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Lot Essay
The monumental scale of this magnificent pair of Swedish Blyberg porphyry vases suggests they were a Royal commission. Various related porphyry items were intended as gifts by the francophile King of Sweden, Maréchal Bernadotte, who reigned as Karl XIV Johann from 1818-‘44, and whose family owned the Alvdalen porphyry mines. The King presented numerous porphyry objets to Napoléon's Maréchaux and other dignitaries, which explains why various superb porphyry examples can be found in France today, some with superb gilt-bronze mounts by Paris bronziers. The rich ormolu mounts on the present vases was most likely conceived in Paris after designs by the Swedish architect Carl Fredrik Sundvall; the design corresponds to a model on a Swedish illustrated commercial catalogue from 1830.
First quarried by the Ancient Romans in the eastern Egyptian desert, porphyry – a rich, purple-coloured stone with white glints – was used to create luxurious objects and works of art of varied form and size including vases, busts, and vessels. On account of their rarity and, especially their royal colour, these quickly became associated with the aristocracy and, later, the Emperors of Rome. The Egyptian mines were closed in the 5th century, but interest in porphyry endured through the centuries with the Popes of the Middle Ages, the Medici family of Renaissance Florence, Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin of 17th century Paris and Emperor Napoleon among others, hastening to acquire objects made of this stone as a testament to their tremendous power, connection to the Antique and considerable sophistication (Sundblom, Tunander, Uggla, op. cit., p. 125). In the 1730s, deposits of porphyry were discovered in the Dalarna region of central Sweden, which were quickly exploited on account of an enduring fascination for the renowned material. The primary quarries were those in Älfdalen, and the stone mined there was known for its purple-brown hues with white highlights, and its richly sheened surface, once polished, qualities which can be observed in the present pair of vases. The first object created from the Swedish quarries was an urn presented to King Gustave III (1746-1792). Over the successive decades, the objects created in porphyry in Sweden grew in number and scale.
These remarkable vases, inspired by the classical Medici vase, are amongst the largest vases known made in Swedish porphyry, and probably the most impressive to ever appear on the market. With their rich gilt bronze mounts and imposing scale, they might have been a royal commission with a view to gift them to a diplomatic counterpart.
In the early 19th century, King Charles XIV Jean of Sweden (1763-1844) acquired a stonecutting workshop, which he transformed into a national manufactory, capable of producing large-scale objects destined to adorn the royal residences and to serve as diplomatic gifts from the Court. Porphyry became, in turn, the national stone of Sweden and objects created with it represented an apex of the Scandinavian kingdom’s production in the decorative arts (Sundblom, Tunander, Uggla, op. cit., p. 126). Porphyry objects produced by the Swedish workshops were characterised – like those created with re-worked Ancient Roman stone – by a distinct antique influence and elegant curved silhouettes. Often, these objects were enriched with fine ormolu mounts, further highlighting their importance. Perhaps the most significant object created is a monumental urn weighing nine tons and with a diameter of nearly three meters installed in 1825 at Rosendal, Charles XIV Jean’s palace in Djurgården in Stockholm.
The present and highly impressive pair of vases appear to be quarried from the Valley of Älvdalen, where in 1788 production was established (Elfdahls Porfyrwerk). The workshop quickly forged strong links to the royal family through its trade with Gustav IIII. In 1818 Karl XIV Johan, the newly appointed king of Sweden and Norway purchased the Porphyry Works of Älvdalen and commissioned major works of porphyry to both adorn the royal palaces and to act as diplomatic gifts to visiting dignitaries and monarchs. Major bequeathments from Älvdalen include a large scale blyberg porphyry campana vases offered to the Duke of Wellington in 1816 (Apsley House, London); a monumental porphyry urn gifted to the Russian Czar and two further pairs of vases presented to King Louis Phillipe and King George IV respectively.
Further efforts to elevate these incredible stone works came with the addition of ornate bronze mounts. These were often carried out not in the kingdom of Sweden and Norway, but rather in the French workshops of Paris, where a longstanding tradition of excellence had promoted an international demand. Given the exceptional scale of the present vases and the quality of the mounts it is unlikely that a Swedish craftsman would have been able to carry out such delicate work and rather it was a Parisian bronzier who completed the decoration. Furthermore, the 1830 catalogue, in which a design for the present vases is illustrated, is notably in French. This further implies the French provenance of the bronze work, but equally alludes to the international demand for Swedish porphyry, the French capital acting as a major centre of trade from which these porphyry objects were transported either with or without the additional mounts. A pair of closely related large vases in faience de Sarreguemine simulating porphyry and with almost identical mounts to the handles with satyr masks, to the acanthus leaf waisting and the gadrooning to the collar of the socle was sold; The Exceptional Sale, Christie's Paris, 23 November 2021, lot 219.
Given the impressive nature of the present pair, it is highly likely that the commission was made by a significant, perhaps even royal, figure. The delicate mounts, beautifully chased and burnished, combined with the scale of the monumental porphyry vases exemplify the opulent aesthetic that was being produced collaboratively in Sweden and France – a true tour de force of materiality and heritage skills. For a comparable porphyry work of a smaller scale see Christie’s, Exceptional Sale, 4 July 2013, lot 43 (£103,875).
First quarried by the Ancient Romans in the eastern Egyptian desert, porphyry – a rich, purple-coloured stone with white glints – was used to create luxurious objects and works of art of varied form and size including vases, busts, and vessels. On account of their rarity and, especially their royal colour, these quickly became associated with the aristocracy and, later, the Emperors of Rome. The Egyptian mines were closed in the 5th century, but interest in porphyry endured through the centuries with the Popes of the Middle Ages, the Medici family of Renaissance Florence, Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin of 17th century Paris and Emperor Napoleon among others, hastening to acquire objects made of this stone as a testament to their tremendous power, connection to the Antique and considerable sophistication (Sundblom, Tunander, Uggla, op. cit., p. 125). In the 1730s, deposits of porphyry were discovered in the Dalarna region of central Sweden, which were quickly exploited on account of an enduring fascination for the renowned material. The primary quarries were those in Älfdalen, and the stone mined there was known for its purple-brown hues with white highlights, and its richly sheened surface, once polished, qualities which can be observed in the present pair of vases. The first object created from the Swedish quarries was an urn presented to King Gustave III (1746-1792). Over the successive decades, the objects created in porphyry in Sweden grew in number and scale.
These remarkable vases, inspired by the classical Medici vase, are amongst the largest vases known made in Swedish porphyry, and probably the most impressive to ever appear on the market. With their rich gilt bronze mounts and imposing scale, they might have been a royal commission with a view to gift them to a diplomatic counterpart.
In the early 19th century, King Charles XIV Jean of Sweden (1763-1844) acquired a stonecutting workshop, which he transformed into a national manufactory, capable of producing large-scale objects destined to adorn the royal residences and to serve as diplomatic gifts from the Court. Porphyry became, in turn, the national stone of Sweden and objects created with it represented an apex of the Scandinavian kingdom’s production in the decorative arts (Sundblom, Tunander, Uggla, op. cit., p. 126). Porphyry objects produced by the Swedish workshops were characterised – like those created with re-worked Ancient Roman stone – by a distinct antique influence and elegant curved silhouettes. Often, these objects were enriched with fine ormolu mounts, further highlighting their importance. Perhaps the most significant object created is a monumental urn weighing nine tons and with a diameter of nearly three meters installed in 1825 at Rosendal, Charles XIV Jean’s palace in Djurgården in Stockholm.
The present and highly impressive pair of vases appear to be quarried from the Valley of Älvdalen, where in 1788 production was established (Elfdahls Porfyrwerk). The workshop quickly forged strong links to the royal family through its trade with Gustav IIII. In 1818 Karl XIV Johan, the newly appointed king of Sweden and Norway purchased the Porphyry Works of Älvdalen and commissioned major works of porphyry to both adorn the royal palaces and to act as diplomatic gifts to visiting dignitaries and monarchs. Major bequeathments from Älvdalen include a large scale blyberg porphyry campana vases offered to the Duke of Wellington in 1816 (Apsley House, London); a monumental porphyry urn gifted to the Russian Czar and two further pairs of vases presented to King Louis Phillipe and King George IV respectively.
Further efforts to elevate these incredible stone works came with the addition of ornate bronze mounts. These were often carried out not in the kingdom of Sweden and Norway, but rather in the French workshops of Paris, where a longstanding tradition of excellence had promoted an international demand. Given the exceptional scale of the present vases and the quality of the mounts it is unlikely that a Swedish craftsman would have been able to carry out such delicate work and rather it was a Parisian bronzier who completed the decoration. Furthermore, the 1830 catalogue, in which a design for the present vases is illustrated, is notably in French. This further implies the French provenance of the bronze work, but equally alludes to the international demand for Swedish porphyry, the French capital acting as a major centre of trade from which these porphyry objects were transported either with or without the additional mounts. A pair of closely related large vases in faience de Sarreguemine simulating porphyry and with almost identical mounts to the handles with satyr masks, to the acanthus leaf waisting and the gadrooning to the collar of the socle was sold; The Exceptional Sale, Christie's Paris, 23 November 2021, lot 219.
Given the impressive nature of the present pair, it is highly likely that the commission was made by a significant, perhaps even royal, figure. The delicate mounts, beautifully chased and burnished, combined with the scale of the monumental porphyry vases exemplify the opulent aesthetic that was being produced collaboratively in Sweden and France – a true tour de force of materiality and heritage skills. For a comparable porphyry work of a smaller scale see Christie’s, Exceptional Sale, 4 July 2013, lot 43 (£103,875).