Pair of Silvered Bronze and Lapis Lazuli Cherub Vases by Auguste Moreau

#18340: Pair of Silvered Bronze and Lapis Lazuli Cherub Vases by Auguste Moreau
Moreau, Auguste (French, 1834–1917)
French, late 19th century
Height 26cm, width 14cm, depth 9cm

This pair of vases is cast in silvered bronze and raised on circular plinths of lapis lazuli.
Each vase takes the form of a flattened circular flask, a shape derived from the moon flasks of the East. The body rises from a gadrooned socle and knopped stem into a slender fluted neck with a flared square rim.
Three winged putti clamber over each vase: one sprawls across the shoulder with a hand thrown up to the neck, another tumbles head-downward at the side, and a third clings around the foot. The modelling catches the figures mid-movement rather than in fixed pose, with the plump limbs and tousled curls chased throughout.
The circular faces of each flask are chased in low relief with a spray of blossoming roses, worked branch by branch against a burnished ground and framed by ribbed borders. The surfaces retain a warm silvered patina. Each vase is signed in the field beside the rose spray, and the plinths are of deep blue lapis lazuli flecked with gold.
Auguste Moreau belonged to a family of French sculptors active in the period, working alongside his father Jean-Baptiste and his brothers Mathurin and Hippolyte, and was known for his treatment of children and cupids.
$ 8,250