18th Century Italian Blue White Faience Albarelli Apothecary Jar Pair

An exceptional matching pair of exhibition quality bisque porcelain vasi-form urn garnitures, very fine Parisian work, elegant Louis XVI style, finished with luxurious Neoclassical taste, the magnificent, richly decorated ovoid form antique urns / vases adorned in sumptuous finely gilded, chiseled and chased ormolu mounts. Made in France in the late 19th century, having shaped rope twist handles rising above classical female mask mounts decorating the sides, bands of decadent gold-tone gilded bronze floral garland and ribbon draped laurel swags flanked by exuberant scallop-shell running ornamentation, complementing the matte cream white color of the bisque porcelain. The waisted neck and slightly flared rim with simple decoration, the waisted pedestal base ornamented with stylized acanthus leaves in gilt bronze, leading to a cavetto square white marble socle encircled with stepped scrolling foliate festoon ornamental gilt...

A scarce pair of fine quality antique Bohemian parcel gilt enameled light cobalt blue glass decanter bottles, exquisitely decorated for the ...

A very good pair of antique 17th century Spanish blue & white pottery albarelli or apothecary jars, circa 1680. From the 15th century onward cylindrical drug jars like this were used...

During the 17th through 19th centuries, highly skilled artisans in Savona, Italy, produced beautiful tin-glazed earthenware known as maiolica (majolica). These blue and white lidded vases with serpentine handles, from circa 1800, are such an example. Early Savona offerings were painted cobalt blue on a white background, as seen on these vases. Because the scenes depicted on the main bodies are distinct, they are considered a near pair, although their dimensions do not vary. Both illustrations contain country houses surrounded by tall trees and fronted by vegetation emerging from rocky terrain. In each scene, people can be seen in front of the houses, with one having two citizens and the other having four. One of the renderings is bordered by roundels at the top and by a leafy vine at the bottom; the other vase does not have any surrounding motifs. The sides opposite the pastoral images are distinct as well: the one with the borders has curled vines surrounding the Savona Lighthouse (a production mark of studios from this region), while the other vase has the lighthouse above a pair of small foliate margents. Both vases have domed, removable lids with a conical finial emerging from a painted sunburst. Curled leaves have been painted along the circumference above a solid blue ring. The two curvaceous handles are each comprised of a pair of snakes bound with a ribbon. Our blue and white lidded Savona vases...