MINNEAPOLIS, MN.- The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA announced the purchase at auction of an eighteenth-century Vincennes, celestial blue Ewer known as the “Pot de Monsieur de la Bouexière” (1755-56). The rare ewer will go on display in the MIA’s Grand Salon, a period room built for Jean Gaillard de la Bouexière (1676-1759)—the same patron who commissioned the ewer—for the Hôtel del la Bouexière.

“This exquisite porcelain ewer is an important addition to the museum’s permanent display,” said Kaywin Feldman, Director & President of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. “The ewer provides a link between the patron of the ewer and the hotel. It also speaks to the prevailing taste for Vincennes and Sèvres porcelain in the mid 18th century and is an example of the sort of decorative object with which rooms like the Salon were decorated.”

The ewer made at the French Royal Porcelain manufacture in Vincennes and which may have first been owned by Madame de Pompadour, masterfully articulates the essence of French porcelain from the period of Louis XV with its extravagant colors and superior ornamental refinement. The white baluster body is encased by bleu céleste foliate forms divided at the sides with curved gilt serrated edges; the front boasts an elaborate gilt scroll cartouche in which is painted a butterfly at rest on a bouquet of flowers.

Eike Schmidt, James Ford Bell Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture said, “Thanks to the generosity of The Groves Foundation, who donated the Grand Salon from the Hôtel del la Bouexière to the MIA in 1983 and paid for its conservation, we have now been able to add an extremely rare and important piece of Vincennes porcelain to the collection. This ewer will be fittingly displayed adjacent to the entrance of the Grand Salon.”