A pair of Louis XVI gilt-bronze mounted nacelle-shaped vases with covers, circa 1775

Marquis de Chaponnay, 22 June 1927;

Wildenstein Collection;

Christie’s London, The Wildenstein collection, 14-15 December 2005, lot 383.

These elegant navette-shaped vases perfectly illustrate the taste en vogue in Paris in the 1770s. With the advent of the ‘arabesque’ taste so dear to Marie-Antoinette, artists reinterpreted the forms of Antiquity, embellishing them with finely chiseled gilt-bronze mounts. These mounted objects, synonymous with luxury, were part of the greatest collections of the time; our pair of vases belonged to the prestigious Wildenstein collection. 

This pair of white marble navette vases, finely carved with acanthus leaves on the lid and gadrooned body, has a fine gilt- bronze mounting typical of the 1775s. The wide chased bronze border with a milles-raies panelled frieze with alternating motifs in relief is similar to a bronze frieze found on a pair of Egyptian red porphyry vases also from the former Wildenstein Collection and then Ojjeh Collection, sold by Sotheby's in Monaco on 25-26 June 1979, lot 1.

This form is directly inspired by Roman models from the mid-17th century, transcribed by Abbé Benedetti (1610-1690 - Desseins de sept vazes de différents formes de l’abbé Benedetti, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cabinet des estampes). Benedetti was a civil servant in Rome, first with Cardinal Mazarin and then with Louis XIV, to whom he sent drawings for possible purchases of furniture, fabrics and antique statues.

Marble and stone vases were very fashionable in the 18th century – they were a staple of any important collection. Among the collectors of stone vases around 1770, two of the most famous were Pierre-Louis Randon de Boisset (1708-1776) and the Duc d'Aumont (1709-1782). The catalogue of the sale that followed the Duke's death states this fact clearly in its introduction, writing that "Il est peu d'ornement plus imposant, plus intéressant dans l'arrangement d'un cabinet, que celui qu'on peut y introduire par la distribution bien entendue de vases en marbre et de colonnes de belles proportions".

A similar pair of navette vases from the Champalimaud Collection was sold recently, Sotheby's, Paris, De Lisbonne à Paris : deux intérieurs parisiens, 18 November 2021, lot 37 (113,400 EUR).