Art Institute of Chicago

Garden Urn

Nevers, France

Date

c. 1665–85

Medium

Tin-glazed earthenware

Culture

Nevers

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This large urn was intended for display in an aristocratic French garden. Groups of tin-glazed earthenware urns and pots, such as those produced at Nevers in central France, were an important component of seventeenth-century formal garden design in France. They were most notably used in the grounds of Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV (reigned 1643–1715). The production of tin-glazed earthenware (also known as faience), was established in Nevers in the late sixteenth century by immigrant Italian ceramicists working in the maiolica tradition. It took on a patriotic significance during the reign of Louis XIV, when the king issued Sumptuary Edicts that encouraged courtiers and members of the nobility to melt down their precious metals in order to replenish the national treasury. This, in turn, prompted a demand for tin-glazed earthenware replacements. The abstract decoration on this garden urn is characteristic of the Nevers potteries. Known as à la boujie for its similarity to the effects of dripping wax ( boujie is French for "candle"), the deep blue ground was also evocative of lapis lazuli and the precious carved marbles and hardstones that appealed to court taste. The combination of blue and white also aligned with the prevailing fashion for imported blue and white Chinese porcelain, and its European imitations.

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