Collection Online as of February 2, 2023

Vase for a Garniture Set

1736–1770

Part of a set. See all set records

Chinese hard-paste porcelain, gilt bronze, enameled metal

Overall: 34.4 x 22 x 15.2 cm (13 9/16 x 8 11/16 x 6 in.)

Gift of Horace Wood Brock 2020.421.2

Location

216B French and German

Fun Fact

A set of vases and clock, connected visually by the use of the same materials, often adorned a mantlepiece or the top of a large piece of furniture, such as a commode or console, within a room.

Description

The fascination with Chinese porcelain among aristocratic circles increased during the reign of Louis XV. In reaction to the perceived excesses of elaborate naturalistic ornament of the 1750s, mount makers increasingly turned to neoclassical designs, known as Goût Grec (Greek taste) in the 1760s and 1770s. These beautifully chased gilt-bronze mounts feature classical Greco-Roman motifs such as lion masks, acanthus and laurel leaves, and pilasters.

Provenance

2020

Horace Wood Brock, Gloucester, MA, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art

2020-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Clifford Ackley, et al. Splendor and Elegance: European Decorative Art and Drawings from the Horace Wood Brock Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2009. Reproduced: cover ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org

Exhibition history

Previously exhibited at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Frick Collection, New York.

Splendor and Elegance: European Decorative Arts and Drawings from the Horace Wood Brock Collection. Museum of Fine Arts Boston (January 22–May 17, 2009).