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Cover for a Potpourri Vase

1860–1880
blanc-de-chine porcelain; gilt bronze mount
Overall: 7.1 x 11.2 cm (2 13/16 x 4 7/16 in.)
Weight: .24 kg
Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.200.1.b
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

Potpourri vases always have holes in the top to let the scent of dried spices and flowers contained within freshen the air around them.

Description

This cover is part of a pair of covered vases that were created to contain potpourri, a mixture of flowers, herbs, and spices emitting ambient fragrance. This specific function offered a particularly fertile ground for the development of French porcelain from the mid-1700s, as manufactories experimented with forms, surface ornamentations, and placement of perforations. Produced by the firm of Edmé Samson in the 1800s, the vases pay homage to this history. While using updated technique and material, as well as more exuberant decorations, these vases draw upon designs by earlier innovators such as the Saint-Cloud manufactory.
Cover for a Potpourri Vase

Cover for a Potpourri Vase

1860–1880

France

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