One of a Pair of Potpourri Vases (Vase ovale Mercure)

Description Unglazed medallions of the Roman god of commerce, Mercury, give these vases their name. On the reverse are medallions based on an ancient carved gem depicting Julia, daughter of Emperor Titus. A similar pair of vases, dated 1767, in the Royal Collection of England, bear images of Louis XV and the Empress Marie-Thérèse.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
9/30/1975	Treatment	cleaned

Exhibitions

• Special Exhibition of the Works of Art of the Mediaeval, Renaissance, and More Recent Periods. South Kensington Museum, London. 1862.
• Special exhibition of Sèvres Porcelain. Galleries of E. M. Hodgkins, Paris. 1909.

Provenance Owned by Sir Peter Burrell [1754-1820] first Baron Gwydir; inherited by Lady Willoughby d'Eresby (his widow), 1820; Lord Gwydir Sale, Christie's, London, 20-21 May, 1829. E. M. Hodgkins Collection, no. 52 [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 If any, they are concealed by the base.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1928