Pair of Jacob Petit Orientalist porcelain bottles

Pair of Jacob Petit Orientalist porcelain bottles
French, Early 20th century
Height 32cm, width 13cm, depth 10cm
 
This delightful pair of porcelain bottles is whimsically modelled as orientalist-inspired women, dressed in brightly coloured attire with an unmistakably theatrical flair. Both figures wear tea gowns adorned with swirling floral patterns in vivid hues of green, purple, pink, and orange, each detail highlighted with tasteful gilding. Their dark hair is arranged in elaborate updos, and each woman carries the accoutrements of a genteel afternoon: one with a teapot, the other with a plate of cakes.
 
Ingeniously designed, the bottles are constructed so that the upper bodies of the figures lift off to reveal the concealed bottle openings beneath, cleverly disguised beneath their voluminous overskirts. Comparable examples by the celebrated porcelain designer Jacob Petit often feature internal stoppers, indicating that such bottles were originally intended as scent holders.
 
The exuberant colour palette, playful subject matter, and meticulous execution exemplify the distinctive style of the Jacob Petit manufactory. Founded in the 19th century, the French firm quickly gained a reputation for producing high-quality, imaginative porcelain wares that combined Rococo revival forms with the fashionable exoticism of the period.
 
Both practical and ornamental, these bottles are a superb example of antique French porcelain at its most charming and characterful.
 
Artist/Maker: Petit, Jacob (French, 1797-1868)