These pâte-sur-pâte porcelain vases shown above boast an illustrious history, having most likely been designed at Sèvres for exhibition at the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle.
Each 16½in (42cm) high vase with Japanese-style decoration was made in 1867 by Leopold-Jules- Joseph Gely (1820-1893), the craftsman responsible for the invention of pâte-sur-pâte porcelain.
Gely worked for some 20 years on the perfection of the technique and used the occasion of the Exposition Universelle in Paris as his platform to debut these new wares.
The vases later entered the collection of the Hollywood screen and stage actor John Barrymore (1882-1942). Signed to the front L. Gely and bearing Sèvres marks to the underside, the pair is priced at £75,000 from Mayfair Gallery in South Audley Street, London.
