Pair of bottle buckets, Paris circa 1770.

Beautiful and rare pair of sheet metal bottle coolers with Martin varnish decoration of double-sided medallions in imitation of Japanese lacquer on a "celestial blue" background imitating Sévres porcelain.
Golden handles, interior and underside treated with "aventurine" lacquer according to the Japanese "Nashiji" technique - ie composed of copper flakes blown onto the lacquer.
Very beautiful decoration in strong relief of birds on one side and traditional Japanese dwellings on the reverse.

Rare condition, inventory labels on the reverse.

Manufacture of varnished sheets "Little Poland", Paris around 1770.

Height: 15 cm; Diameter: 16.5 cm


Our opinion :

Filled with ice, this type of bucket was used to cool bottles during meals for the great nobility.
Lacquered sheet metal was one of the main areas of application of Martin varnish.
If the imitation of black or red oriental lacquer is found on the majority of these works, the decorations with blue or pink backgrounds are extremely rare.
They result from the emancipation of the oriental model and the imitation of French porcelain.
The azure blue here imitates the famous "celestial blue" created by the royal porcelain factory of Sévres in 1753.
The pair that we present is extremely rare, due to its state of conservation, its interior decoration in aventurine lacquer, its "Japanese style" reserves in strong relief composed of dozens of layers of lacquer and its blue background in imitation of porcelain. .
It should also be remembered that this type of very technical and expensive work to produce was only marketed for a few years from 1768 to 1772, when the factory went bankrupt.

The Decorative Arts Museum has a nearby pair with a celestial blue background and Japanese decor in storage. (Inventory number PR 2013.2.511.1-2)