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MANUFACTURE DE SÈVRES and Charles LABARRE (painter) - Pair of porcelain vases mounted in gilt bronze, circa 1890

This very beautiful pair of ovoid and covered vases was made of Sèvres porcelaine and mounted in gilt bronze. The two vases depicts a painted decor by Charles Labarre ( ?-1906) in the 1890's. Famous porcelain painter, active in the 1890's, Charles Labarre has in particularly worked for the Doulton Burslem and Sèvres factories. Its painted decoration are all characteristic of a traditionnal Neo-classical painting with light colors, where are represented subjects inspired by an Ancien imaginary. We find on these oval vases the colbat blue, typical of the Sèvres manufactory, in particularly on the extremities, on the flaring foot, the neck and the lid. Theses parts painted in blue are adorned with with a golden decoration of scrolls with leaves. The vases are put on a gilt bronze quadrangular foot. They are adorned in each angles with a sunflower motif that we also find on the feet. A laurel crown joins the vase and its foot. As four the lid, we find on its extremity, a frieze of palms and on the top a very remarkably chiseled gilt bronze pine cone. The belly also can turn allowing us to admire easily the two faces welcoming allegorical scenes taking place in a beautiful luxuriant forest with pastel shades contrasting with the brightness of the gilding. The first vase is adorned on one of its sides with an allegorical scene depicting the arts represented by a young woman dresses with a blue tunic and bearing a yellow veil on her head. She's closely observing two little angels dancing with each other while another is playing transvers flute on the side. On the other side, we discoter an allegorical scene depicting the arithmetic with again the presence of a young woman bearing a bleu veil and dressed with yellow and pink. She's sat among the angels, of which two are reading a reading a flat stone and another is holding in his hand a letter. Finally, the second vase also presents two allegoric scenes. We discover on one of the side angels with a young woman bearing a white tunic and a pink drapery, sat among the plants in pots, making flowers crowns or gardening. The last side lets us see the same number of characters tackle basketry, we can see a young woman with a white tunic and a pink drapery on the hand of whom a purple bird is put for which the angels are making a nest.