A pair of monumental Sèvres porcelain vases
Ormolu-mounted, green-ground, baluster form with covers and acorn finials
Bearing on the obverse, raised gilt ciphers the French emperor and empress Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine de Beauharnais
Each 'N' and 'J' within berried laurel branches; surmounted with the imperial crown and flanked with scrolls and lotus blossoms, eagles and cornucopias
Adorned with Egyptian term gilt bronze handles in French Egyptian revival style or the Retour d'Egypte
The reverse with an armorial wreath, above applied lotus blossoms
Lids with a pseudo red mark Sèvres "M. Imple de Sèvres"
French, Third Republic, 1890-1900
Height: 76 cm (30")
The rocaille mounts are directly inspired by a 1786 vases, currently at the Louvre Museum under the inventory number OA 5213, supplied for Mesdames Adélaide and Victoire, daughters of Louis XV