Vase
ca. 1790-95 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This vase is an exceptionally ambitious creation. It depicts an episode in Roman history, traditionally said to have taken place in 750 BC. The Romans invited the neighbouring Sabine tribe to games in Rome, and then abducted the visiting women to take as their wives.
In 1781 Christoph Dihl (1752-1830), Antoine Guérhard (d.1793) and his wife Louise-Françoise-Madelaine Croizé (1751-1831) established a factory under the protection of the Duc d’Angoulême (1775-1844). This Royal patronage allowed the factory to manufacture coloured and gilt porcelain which had been monopolised by Sèvres since 1766. It operated first at Rue de Bondy, Paris moving in 1789 to rue du Temple. The factory enjoyed success and continued after the Revolution. The decorator of this vase Etienne-Charles Le Guay (b.1762) , worked for Sevres from1778-1785, 1808-1840 and for Dihl and Guérhard probably during both these periods. The factory suffered financial difficulties in the early-19th century eventually leading to closure in 1828.
In 1781 Christoph Dihl (1752-1830), Antoine Guérhard (d.1793) and his wife Louise-Françoise-Madelaine Croizé (1751-1831) established a factory under the protection of the Duc d’Angoulême (1775-1844). This Royal patronage allowed the factory to manufacture coloured and gilt porcelain which had been monopolised by Sèvres since 1766. It operated first at Rue de Bondy, Paris moving in 1789 to rue du Temple. The factory enjoyed success and continued after the Revolution. The decorator of this vase Etienne-Charles Le Guay (b.1762) , worked for Sevres from1778-1785, 1808-1840 and for Dihl and Guérhard probably during both these periods. The factory suffered financial difficulties in the early-19th century eventually leading to closure in 1828.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Hard-paste porcelain, painted in enamels and gilded |
| Brief description | Vase, porcelain with decoration painted in grisaille, by Etienne-Charles Le Guay, Dihl and Guérhard’s factory, Paris, France, ca. 1790-95. Later tripod stand, probably English, 1820-50. |
| Physical description | Vase in 4 parts and base with metal rod in porcelain with decoration painted in grisaille, porcelain tripod stand added at a later date. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | Vase with the Abduction of the Sabines
About 1790–95
The very large vase, with its clean contours, is an exceptionally ambitious Neoclassical creation. The subject matter, popular since the Renaissance, is an event said to have taken place in 750 BC. The Romans invited the neighbouring Sabine tribe to games and abducted the visiting women to take as their wives. The vase was made by a factory under the protection of the Duc d’Angoulême, which survived the French Revolution and rivalled Sèvres for coloured and gilded porcelain.
France (Paris)
Made at Dihl and Guérhard’s porcelain factory
Painted by Etienne-Charles Le Guay
Porcelain painted in enamel and gilded
(09/12/2015) |
| Object history | Bought from the J.M.Whitehead-Callenda Collection sale, lot 193, for 171 l, 8s. Previously for sale at a Phillips sale of 1816 (8 June rescheduled to 15th June) lot 553 - A noble porcelane vase, of etruscan [sic] form, inimitably pencilled by the esteemed artist, Le Gay of Paris, subject, the Rape of the Sabines, with auxiliary decorations selected from the antique relieved by rich gold ground; its heighth [sic] is 46 inches, and is united by bandeaux of rich or-molu. This matchless enamel picture, in which Le Gay is considered to have attained the summit of the art, ha ever been esteemed a chef d’oeuvre of the factory of Monsieur Dihl. The height given in the 1816 sale catalogue is 46", taller than the vase as it stands today. It is possible that the vase had wooden mount at the time of the 1816 sale, which was replaced by its purchaser, and that this accounts for the discrepancy. When the South Kensington Museum (V&A) bought the vase from the J.M.Whitehead-Callenda Collection sale it had a stand of carved wood, bronzed and gilt with a marble top (FWK.309: 3 to 4 - 1876). |
| Summary | This vase is an exceptionally ambitious creation. It depicts an episode in Roman history, traditionally said to have taken place in 750 BC. The Romans invited the neighbouring Sabine tribe to games in Rome, and then abducted the visiting women to take as their wives. In 1781 Christoph Dihl (1752-1830), Antoine Guérhard (d.1793) and his wife Louise-Françoise-Madelaine Croizé (1751-1831) established a factory under the protection of the Duc d’Angoulême (1775-1844). This Royal patronage allowed the factory to manufacture coloured and gilt porcelain which had been monopolised by Sèvres since 1766. It operated first at Rue de Bondy, Paris moving in 1789 to rue du Temple. The factory enjoyed success and continued after the Revolution. The decorator of this vase Etienne-Charles Le Guay (b.1762) , worked for Sevres from1778-1785, 1808-1840 and for Dihl and Guérhard probably during both these periods. The factory suffered financial difficulties in the early-19th century eventually leading to closure in 1828. |
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| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 309:1, 2-1876 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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