Ancient vases "with twists"

3D model of two vases said "to the canals" and an ancient statue in the Hall of Mirrors.
In 1685, the production of antique vases in yellow marble was entrusted to Giovanni-Antonio Tedeschi, member of a major dynasty of stone-cutters, who had specialised in working with coloured marble. Two pairs were commissioned and these vases were the first to be made. The twists that adorn their bellies are inspired by the usual decoration found on porphyry vases but the delicacy of their sculpting reflects the fine grain of the marble.

The vases arrived at Versailles just before Christmas 1687 and were taken to the Hall of Mirrors where, placed on blocks of marble, they joined busts, vases and tables in porphyry and alabaster, the sumptuousness of their material complementing the wall decoration and furnishings. On the strength of their success, Tedeschi started to make the second pair but the vicissitudes of the renewed war in Europe in 1688 delayed their completion: in the end, the vases were only delivered in 1715, a few weeks before Louis XIV’s death.