Lidded vase or urn (one of a pair)
Probably France
1840-1865
Measurements
17 in x 8 in (dia)
Materials
Gilded and enameled papier mache
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.
Accession Number
1971.1026
Condition Notes
Each vase has areas of loss in the surface, exposing white gesso beneath.
Provenance
Gift of Mrs. M. Dunham Higgins to The David Wilson Mansion, Inc. in 1955. The gift is recorded in the David Wilson Memorial trustee minutes, p. 109, June 8, 1955 (Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum Collection, Archives 46). The label suggests that Mrs. Charles Alfred (Marion Glenn Dunham) Higgins (1889-1971) acquired the vases from the antiques market, perhaps as an intended gift to the David Wilson Mansion. Although she and her husband lived in Wilmington, Delaware, he was not part of the Higgins family that married into the Corbit family. Instead, his father immigrated from England in the early 20th century.
Comments
Each urn or vase has the shape of an inverted baluster with a wide, flared base. The lids have wide rims and bold domes surmounted by pointed finials. One side of each vase has a floral spray painted within a scrolled panel, itself above an asymmetrical scrolled panel with cross-hatching, all on a mustard ground. The opposite sides show a gabled cottage on 1971.1026.1 and a more substantial building with towers and an arch over water on 1971.1026.2
