Suite of Vases (1746): Art, History and Details

Suite of Vases (1746) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jacques François Saly (French, 1717–1776).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Trained as a sculptor, Saly etched a series of 30 vase designs while studying at the Académie de France in Rome. Designing ornamental vases or urns was particularly popular during the mid-18th century, as the motif allowed artists the opportunity to demonstrate their skill and imagination. In these vases, Saly inventively incorporated animals, mythical creatures, faces, and grotesques. After his return to Paris, the publication announcement for the Suite of Vases endorsed the etchings as an indication of the sculptor’s ingenuity and freedom of design. The vase designs also nourished an appetite for the revival of classical elements, or Neoclassicism, in decorative arts that developed in the mid-18th century.

Object facts

• Title: Suite of Vases
• Date: 1746
• Creator attribution: Jacques François Saly (French, 1717–1776)
• Culture: France
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1996.229

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.