LONDON.- Yesterday at Sotheby’s London a pair of exceptional vases once owned by Louis XVI sold for 10 times the estimate at a staggering £1,985,000 (Estimate: £150,000 – 250,000). A worldwide record price for a Louis XVI gilt bronze mounted porcelain work of art.

Telling the tale of both French Royalty and revolution the Brûle Parfums once formed part of the collection of Louis XVI, who bought them in 1782 with the intention of placing them in the Louvre Museum. With his demise at the hands of Napoleon the vases were then taken to the State repository, the Dépôt de Nesle. The Dépôt was one of the cornerstones of the revolutionary drive to reorganize cultural properties and was fundamental to the success of the creation of national and provincial museums. Given their importance, in 1797 these vases were exchanged for a significant natural history collection.

Decorated with delicate phoenix birds and dragons this exquisite 18th century Japanese porcelain is of the finest quality. The gilt-bronze-mounts, later added by the great connoisseur the Duc d’Aumont, were executed by Pierre Gouthière probably to a design by François-Joseph Belanger and date to Louis XVI, circa 1770-1775.

Sold as part of A Mansion – A Private Collection, this auction launched a series of exceptional house sales taking place this year with an outstanding result. Exceeding the high estimate the sale totalled £6,631,065.