' The Londonderry Vase ' Designer Charles Percier (French 1764-1838) Painter.Gilbert Drout , fl late 18th early 19th century .Sérves porcelain , circa 1813. Art Institute , Chicago .

This vase epitomizes the great achievements at the royal porcelain factory at Sérves during the Napoleonic period . Sérves was a chief beneficiary of Napoleon's of resuscitating factories after the trauma of the French Revolution : demonstrating the supremacy of French craftsmanship, the emperor used sumptuous porcelain in his palaces as well as for state gifts. With it's commanding contours, monumental size, rigorous symmetry, and unabashed splendour, this vase is a superb example of the Empire style, inspired by Greco-Roman art. It is a triumph of the collaborative practice of the Sérve porcelain factory; documents reveal the precise role by each artist in it's creation. Napoleon's chief architect, Charles Percier , who helped establish the Empire style, created the Etruscan scroll-handled design featured on the vase. Commissioned by Napoleon around 1805 , the vase ironically cemented a relationship that sealed the French emperor's defeat. Held by the factory until 1814, after Napoleon's exile , it was used as a diplomatic gift from his successor , King Louis XV111, to Viscount Castlereagh, the English secretary for foreign affairs.