Cleveland Museum of Art

Pair of Potpourri Vases with Covers

Saint Cloud Porcelain Factory

Date

c. 1740–60

Medium

soft-paste porcelain

Culture

France, Saint Cloud, 18th century

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

As beautifully designed objects, the function of these vases is not immediately apparent. Created to contain potpourri, a mixture of flowers, herbs, and spices emitting ambient fragrance, their covers are decorated with delicate flowers spaced by small, unobtrusive perforations. The decoration continues onto the body of the container where intricate ribbing emulates a basket weave. The holes in the base of these vases may have held gilt-bronze flowering stems.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.