A 19th-century French chromolithograph of a Sèvres porcelain wall fountain and basin, from Édouard Garnier's celebrated study of Sèvres soft-paste porcelain. The fountain is shown with a cherub-topped cover and a large cartouche of children fishing beneath trees, painted in soft blue camaïeu and framed in scrolling gold rocaille. Below, the scalloped basin carries a matching pastoral scene with trailing blue garlands. The Sèvres interlaced L mark is printed beside each piece. It is framed in gilt modern frame with a rope twist edge and a beaded inner border, and it is lovely in a dining room, a powder room, or grouped with blue and white.
Chromolithography was the finest color printing process of the 19th century. Each color was drawn by hand onto its own limestone block, and the sheet was pressed against every stone in turn, sometimes a dozen or more, with each impression aligned precisely over the last. Here the gold was printed in metallic ink so it catches the light as gilding would.
- Origin: France
- Age: Late 19th century (Circa 1880)
- Medium: Chromolithograph with metallic gold on paper
- Details: Sèvres fountain and basin with blue pastoral cartouches and gold rocaille, printed Sèvres marks; gilt frame with rope twist and beaded edge, glazed
- Dimensions: 13.5 by 18.5
- Condition: Good antique condition with light toning to the paper consistent with age.
