porcelain, cobalt blue body, cover with eagle sitting on a half-sphere and acanthus foliate wreath, wide and fine gilt rims and gilt décor, to obverse and reverse of neck and foot eagle flapping its wings, laurel stems and border, lower body with gilt meander frieze, baluster to the obverse with polychrome-painted image, to the reverse, large bouquet of flowers, to each side a ram’s head with horns, above which two handles decorated with acanthus leaves and flowers, the rams hold laurel wreaths in their mouths, baluster joint and to one side acanthus leaves, inscribed to inside of cover, ‘Offert du Prince de Murat à la Princesse de Borghese, Manufacture Imp. de Sèvres’, height 147 cm, repairs to cover and foot, Ø 60 cm, France, 2nd half of 19th cent. (Ru)

The painting on this vase was executed after the oil painting by Jean Louis Ernest Meissonier, France 1815–1891, painted circa 1862 and possibly bought to mark his 50th birthday. The painting, measuring 32.4 x 24.2 cm, is held at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA.
Murat, Joachim, Labatide-Fortuniére 25.3.1767–13.10.1815 Pizzo, province of Catanzaro, French marshal from 1804, as Joachim Archduke of Berg and Kleve, 1806–1808, King of Naples from 1808. From 1800 married to Napoleon Bonaparte’s youngest sister, Caroline;
the battle near Arcis-sur-Aube was one of the battles of the War of Independence and took place between 20 and 21 March 1814. At that time, Napoleon’s situation was practically hopeless, since he was waging war on several fronts against Russia, Great Britain and Austria. At Arcis-sur-Aube the French army of 28,000 men routed the nearly three times larger Austrian army under Field Marshal Prince Schwarzenberg with its 80,000 men.