A fine pair of French Louis XVI style gilt-bronze mounted Sèvres lilac-grey porcelain vases "Tabouret" and liners, the Sèvres porcelain dated 1860, the mounts possibly by Christofle or Beauferey. photo Sotheby's

each vase with the printed S60 within a lozenge in blue. Snake-cast handles lacking. 53.3 cm; 30.5 cm - Est. 50,000—70,000 USD - Sold 92,500 USD

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: The Art Journal Catalogue of the Paris Universal exhibition of 1867, London, P. 53 for an engraving of a 19th century example exhibited by the Sèvres manufacture showing right

Porcelaine et Terres de Sèvres, Compiègne, Musée National du Château, éd. Musée Nationaux, Paris, 1993, p. 285 for an illustration and discussion on the 1866's vases at Compiègne

H. Ottomeyer and P. Proschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Vol I, Munich, 1986, p. 237, p. 425 for a 19th century example circa 1864

Pierre Kjellberg, Objets Montés, du Moyen Âge à nos jours, éd. de L'amateur, Paris, 2000, p. 106 for the 18th century model

D. Alcouffe, A. Dion-Tenenbaum, G. Mabille, Gilt-bronze in the Louvre, Faton, Dijon, 2004, p. 245 for the 18th century model

NOTE: The present exceptional pair of vases is a stunning 19^th century copy of the original pair of vases, now in the permanent collection of the Louvre. The originals are made of 18^th century Chinese porcelain vases mounted with French ormolu mounts, which were commissioned by Louis Marie Augustin d'Aumont de Rochebaron (1709-1782), commonly know as the Duke D' Aumont, from Gouthière in 1781. Having been unfinished at the time of the Duke's death, they were offered in the sale of his collection on December 12, 1782 and were listed as 'Deux vases [en ancien celadon], en forme de baril, à têtes de chimère....' They were purchased by Julliot for Louis XVI at a cost of 7,501 livres entering the Louvre and listed in the inventories of 1793. They were later listed as being in the galerie de Diane at the Tuileries Palace in 1833. By 1870, they were listed in the Mobilier National, inventory number OA 5514-5514 Bis, and were transferred back to the Louvre.

Sèvres began to manufacture copies of the vases in 1860, the porcelain differing from the original Chinese porcelain in the modeling of the lions mask. The lion's mask of the 19^th century Sèvres version is a Western lion's mask opposed to the Chinese lion's mask found on the 18^th century vases. In 1866 Napoleon III ordered three pairs from Sèvres, the first two pairs in blue glaze were sent to the Elysée Palace and the third pair in bleu jaspé glaze was sent to the Compiègne Palace. Another pair was ordered for the Grand Trianon during the 19^th century.

It appears that whilst Sèvres produced the porcelain bodies, it was marchand-bronziers who retailed the mounted vases. In the case of those vases ordered by Napoleon III, the suppliers listed were Christofle and Beauferey. The Compiègne Palace records indicate that each vase cost 4100 Francs. For example, the records include a bill from Christofle of 56 rue de bondit for 'dorure de 54 pièces pour vases Louis XVI , 16 petites rosaces chargées de 86 g. d'or...6 anses bronze pour vases Louis XVI chargé de 21 g. d'or' dated February 6, 1866. Beauferey sent a bill for '54 pièces composant la monture de vases Louis XVI chargés de 120 g. d'or à 6 F. 720 F.' on March 24 of the same year.

The present vases are rare as they are glazed with the process known as Pâte Changeante or Pâte Caméléon, a technique most probably developed by Alphonse Salvétat and first shown at the 1862 Universal Exhibition in London. The glaze reacts to light by changing color from grayish green in daylight to a lilac/pink in artificial light. The vases are dated 1860, which suggests that they were part of the first vases of this type that Sèvres produced. Their early manufacture, their unusual glaze and the fact that they were produce six years before Napoleon III ordered his three pairs all add to the rarity and unique quality of the present pair of vases.

Sotheby's. 19th Century Furniture, Sculpture, Ceramics, Silver and Works of Art. 21 Oct 09. New York www.sothebys.com