264 - RARE FLORAL VASE WITH SNAKE-SHAPED HANDLES, MADE OF SÈVRES PORCELAIN FROM THE SECOND EMPIRE PERIOD

RARE FLORAL VASE WITH SNAKE-SHAPED HANDLES, MADE OF SÈVRES PORCELAIN FROM THE SECOND EMPIRE PERIOD Floréal vase with serpent handles, 1st size, made of hard porcelain, with an iridescent green base and gold decoration on the pedestal featuring a frieze of acanthus leaves and stylized motifs, the elaborate handles shaped like two intertwined snakes in gilded bisque, with a wide gold border along the edges. A slight original firing flaw; one handle has been restored. Imperial Sèvres Manufactory, 1854. Red stamped mark on the neck featuring the imperial eagle surrounded by “S. 54.” H. 63 x W. 42 cm. Provenance Most likely the “Floréal vase, serpent handles, green base, gold decoration (defective)” that entered the Sèvres sales warehouse on August 31, 1854 (Sèvres Archives, Vv5, 85 v°, entry 51). The shape of this vase was designed in 1805 by Alexandre Théodore Brongniart.