PAIR OF MEDICIS VASES IN PORCELAIN WITH VIEWS OF ITALY

A pair of small Medici vases in polychrome and gold porcelain, decorated with large cartouches depicting Italian peasants on one side and Italian landscapes on the other. The neck, handles and base are gilded. Each vase rests on a square base. Good condition, with slight wear to the gilding. This pair of vases reflects 19th-century interest in Italy, its landscapes, monuments and local population. Views of Italy circulated in the first half of the century in the form of daguerreotypes. From 1860 onwards, tourism boomed in Italy. The bourgeoisie followed in the footsteps of the "Grand Tour" enthusiasts, a formula evoking a kind of voyage of initiation that had become widespread among the English and French ruling classes as early as the end of the 16th century. In the 19th century, the peninsula's appeal was renewed by the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and supported by the vogue for travel writing. In addition to landscapes, views of towns and monuments, artists and travelers were fascinated by the Italian people, particularly peasants, whom they portrayed in traditional costume. These scenes of ethnographic interest were made popular by photography, as well as by the paintings of Ernest Hébert (1817-1908), and the drawings and watercolors of John Ruskin (1819-1900). XIX° period, Circa: 1840 Dim: W:20cm, D:20cm, H:25,5cm.