Vase thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 139, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Vase

ca. 1760 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Vase of tin-glazed hard-paste porcelain painted with enamels and gilded. Beaker vase form with vertical sides curving out at the neck and base. Section roughly oval evolving into a hexagon at the base and a four-lobed form at the mouth, each lobe being shaped like an ogee arch. On the sides are sprays of flowers painted with enamels and tied by ribbons in gilt. Round the base and the lip are gilt scrolls. The base is edged with blue, and the lip a with crimson line.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Tin-glazed hard-paste porcelain painted with enamels and gilded
Brief description
Vase of tin-glazed hard-paste porcelain, Doccia porcelain factory, Doccia, ca. 1760.
Physical description
Vase of tin-glazed hard-paste porcelain painted with enamels and gilded. Beaker vase form with vertical sides curving out at the neck and base. Section roughly oval evolving into a hexagon at the base and a four-lobed form at the mouth, each lobe being shaped like an ogee arch. On the sides are sprays of flowers painted with enamels and tied by ribbons in gilt. Round the base and the lip are gilt scrolls. The base is edged with blue, and the lip a with crimson line.
Dimensions
  • Height: 19.7cm
Gallery label
Vase (Pair Of Vases) Tin-glazed porcelain Mark: '8' on one, in black ITALY (DOCCIA); about 1770 C.88 & A-1952 (Label draft attributed to John V. G. Mallet, ca. 1995)(ca. 1995)
Object history
One of a pair with C.88A-1952.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Frescobaldi Malenchini, Livia ed. With Balleri, Rita and Rucellai, Oliva, ‘Amici di Doccia Quaderni, Numero VII, 2013, The Victoria and Albert Museum Collection’, Edizioni Polistampa, Firenze, 2014 p. 101, Cat. 84 84. Pair of flower vases decorated with little bouquets of flowers circa 1760 hard-paste porcelain with tin-glaze painted in colours and gold h 19,7 no mark inv. C.88&A-1952 purchase: Landsborough Ltd., £ 38 The shape of these vases is of oriental origin. They were often sold in pairs. At Doccia they were produced in both maiolica and porcelain (MOORE 2007, p. 90, fig. 17). The version in porcelain was plain white, decorated with these little bouquets of flowers (Museo di Doccia, invv. 3922-3923, 3958- 3959) or with flowering vines in relief (IMPORTANTI PORCELLANE E MAIOLICHE 2007, lot 234, p. 98). They are normally identified as “vasi a cannello” (tube vases) as listed in a factory inventory in 1758 (A. d’Agliano, in ITALIAN PORCELAIN 2013, cat. 84, p. 181). It is interesting to note that the inside and the back of the hexagonal base show the imprint of a fabric; the raw clay was probably spread on this fabric before cutting the shape. The tube that makes up the walls of the vase, however, was cast in a mould. The decoration of these two vases with gold rims and volutes and six carefully painted bouquets on each vase, is exceptionally ornate. O.R. Bibliography: unpublished
Collection
Accession number
C.88-1952

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 createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest