A PAIR OF REGENCE ORMOLU-MOUNTED CHINESE FAMILLE VERTE PORCELAIN VASES AND COVERS

Enameled in green, coral, red, yellow and aubergine, depicting motifs from 'one hundred antiques' and flowering branches within panels framed by flower-filled trellis bands, and to the lid the 'four accomplishments', comprising a qin, a chessboard, a book and scroll painting, these lidded vases are spectacular examples of Kangxi porcelain and the superbly-modelled ormolu mounts are proof of the fact that they were already highly valued in the early 18th century.

The distinctive pierced and scrolled vertical strapwork bands linking the gadrooned foot and the stepped rim mount are intricately modelled with a female mask surmounted by a shell, from which a drop handle is suspended. A virtually identical mount can be found on a pair of closely-related lidded vases at the Getty Museum, Malibu [see illustration], and another pair bearing this distinctive mount is in the Residenzmuseum, Munich [see illustration].