Following elegant lines of the Art Nouveau style, the shapes of these head-turners are identical. Slightly flared necks and generous shoulders taper gracefully, ending in decorative brass stands. Eight vertical undulating panels display an eye-catching, colorful crystalline glaze, whose variations show the individual personalities of these twins. Their playful looks were created by a mix of oxides and quartz fired on the vases at high temperatures. The resulting blue and green blooms float effortlessly upward, like bubbles rising to the surface.
Germany crossed the finish line first and the kilns at Meissen were cashing in on the porcelain mania by 1708. France noodled with recipes until the mid-18th century before finally mastering the art and alchemy of porcelain at the Manufacture Royale de Porcelaines de France at Sèvres.
As one might deduce, the vases given by France to the House were made in this national factory at Sèvres. The enormous pieces from the early 1900s were quite possibly exaggerated advertisements for the company, showing off its ability to keep up with modern tastes. Before coming to the Capitol, both vases represented France at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. One of the vases still has its paper exhibition label glued to the bottom.
The tale has a happy ending. The Sèvres vases live in grand, wood-paneled niches built just for them in the Rayburn Room in the House wing of the Capitol Building. They hold court every day over meetings between constituents and legislators, porcelain stars of the House Collection.
Sources: Janet Gleason, The Arcanum (Bantum Press, 1998); Art Nouveau 1890-1914 (V&A Publications, 2000); Marie Soulas, The French Pavilion and Its Contents (n.p., 1915)
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