Palace Size Early Japanese Imari Porcelain and French Ormolu Mounted Centerpiece

Description

Palace Size Early Japanese Imari Porcelain and French Ormolu Mounted Centerpiece The centerpiece is formed as a large flared porcelain jardinière with a wide mouth and tapering lower body, mounted within an elaborate French ormolu stand. The porcelain body rises from a narrow foot and expands outward toward the rim, which is encircled by a pierced ormolu gallery cast with scrolling foliage and leaf forms. Two scrolling ormolu handles issue from foliate terminals at the rim and curve upward in open volutes. The exterior is divided into shaped cartouches outlined in black and iron red, each enclosing a shishi dog shown in profile among flowering branches and leafy stems. Between the cartouches, vertical panels display blossom motifs arranged on a dark blue ground with repeating floral patterns. The stand supports a domed porcelain platform decorated in segmented reserves echoing the upper cartouches with shishi and floral designs. At the center rises an ormolu finial cast as a pomegranate with textured surface and clustered seeds, set on a fluted collar with red and black accents. Three scrolling supports extend upward from the base, each mounted with a modeled dog head at the upper joint. Grape clusters and vine leaves are cast along the curved supports. The base terminates in three scrolled feet joined by foliate mounts. The porcelain is early Japanese Imari ware decorated in underglaze blue, iron red, and gilt. The shishi within the cartouches are rendered in line work with gilt highlights, surrounded by peony blossoms and stylized foliage. The glaze surface shows age cracks consistent with kiln firing and long term aging, stable and typical for early porcelain examples of this scale. The ormolu mounts are cast and chased to conform precisely to the contours of both porcelain sections. Large scale Imari porcelains were produced for export markets and were frequently mounted in France during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The gilt bronze mounts reflect French metalworking practices, incorporating pierced galleries, scrolling foliage, animal masks, and applied sculptural ornament designed to support and elevate imported porcelain forms.

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