This imposing vase is a distinguished example of the evolution of the marriage of hardstone and gilt-bronze in the French decorative arts of the early 19th century and its adaptation for the Napoleonic era.
With finely-cast and chased ormolu mounts in the new Empire style and remarkably figured obicular diorite from newly discovered quarries on the island of Corsica, this vase reflects the enduring fascination with gilt-bronze and hardstone that had captivated French collectors and patrons of art since the 17th century.

Of impressive scale the vase is enhanced by boldly modelled handles in the form of Hercules and Mercury, whose mythological identities evoke strength, ingenuity and the imperial ideals of the age.
The exceptional orbicular diorite is of particular significance as it was quarried in Corsica, Napoleon's birthplace and home of the Bonaparte family. The quarry near Olmeto in Corsica, was discovered in 1785 and exploitation began at the opening of the 19th century, when the stone's distinctive, naturally occurring orbicular pattern rapidly attracted the attention of Parisian craftsmen and collectors. Its dramatic veining and polychromatic structure provided an especially effective foil for the rich gilding and sculptural character of the ormolu mounts.

The present vase finds a close comparison in a pair of orbicular diorite vases in bedroom of Napoleon in the Château de Malmaison, illustrated in Gérard Hubert and Nicole Hubert, Musée national des Châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau, Paris, 1986, pp. 72 and 74. These vases share the characteristic form and closely related gilt-bronze base.
Further examples of vases in this material is a pair preserved in the Musée de la Corse, Corte, illustrated by Jacques Dubarry de Lassalle, Utilisation des marbres, ed. Vial, p. 235.

The vase was formerly in the collection of Denise Ledoux-Lebard, the distinguished scholar and collector whose work on French decorative arts has contributed significantly to the study and appreciation of Empire furniture and objets d’art.