Possibly a Model for a Ceramic Vessel

Eighteenth-century craftsmen frequently produced models in terracotta, wood, or other materials before they created the actual object, although few such models survive today. The name of the sculptor of this rare vase model is unknown, but the vase was probably designed to be made in silver for Louis-Henri, duc de Bourbon, prince de Condé. The vase's front features the prince's coat of arms surrounded by the various collars and orders associated with his rank, while his monogram LH is on the back. The sculptor may have made this terracotta model after a design by Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier, the leading originator of the Rococo style. Meissonnier produced several designs for silver for the prince in 1723.