Flower Vase

The cuvette-type vases would have been used to display either natural cut flowers, or lavish porcelain flowers which were also made at Sèvres. This particular model was previously known as a 'cuvette Verdun', but has been identified in 2014 as the previously unknown 'cuvette Roussel'. The oval-shaped vase with acanthus-scroll handles is decorated with a turquoise-blue 'bleu céleste' ground, which was introduced in 1753 for Louis XV’s first major dinner service from the manufactory and was also the most costly colour to be produced in the eighteenth century. The painted decoration includes flowers and fruit on the back, sprays of flowers on the handles, and a pair of cherubs on clouds on the front. One cherub is depicted holding a pen before an open manuscript, a lyre and a dagger lying next to him, while his companion offers the poet a laurel crown. The scene is derived from François Boucher’s painting 'La Poésie'. Drawings by of engravings after Boucher were important references for Sèvres painters.