Object Description
Pair of ormolu mounted Chinese porcelain tazze
Chinese & French, Late 19th Century
Height 18cm, width 31cm, depth 21cm
These very fine decorative pieces are a pair of tazze (from the Italian tazza for cup), shallow decorative dishes, that combine Chinese porcelain with French gilt-bronze mounts. Consisting of Chinese canton-style export porcelain, closest to famille-verte works because of the dominant colours, with European bronze work.
Such a synthesis of global crafts is typical of the late nineteenth and more broadly: Chinese porcelain was long admired and venerated, and mounting with gilt-bronze and elaborate metalwork was a common way to adapt its purpose for other uses, protect, and show admiration for these items. These fine decorative wares, with exceptionally bright gilding in excellent condition, are beautiful demonstrations of this cultural practice.