A PAIR OF LOUIS XV ORMOLU, BRONZE AND FRENCH PORCELAIN FLOWERHEAD CENTREPIECES FOR SEVRES VASES HOLLANDOIS

The association of porcelain and ormolu belongs to the oeuvre of the marchands-merciers. Lazare Duvaux is celebrated for his objets d'art including porcelain but Jacques-François Machart seems to have been more specifically specialised in pieces with porcelain flowerheads. His client/gele included the Duchesse d'Orléans, Madame Geoffrin, the Marquise de Villeroy amd the Prince de Turenne.
In the recently published Inventaire of his premises in 1753 figure several types of porcelain flowerheads and among the most expensive items 'un surtout de table sur un plateau de glace garni de colonnes de Saxe, d'un pot de fleurs garnis en bronze doré et fleurs de porcelaine, 800 livres' (A. Pradère, "L'inventaire d'un grand marchand mercier des années 1750 Jacques-François Machart", Objets d'Art, Mélanges en l'honneur de Daniel Alcouffe, Dijon, 2004, p. 232).