Pair of Louis XVI period vases in Egyptian porphyry

aluster-shaped, chased and gilded bronze mounting,
the lid surmounted by a pinecone-shaped handle,
the neck adorned with a foliate frieze,
the body encircled by pearl garlands and flanked by handles in the form of entwined snakes,
a corolla of foliage at the bottom.
The pedestal is encircled by a torus of laurel and rests on a square-section base.
The snake, so common in Greek mythology, became an ideal motif to decorate works of the Neoclassical period, thanks to the return of a less solemn and more decorative taste for Antiquity under Louis XVI. The snake is both sinuous and pure, allowing for a wide variety of designs.