Lidded bottle

1865-1900

Measurements

11 in x 4-1/4 in (dia)

Materials

Enameled, glazed, and gilded porcelain

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.1474

Inscription

“FORTIS IN BELLO” is written below the coat-of-arms on one side.

Provenance

Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner

Comments

This tall, thin, urn-shaped bottle with a matching lid and finial was made in Paris in imitation of Chinese porcelain.  The bottle is made of good quality true porcelain and decorated in enamels of pink, red, and green that also imitate Chinese colors.  In keeping with these parallels, the maker's mark on the underside of the base is a pseudo-Chinese mark.  A few factories such as Vivinis and Edmé Samson made Chinese imitations in the mid- to late-19th century.

This bottle features a pseudo-armorial device on one side.  It has lions flanking a blue shield with a lion on it.  Below, a banner reads “FORTIS IN BELLO,” Latin for “strong in war.”  The opposite side of the bottle continues the decoration of floral sprays and white enameled lines that stand above the porcelain surface.