Pair of 18th Century Bronze Ewers After Nicolas Delaunay
£2,550
A pair of 18th Century bronze ewers after a design by Nicolas Delaunay, the baluster body with a central frieze in low relief with portrait medallions and masks on a punched ground, the fluted neck with a Vitruvian scroll frieze, with a standing panther handle with finely chased fur, terminating at the body of the urn in a further classical mask, the gadrooned circular base decorated with leaves
This ewer is directly inspired by a silver-gilt ewer made by Delaunay in 1696-97 for the private altar service of Cardinal Louis-Joseph de Montmorency-Laval, a model which would later enjoy great popularity. The unusual form of the handle, modelled as a standing panther, first appears in Enea Vico’s studies of antique vases, published in Italy in 1533, here illustrated.
