Pair of Limoges porcelain vases

A pair of large vases of Limoges porcelain with a blue background and gold highlights with a floral pattern. The body of the vases is decorated with cartouches representing mythological scenes.
The second half of the 19th century was certainly the golden age of Limoges porcelain. The factories were in full possession of technical expertise that allowed them to establish their reputation for about fifty years. The leaders of these factories affirmed their personality and their tastes, and asked regularly for the expertise of famous artists mainly coming from the capital city. The Universal Exhibitions constituted an important asset to acquire a rapid and efficient recognition.
In decoration, historicism was de rigueur, this return to the past borrows many references to antiquity. For example, this pair of vases employs mythological themes that can be identified as the battle of the vices and virtues and Venus leaving his arms to Aeneas.
This pair of vases is signed m Frère Limoges.
This is the mark of Michelaud brothers (Louis and Joseph), manufacturers mentionned in Limoges in the old Raymond Laporte manufacture (before its takeover by Serpaut), transferred shortly after rue des Arts. They expanded by buying the factory called St. Brice in 1917 and they participated in the Exhibition of Decorative Arts in 1925.



Bibliography:Paris, 30 janvier- 28 avril 1996, Musée du Luxembourg, Chefs d'oeuvre de la porcelaine de Limoges

C. Meslin-Perrier, Limoges deux siècles de porcelaine, Paris, 2002, ed. De l'Amateur