Fine Pair of Early 19th Century French Grand Tour Bronze & Siena Marble Tazzas of Interesting Design

These beautiful tazzas stand on round bronze bases, cast with flowers and foliage. It is unusual to find decoration on the base of pieces of this sort so this is noteworthy. The stems of the tazzas are fluted, leading to outspreading mushrooming collars with incised geometric decoration. The base of the bowls feature relatively low relief gadrooning and the rims are cast with fine leaf work and beading. The fine scrolling handles have leafy surfaces but are relatively unadorned, giving these pieces an attractive pared-back aesthetic. The tazzas are mounted on double plinth bases of fine Siena marble with distinctive white and brown veining. The lower plinth is mounted with additional bronze leafwork which is particularly nicely executed and very attractive. The quality of the bronzes and their casting suggests a French origin for these pieces, made for the burgeoning market for items in the antique taste at the beginning of the 19th century. The original owner may have been French or the tazzas may have been designed for export-with pieces of this quality it is hard to tell as they are certainly not tourist pieces in the modern sense of the word. These are pieces that were designed for connoisseurs to be displayed in their homes as demonstrations of their taste and learning. The bronzes have acquired a particularly fine patination and surface. In the famous collection of Regency period works of art at Hinton Ampner in Hampshire, the collector Ralph Dutton acquired a number of tazzas, principally from the London art trade in the mid-20th century. Amongst these pieces are two examples which correspond closely to our pair in style and quality. A very attractive pair of tazzas that will enhance any interior.