Pair of French Porcelain Urns in the Sevres Style

fourth quarter 19th century, decorated with gilt-framed oval portraits of 18th-century French female courtiers, the sides mounted with faux ring pulls and ropes, the fluted bases with molded bellflowers, the covers with bronze cone-form knops, with spurious Sevres marks.
h. 15", dia. 6-1/4"

Provenance: Estate of Camille & Raymond Hankamer, Houston, Texas.

Interesting lot with unusual decorative elements. Both interiors with substantial firing cracks, none of which appear to surface on the exterior. Scattered rubbing to gilt decor throughout. ONE: Loss to half of one upper ring. One portrait with now removed sticker residue. A tiny chip at one lower corner of the plinth base. OTHER: Small vertical restoration where one rope joins the urn and several losses to the gilt ring where the foot joins the urn. The well-executed and expressive portraits are fashioned as elements of a rope-supported band. The portrait "frames" all have some degree of surface irregularities/anomalies at their tops below the bound oak leaf clusters. These areas do not fluoresce and are not reflected on the interior. The covers are ill-fitting and are probably later replacements.