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pot a l'eau tourne
View: Side A
Covered Water Jug
pot a l'eau tourne
Made at: Vincennes Manufactory (France)
French
1753
Medium/Technique
Soft-paste porcelain decorated in polychrome enamels and gold; gold mounts
Dimensions
Overall (without mount): 19.4 x 14.5 x 11.9 cm (7 5/8 x 5 11/16 x 4 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Forsyth Wickes—The Forsyth Wickes Collection
Accession Number65.1816
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
DescriptionThe pear-shaped jug has a domed cover with a hinged gold mount and shell-form thumbpiece. Both are painted with reserves of flowers and fruit within tooled gilt borders on a turquoise (bleu celeste) ground. The gilt border that enframes the reserve on the cover is composed of fronds punctuated by clusters of flowers. The gilt borders of the reserves on the jug include trelliswork and elaborate floral sprays. The exterior of the spout is elaborately gilded with floral and abstract motifs on a dotted ground. The ear-shaped handle is decorated with gilt lines and near the mount a molded leaf motif is picked out in gold with gilt scrollwork below.
InscriptionsInterlaced Ls enclosing date letter A, painter's mark 4, both in blue enamel; incised 4; gold mount marked with a shell (Paris discharge mark for gold and small work, 1756-62) and an unidentified mark (a crown?).
ProvenanceMrs. Leopold Rothschild (b. 1862 - d. 1937), London; by descent to her son, Anthony de Rothschild (b. 1887 - d. 1961), London [see note 1]. Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York; sold by Rosenberg and Stiebel to James W. Barney (d. by 1948), New York; May 8, 1948, Barney estate sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, lot 78, to Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York, for Forsyth Wickes (b. 1876 - d. 1964), New York and Newport, RI; 1965, bequest of Forsyth Wickes to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 24, 1965)
NOTES:
[1] Provenance until 1948 is taken from "Notable French Furniture and Objets d'Art," Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, May 8, 1948, p. 34, lot 78.
NOTES:
[1] Provenance until 1948 is taken from "Notable French Furniture and Objets d'Art," Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, May 8, 1948, p. 34, lot 78.