Late 20th Century French Sevres Cobalt Porcelain Table Lamp Vase With Bronze Mounts - a Pair

Details

Description

These are French porcelain vases in the Sèvres/“Old Paris” style, cobalt-blue (bleu de roi) ground with hand-painted floral reserves and … Read more These are French porcelain vases in the Sèvres/“Old Paris” style, cobalt-blue (bleu de roi) ground with hand-painted floral reserves and gilt bronze (ormolu) mounts, later converted to table lamps from the mid twentieth century. Sold only as a pair. Acquired by my grandmother while living in Paris in the 1950s or early 1960s.

Porcelain Body Characteristics:

- The deep cobalt blue ground and floral cartouches framed by raised gilt scrollwork are directly inspired by Sèvres porcelain of the 18th century.

- The hand-painted floral sprays are characteristic of Dresden or Limoges ateliers working in the Sèvres style for export markets around 1880–1920.

- The visible crackle-style gilding (fine gold veining) is purely decorative, not damage — it’s a design motif used to give richness and texture

There are reddish-orange characters on the underside of each lamp; they appear to be assembly or workshop marks, likely made in grease pencil or crayon by a finisher or electrician. From what I can see, the mark resembles “P – 2” or “P – B”, possibly accompanied by a faint “D” or cursive flourish.

These marks appear consistent with the sort of markings often found on French and German gilt-bronze–mounted porcelain lamps from about 1890–1910, which were later converted to electric use in the U.S. (especially in the 1920s–1940s). Because the mark is on a metal mounting plate rather than the porcelain body, it’s not diagnostic of the porcelain maker—just an internal workshop reference. See less