Madame de Pompadour's potpourri vase - La nuit Celeste

This vase in the shape of a masted ship is arguably the most famous model made by the Sèvres Royal manufactory, and was copied by several English and Continental factories. Extensive openwork and piercing, of the sails and rigging on the cover and the round, porthole-like openings on the shoulder, are evidence that it was used to contain a pot-pourri mixture of dried flowers, herbs and spices. There is evidence to suggest that 12 were made between 1757 and 1764, although only ten are known today

Given the difficulty of firing soft-paste porcelain successfully in the kiln, the cover is an extraordinary feat of technical achievement. The vase also demonstrates the very fine sculptural detail characteristic of the manufactory's production. Even the twist of the rope in the rigging can be seen. At both ends there is a mask with flowing hair surmounted by bulrushes. These indicate the association with water and, therefore, that the mask is that of a marine creature, despite its resemblance to a lion. Protruding from the creature's mouth is a ribbed spar like the battering rams found on Greek and Roman battleships. The oval basin shape of the vase is related to that of Louis XIV's nef, a ceremonial container for the king's napkin, cutlery and spices that was placed on the table when he dined in public. The shape also refers to the city of Paris which incorporates a ship in its coat of arms.

The difficulty and expense of producing such a sculptural object meant that the model was one of the most expensive vases sold by Sèvres. Despite the fleurs-de-lis in gilding that decorate the pennant on all the examples, this was not an object intended exclusively for the king and royal family, and several were purchased by important members of the French court.

An inventory of 1779 indicates that the potpourri vase in the form of a ship and the two elephanthead vases were part of a decorative grouping of vases that was purchased by Louis-Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé (1736–1818), in December 1758. The two other vases that completed the garniture are now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. The prince de Condé kept the group in his Parisian residence, the Palais de Bourbon. The garniture of five vases cost the prince the impressive sum of 4,320 livres, an amount that exceeded the annual income of a typical professional worker in the eighteenth century.

Madame de Pompadour was an avid buyer of both models of vase, owning at least two of the boatshaped vases and possessing at least three pairs of elephant-head vases. The cost of these vases and the difficulty of producing them ensured that relatively few were made. Ten of the boat-shaped vases and twenty-two elephant-head vases are believed to have survived to the present day.

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