Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Pair of Vases (Vases à tête d'éléphant)
(18th and 19th Centuries )
The elephant vases, made in three sizes between 1756 and 1762, are among the rarest and most bizarre forms produced at Sèvres. These examples are distinguished by the pseudo-Asian, or chinoiserie, scenes painted by Charles-Nicolas Dodin. One represents the sense of smell and is derived from an engraving executed by Gabriel Huquier after François Boucher. The other represents the sense of hearing.
This pair of vases is thought to have been owned by Mme. de Pompadour.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Collection of Alfred de Rothschild; Collection Almina, Countess of Carnarvon, London; Collection of Arnold Seligmann, London; Henry Walters, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Mrs. Henry Walters, New York, 1931, by inheritance; Mrs. Henry Walters Collection Sale, New York, April 26, 1941, no. 650; Walters Art Museum, 1941, by purchase.
Geographies
France, Sèvres (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, 1941
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
VO.34 (48.1796, 48.1797)