Nevers chinoiserie vase in manganese and cobalt blue, circa 1680

A rare octagonal faïence beaker vase, Nevers, circa 1680.

This vase is the result of a French creative dialogue with Chinese and Japanese decorative sources, where Nevers artisans — equipped with local materials and artistic ambitions — helped Europeanize Asian motifs. The use of both cobalt and manganese emphasizes Nevers’s technical profile and visual identity, distinguishing its chinoiserie decoration from the simpler blue‑and‑white exports it emulated.

This vase is indeed an imitation of Oriental porcelain, or, to speak more correctly, of the white and blue ware in  the Chinese taste that was extensively imported into France from Holland. From the informal combination of these heterogeneous elements arose a special style of decoration, lacking in originality, but one which gives to the Nevers faïence a character of its own. The transformation from the Italian to the pseudo-Oriental style occurred towards 1640 (Solon, 1903, A history and description of the old French faïence, with an account of the

revival of faïence painting in France). The vase dates from the late 17 th or early 18 th century.

Polychrome decoration on a blueish-white tin glaze covering the terracotta-colored body. The drawing was first made in manganese, and filled in with manganese or cobalt blue wash. We see a Chinoiserie decoration in the transitional style, with figures in a landscape dressed with different plant species, rocks and a couple of birds. In the background, a rowing boat crosses a water body. Overgrown cloudy rocks designate the back of the vase, also a characteristic of Chinese transitional pieces (Ming to Ching Transition period, ca. 1620-1680).

The vase is in near perfect condition, with only some typical wear to the rim. What appear to be cracks on the inside is enamel retraction.

H. 33 cm,  rim dia. 15 cm.

Marked “2” or “z” in cobalt blue on the bottom.

For a similar yet larger vase, see Alain R. Truong 1;  for a dish with similar decoration, see Robert Mc Pherson Antiques 2; for a vase see Sotheby’s 3 or Guest & Gray 4.