Suite of Vases: Plate 22

Jacques François Joseph Saly created an etched suite of 30 imaginary vase designs while studying in Rome. Throughout the series, he let his skill and imagination run wild on the theme of bacchants by inventively incorporating animals, satyrs, and maenads—as well as faces and grotesques (fantastic figures and beasts)—into various designs. Published in Paris, the series nourished an appetite for the revival of mythological and classical elements in decorative arts, and may have also inspired Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s suite of bacchanalia images.

A vertically oriented etching depicts an ornate vase resting on a rough stone base. The upper section features vertical loops below a ridged rim. Centrally, a band of carved figures shows a nude person leaning toward others, flanked by two curved handles. Below, the gadrooned lower body tapers into a small foot. Rendered with fine black ink, the image includes horizontal background lines and small text in the bottom corners.

Suite of Vases: Plate 22

1746

Jacques François Saly

(French, 1717–1776)

France, 18th century

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