Antique Turn of the Century Blue Sevres Vase Table Lamps - Pair

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This impressive pair of French Sèvres-style porcelain vases, dating to the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and subsequently … Read more This impressive pair of French Sèvres-style porcelain vases, dating to the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and subsequently mounted as table lamps, embodies the opulence of the French Belle Époque. Each vase combines a brilliant cobalt-blue ground, extensive gilded decoration, hand-painted romantic figural scenes, and elaborate gilt-bronze mounts, producing a wonderfully theatrical pair of decorative objects.

The porcelain bodies take an elegant elongated baluster form, rising from narrow socles above elaborate gilt-bronze bases. Against the rich cobalt ground are large oval reserves containing delicately painted romantic pastoral scenes in the eighteenth-century taste. Elegantly dressed figures appear within idealized landscapes, recalling the fêtes galantes and courtly subjects that remained enormously fashionable in French decorative arts. The painted reserves are surrounded by elaborate gilded cartouches of scrolling foliage, flowers, and arabesques.

The shoulders are fitted with magnificent gilt-bronze scrolling handles, their sinuous forms incorporating acanthus and foliate ornament. Additional gilt-bronze mounts encircle the necks and bases, providing a rich architectural framework for the porcelain. The combination of blue, gold, and delicately painted polychrome decoration is quintessentially associated with the Sèvres Revival taste of the late nineteenth century; comparable period pieces frequently employ cobalt grounds, gilding, romantic painted panels, and gilt-metal mounts.

The vases have been adapted as lamps, each now supporting a tall brass standard with multiple electrical sockets and an upward-facing white glass diffuser shade. Pull chains provide individual control of the lower sockets. The lamp fittings add considerable height while allowing the original porcelain vessels to remain the decorative focal points.

The name Sèvres refers to the celebrated French porcelain manufactory rather than to an individual artist. Established initially at Vincennes in 1740, the manufactory moved to Sèvres in 1756. Louis XV became its sole owner in 1759, and it developed into the preeminent European porcelain manufactory of the later eighteenth century, producing luxury wares for the royal court and aristocratic clientele.

Sèvres remained enormously influential throughout the nineteenth century, continually experimenting with new forms, colors, techniques, and historical styles. Its prestige encouraged numerous French and European porcelain decorators to produce luxurious works “in the Sèvres style,” particularly during the later nineteenth century. Unless factory marks can be examined and authenticated, these lamps are therefore most responsibly catalogued as Sèvres-style, rather than definitively as products of the Sèvres manufactory itself.

Dating approximately 1890–1910, this handsome pair captures the grandeur of the Belle Époque and the enduring fascination with eighteenth-century French courtly decoration. Their combination of deep cobalt porcelain, hand-painted romantic scenes, lavish gilding, sculptural gilt-bronze mounts, and substantial scale gives them tremendous decorative presence.

As antique vases later converted for electrical use, the wiring and fittings should not be assumed to meet current electrical standards and should be inspected, and rewired where necessary, by a qualified electrician before regular use.


Dimensions: 33.5 inches high x 10.5 inches wide x 8 inches deep See less