Londonderry Vase

This vase epitomizes the great achievements of the royal porcelain factory at Sévres during the Napoleonic period. Sévres was a chief beneficiary of Napoleon’s policy of resuscitating factories after the trauma of the French Revolution: demonstrating the supremacy of French craftsmanship, the emperor used sumptuous porcelain in his palaces as well as for state gifts. With its commanding contours, monumental size, rigorous symmetry, and unabashed splendor, this vase is a superb example of the Empire style, inspired by Greco-Roman art. It is a triumph of the collaborative practice of the Sévres porcelain factory; documents reveal the precise roles played by each artist in its creation. Napoleon’s chief architect, Charles Percier, who helped establish the Empire style, created the Etruscan scroll-handled design featured on the vase. Commissioned by Napoleon around 1805, the vase ironically cemented a relationship that sealed the French emperor’s defeat. Held by the factory until 1814, after Napoleon’s exile, it was used as a diplomatic gift from his successor, King Louis XVIII, to Viscount Castlereagh, the English secretary for foreign affairs.