-shaped vases. Humorists were quick to make the connection between 'fish' and Pompadour's maiden name 'poisson'.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Porcelain with celadon green glaze, chased ormoulu mounts |
| Brief description | Cer, China, Qing, monochrome, green |
| Style | |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by John Jones |
| Object history | Bequeathed by John Jones, accessioned in 1882. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Summary | In 18th century Europe it was fashionable to decorate one's homes with Chinese porcelain. This is one of a pair of vases in the shape of a twin fish which have been given gilt bronze French mounts - a common practice at the time. Madame de Pompadour, mistress to King Louis IV of France, owned several pairs of Chinese fish-shaped vases. Humorists were quick to make the connection between 'fish' and Pompadour's maiden name 'poisson'. |
| Bibliographic reference | Salmon, Xavier, Madame de |Pompadour et les arts, Paris, Réunion des musées nationaux, 2002 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 814-1882 |
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| Record created | September 16, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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