One of a Pair of Vases (Vase des âges à têtes d'enfants)

Description Between 1778 and 1782, Sèvres manufactured for Louis XVI a series of vases with handles shaped as busts of infants, young women, and old men, hence the name "vases des âges." The Walters' examples, with the infants and a "bleu nouveau" ground color, bear classical scenes and an additional decoration of "jewels" composed of enamel drops over gold foil. The classical scenes are derived from an illustrated edition of Télémaque, a romance set in antiquity written by Fénélon in 1699. This vase shows Telemachus, the son of Ulysses, winning a chariot race. The other side of the vase has a reserve decorated with floral motifs.This vase and its pair (WAM 48.566) were designed by Jacques-François Deparis. The painting was by Antoine Caton, the gilding by Etienne-Henry Le Guay, and the jewels by Philippe Parpette. The J. Paul Getty Museum has examples of the first and second sizes. There are 23 known examples in existence.

Exhibitions

• Splendors of Versailles. Mississippi Arts Pavilion, Jackson. 1998.

Provenance Louis XVI, Chateau de Versailles, November 2, 1781, by purchase [from Sèvres factory]; Rothchild Collection [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [not verified]; Collection Park Heirlooms [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; E.M. Hodgkins, Paris, no. 70 [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; A. Seligmann, Rey and Co., New York; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1928, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Repairer's Mark] Incised on the inside of the rim: B (Bono, Étienne Henri, répareur); [Gilder's Mark] Le Guay, Étienne Henry

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1928