A PAIR OF NORTH EUROPEAN ORMOLU-MOUNTED GRAY GRANITE TWO-HANDLED VASES

Snake handles derive from antique decorative vocabulary and can be found on antique Roman marble vases, such as a vase dated second half 2nd century A.D., now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (acc. num. 2007.31a, b). The revival for such snake handles occurred in Europe in the seventeenth century under the influence of Stefano della Bella (1610-64) who designed vases with snake handles in his Raccolta di Vasi Diversi, published circa 1646. Those depicted in the engravings had carved handles that were part of the vase body. Such snake handles appear as bronze mounts in France during the early neoclassical period of the 1760s. One of the first known examples is a porphyry vase with mounts cast and chased by the goldsmith Robert-Joseph Auguste (1723-1805), probably formerly in the collection of Blondel de Gagny, now in the Wallace Collection (F355). The snake motif proved to be very popular and its use continued well into the nineteenth century, often on Louis XVI revival works, such as the present lot.