PAIR OF EGYPTIAN PORPHYRY MEDICIS VASES

An exceptional pair of Medici vases in Egyptian porphyry. The base in gilded bronze is decorated with pearls, rais-de-cœur and rosettes.
Signature on the frame: “Escalier de Cristal Paris”.
French work in the Louis XVI style from the second half of the 19th century, circa 1860.
The original model was made by Pierre Gouthière after a design by François-Joseph Bélanger.

The vases are directly inspired by the one in the Duc d’Aumont’s collection, which Louis XVI acquired through the merchant Julliot. Now in the Musée du Louvre, Inv. MR 2825-2826.
The catalogue of the Duc d’Aumont sale states that the pair of vases was made in Rome and is identical to a pair in the Randon de Boisset sale in 1777.
This model was very successful in the last quarter of the 18th century, as many examples were designed and adapted with a similar mounting, with 12 or 15 pearls per side. The mounts on our vases have 13 pearls on each side.