Pair of Potpourri Vases (Vases pot pourri feuilles de mirte)

Branches of myrtle leaves and ornamental scrolls adorn the sides of these scent vases, which are covered with the pale turquoise ground color known as "petit verd." The presence of myrtle leaves could allude to an ingredient of the potpourri that was meant to fill the vases.

The scenes painted in the reserves are attributed to Charles-Nicolas Dodin, who might have used decoration from Chinese porcelains or enamels as his source.

These vases match a Sèvres clock in the Musée du Louvre. They are thought to have been owned by Madame 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.

Marquise de Pompadour; Etienne-Francois de Choiseul-Stainville, duc de Choiseul (1719-1785) [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, Paris, February 18, 1793, no. 338 [as recorded by Ennès 1997, pg.77]; Collection of E. Chappey, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Collection of E. Chappey Sale, Paris, May 1907, no. 1106; E. M. Hodgkins Collection, Paris, no. 2 [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.