Vase [1 of 2]

The vase hollandois nouveau ovale was first introduced at Sèvres in 1758 and remained in production until the 1780s. It is a variation of a shape introduced at Vincennes in 1754 known as a vase hollandois, which had a flat base with straight-sided angled walls at the upper section. The newer form had a lower section raised slightly on four feet and an upper section with walls that flared outward at the top-the whole being less heavy and more elegant than the earlier form. The name probably refers to the Dutch passion for flowering bulbs. The vase was made in two sections, the upper part intended to hold plants or bulbs in earth; the lower section for holding water, which could be added through the openings in the shoulder and would then be absorbed into the soil in the upper section through small holes in the base of that section (see Technical Notes). Although the factory's stock list for 1759 lists molds for the vase hollandois nouveau in both round and oval versions, most of the surviving examples are oval, and they were usually sold in pairs (see also cat. 79), though garnitures of three vases are known (see cat. 80).
These two vases are among the earliest known examples of this shape in the fourth of five sizes.9 They are decorated with an underglaze blue overlaid with a gilded caillouté pattern and an overglaze green edged with gilding to form cartouches on the four sides of each part. The cartouches at the long sides of each upper and lower section frame white reserves painted with polychrome floral sprays. The cartouches at each of the narrow sides are decorated with the blue ground and gilded caillouté pattern. The palette for the flowers is pale and the rendering is somewhat slight, with some of the leaves remaining unfinished. These floral reserves do not make a strong contrast with the rest of the vase that is so heavily decorated in comparison with the painting. None of the gilding is tooled and the caillouté pattern is unusual in that there are clusters of gilt dots in the center of each oval.