Pair French Mennecy Porcelain Jars, Hand Painted, 18th Century

Pair French Mennecy Porcelain Jars, Hand Painted, 18th Century

$600.00

This pair of soft-paste porcelain pomade jars was made at Mennecy in the mid eighteenth century, around 1765.
These are rare survivors from one of France’s earliest porcelain factories, and they retain the delicacy and charm that earned Mennecy its remarkable reputation among aristocratic households.
Jars of this type were intended for an elegant dressing table, placed among perfumes, powders, and small personal luxuries belonging to an aristocratic lady.

The bodies are formed in a gently spiraling fluted shape that catches the light with quiet movement, a hallmark of Mennecy’s refined modeling.
Each jar is hand-painted with garden flowers in soft pastel tones, including the distinctive purple rose that appears on both the body and the cover.
The painting is fresh and luminous, with the light touch characteristic of Mennecy’s best floral decorators.
Each cover rises to a charming strawberry finial modeled with surprising naturalism, a whimsical detail that enlivens the restrained elegance of the form.
As expected for Mennecy, the rims are painted in a warm pinkish purple rather than gilded, since gilding was reserved exclusively for Sèvres by royal privilege.
Both pieces bear the incised “DV” mark on the underside, identifying the Duc de Villeroy’s factory.
Dimensions: height 3.75 inches, diameter 2.35 inches
Condition: Excellent
Decoration: Hand-painted flowers in pastel tones with strawberry finials
Material: Soft-paste porcelain
Style: French mid-eighteenth century
Origin: Mennecy, France
Date: Circa 1765

In stock

Notable Details:
• Rare surviving pair of eighteenth-century French pomade jars
• Spiral fluting that animates the surface with subtle movement
• Delicate hand-painted florals in distinctive purple rose tones
• Strawberry finials, modeled with naturalistic detail
• Incised “DV” mark for the Duc de Villeroy
• Rims painted in pinkish purple, consistent with Mennecy practice
• Soft-paste porcelain typical of early French experimentation in the Chinese manner

Background of Mennecy Porcelain:
The Mennecy Porcelain factory was one of the first French porcelain factories. From 1735 until 1773, the factory produced fine-quality soft-paste porcelain.
French soft-paste porcelain began with the early attempts by European potters to replicate Chinese porcelain using mixtures of clay and glass frit. Like our jars, the porcelain body of the early Mennecy wares has a creamy one.
By royal decree, the only porcelain factory in 18th-century France that used gilding was the royal factory, Sèvres. So, there was no gilding at Mennecy; instead, the rims were painted in purple or pink.
The Mennecy factory, under the protection of the Duc de Villeroy, marked an incised “DV,” his mark, on the underside of many pieces.

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