France, Louis XVI period

Green Greek porphyry «serpentine», antic Egyptian gradiorite,
green Egyptian granite «della sedia di San Lorenzo», green Egyptian granite «plasmato»;
Mat gilt bronze


H. 36 cm – W. 21 cm
(14 1/8 in – 8 1/4 in)

Our pair of vases is composed of four varieties of hard stones:

The upper part of a cassolette shape is made in green porphyry from Greece known as Serpentine. Its curved base rests on a column in ancient Egyptian gradiorite supported on both sides by a goat muzzle in gilded and chiseled bronze whose horns forming an elegant loop end on the cylinder and thus seems to support the cassolette . Between the horns, vine leaves and grapes reinforce the naturalism of the representation. The quality of the chasing particularly highlights the fur of the animal and thus gives goat's mittens a high quality of expression. On each side, garlands of flowers connect these heads. This column comes to rest on a round base molded in green granite known as sedia di San Lorenzo. The set rests on a square base in Egyptian green Plasmato granite. A beaded garland circles its base with an acanthus leaf at each corner.