Vase on a column stand 1771 - 1785

This is a vase on a column stand, made at the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs, Versailles. The Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs was responsible for organizing court entertainment, embodying the spectacle and excess of the French monarchy. As such, pieces like this vase functioned as emblems of power and status, designed to impress and awe. Think about what it meant to produce objects whose sole purpose was to project an image of authority. The vase, with its opulent gilding and classical form, speaks to the visual language of aristocracy and the cultivation of an elite identity. It invites us to consider the politics embedded in aesthetics and the ways in which art objects like this both reflected and reinforced social hierarchies. While beautiful in its own right, this piece also stands as a marker of a particular moment in history, laden with social implications.