Large Samson Porcelain and Ormolu Covered Urn in the Meissen Style, Late 19th C

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An exceptionally detailed Samson porcelain and gilt bronze covered urn or potpourri vase , Paris, late 19th century, executed in … Read more An exceptionally detailed Samson porcelain and gilt bronze covered urn or potpourri vase , Paris, late 19th century, executed in the Meissen manner. The baluster-form vessel is richly enameled with pastoral tavern and dancing scenes inspired by the 17th-century Flemish painter David Teniers the Younger, each vignette capturing rustic revelry with finely observed costume, gesture, and expression. These figural scenes are framed by scattered floral sprays and bouquets rendered in polychrome enamels on a subtly basket-molded porcelain ground, emblematic of Meissen’s Rococo repertoire as reinterpreted by Samson & Cie for the Belle Époque revival market.

The domed lid continues the rustic imagery with scenes of villagers in dance before a cottage and is surmounted by an acorn or pinecone finial of finely chased gilt bronze. The ormolu mounts are particularly accomplished: a reticulated frieze of oval piercings encircles the shoulder, while the handles terminate in expressive grotesque masks suspending naturalistic tassels. The base is enriched with a laurel-wreath border and raised on a square plinth with canted corners, also in bright mercury-gilded bronze.

Samson’s workshop, established by Edmé Samson in Paris around 1845, was celebrated for its scholarly reproductions of 18th-century porcelain masterpieces by Meissen, Sèvres, and other royal manufactories. This urn exemplifies the firm’s commitment to historical accuracy in both form and finish, with meticulous enameling, hand-gilded ornament, and precision bronze mounting typical of their finest commissions. The underside bears the blue crossed swords mark, imitative of Meissen’s factory cipher, a customary identifier of Samson’s homages to the German manufactory.

Such ormolu-mounted Samson pieces were favored among 19th-century collectors for their luxurious evocation of ancien régime grandeur and often graced interiors styled in the Louis XV and Louis XVI taste.

Measurements: 14.75 in h x 12.75 in w x 10 in d. See less