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Vase
Albert Carrier-Belleuse, born 1824 - died 1887 - Enlarge image
Vase
- Place of origin:
Stoke-on-Trent, England (made)
- Date:
1862 (exhibited)
- Artist/Maker:
Albert Carrier-Belleuse, born 1824 - died 1887 (designer)
Minton & Co. (manufacturer) - Materials and Techniques:
Bone china, painted and gilded
- Museum number:
8111-1863
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 122g, case 10
Object Type
This impressive vase was made especially for display at the 1862 International Exhibition in London. Minton's, like other manufacturers, made their largest and showiest pieces for such international fairs, to demonstrate their technical capabilities, the skill of their painters and the quality of their design. Even so, they often assembled forms already in production to make a new work for the occasion. Here the vase itself is probably a standard shape, but the coiling snakes have been added and the stand of four crouching boys was designed by Albert Ernest Carrier de Belleuse especially for the exhibition.
People
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, designer of the stand supporting this huge vase, was a sculptor and modeller. He trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Over a long career he employed Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), he worked for Doulton, Minton and other English companies, including Coalbrookdale ironworks and from the 1870s he was art director at the Sèvres porcelain factory, near Paris. He produced a number of designs for Minton production in Parian ware, bone china and majolica.
