In more than one way, this piece bears witness to the taste of the XIXth century, to eclecticism but above all to orientalism, an important movement which appeared at the end of the XVIIIe in Europe and touches different artistic fields ranging from literature to painting to fashion.
This aesthetic is more or less freely inspired by the forms and styles of the Near and Middle East, to deliver works fantasizing about a distant and dreamed elsewhere.
The use of bronze gives the whole a rich and luminous appearance and is associated with the lively polychromy that unfolds on the piece. The oriental influence is present in the ornamental lexicon of the enamels made using the raised field technique. Indeed, we find a stylized and abundant plant decoration that unfolds over the entire body of the vase in a geometric manner, mixing floral motifs with interlacing stems arranged symmetrically.
The complexity and refinement it displays demonstrates a particular attention paid to this orientalizing stylistic grammar. This study is made possible thanks to various specialized works that flourished during the period. Among them, we find: " The Grammar of Ornament » by Owen Jones published in England in 1856 and, for France, " Polychrome Ornament » by Auguste Racinet, the first volume of which appeared in 1875.
These writings helped to lay the theoretical foundations of a style taken up by renowned artists such as the founder Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) and, before him, Alphonse Giroux (1776-1848). Both produced gilded and cloisonné bronze in the orientalist style, inspired by Persia.
Dimensions:
- height: 19.5cm
- neckline width: 13 cm
- base width: 12 cm
