Monumental Napoléon III Porcelain Urns — Cobalt Blue & Gilt Bronze with Hand-Painted Cartouches, Matching Pair

A pair of monumental porcelain urns of the highest Napoléon III decorative tradition, each commanding in scale and immaculate in execution. The ground is a deep, saturated cobalt blue of extraordinary depth — a colour that has absorbed light for over a century and returned it as pure luminosity. Against this ground, lavish gilded arabesques, acanthus scrolls, and foliate trails cover every surface not given over to the central painted cartouche, rendered with the precision of a goldsmith and the confidence of a master decorator.

Each urn presents two distinct hand-painted scenes, one to each principal face. The first cartouche depicts a Rococo pastoral idyll — two figures reclining beneath a tree in a dappled woodland, their dress and posture drawn directly from the tradition of Watteau and Boucher. The reverse presents a luminous architectural landscape: a stone bridge arching over still water, warm golden light flooding the scene with the stillness of late afternoon. The gilt loop handles and cast octagonal bronze plinth complete the composition with the weight and formality that a piece of this ambition demands.

At over a metre in height, these urns operate at the scale of architecture. They are suited to a double-height entrance hall, a grand salon flanking a fireplace, or a gallery setting where objects are given the space their presence commands. Rare, monumental, and complete as a pair.

Dimensions: Width: 50 cm Height: 123 cm
Each piece is unique and handmade to order.
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