Eugène-Victor Collinot, Pair of square vases, Circa 1870, earthenware and bronze mounting, France

This pair of vases is typical of Collinot’s production, but is also distinguished by its square shape and bronze mounting. Collinot’s production testifies to the permeability of ceramists in the second half of the 19th century to new influences from the Far East. This ornamental pair was created by two partners: Eugène-Victor Collinot (1824-1889) and Adalbert de Beaumont (1809-1869). The chemist and the orientalist gathered, collected and recreated an Orient as the West had dreamed it. The real consecration of the Collinot & Cie factory came at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1867, when Collinot was awarded a gold medal. As the inventor of “cloisonné and relief-modelled enamels on earthenware, porcelain and other surfaces”, for which he registered the technique in 1864, Collinot really stood out from his competitors.