The four figural designs depicted on this five-piece garniture are generally considered to derive from fashion engravings produced by members of the Parisian Bonnart family—Robert (1652–c.1729), Nicolas (1637–1718) and Henri (1642–1711). These widely disseminated copper engravings, published in Paris between approximately 1685 and 1700, played a significant role in circulating contemporary French court fashion across Europe. Although the precise authorship of individual prints is not always certain, their influence is unmistakable. While the source material is clearly French, it remains uncertain whether the porcelain itself was intended specifically for the French market, as Parisian styles were widely emulated internationally at this time. The elaborate coiffure shown, known as à la mode Fontanges, takes its name from a mistress of Louis XIV and was among the most recognisable hairstyles of the late seventeenth century.

The imagery on this garniture appears to combine figures from several print series. Two designs derive from a set known as The Three Graces by Robert and Nicolas Bonnart, representing Thalia and Euphrosyne. A reclining lady holding a blossoming branch to her nose is adapted from Henri Bonnart’s series The Five Senses and personifies Smell. The figure of a lady on a swing likely relates to a print from The Elements, also attributed to Henri Bonnart, symbolising Air. Aside from these European-derived figures, the remaining decoration accords with the established vocabulary of Kangxi-period blue-and-white porcelain.

Comparable examples survive in important collections. A closely related three-piece garniture, comprising two beaker vases and a baluster jar, formed part of the collection of Augustus the Strong and is now preserved in the Zwinger, Dresden. Other covered jars with similar decoration are held in the De Sypesteyn Museum, Loosdrecht; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Hodroff Collection; and the Swedish Royal Collection. Another example from the former collection of Mildred and Rafi Mottahedeh is now at the RA Collection.

Published in:

S. T. Yeo and Jean Martin, 1978, no. 298, pl. 161. (one baluster jar)

Thalie, Second Grace, Nicholas Bonnart I, 1680-1700. © The Trustees of the British Museum.