Vintage Maitland Smith Cobalt Blue Porcelain & Bronze Lidded Vessel Urn Garniture
This beautiful porcelain and bronze vessel is typical of the striking, statement-making style of Maitland Smith. The porcelain is a rich Chinese blue floral pattern on a white background, encased in a bronze stand, with a bronze pinecone atop the lid. The piece is heavy and can function as a vessel for keeping matchbooks handy for lighting candles, or for floral arrangements and as a jardiniere with the lid off. This was hand made in the 1990's. 12ʺW × 8.75ʺD × 13.5ʺH
The eclectic furnishings of Maitland-Smith celebrate artisan skills in an age of machines. Hand-carved woodwork, inlaid marquetry, painted detailing, gilding and lost wax casting lend the company’s decorative accents an artistic flair. Focused on pieces that add a dynamic flourish to an interior by incorporating tactile materials, the manufacturer draws inspiration across centuries. Paul Maitland-Smith established the company in Hong Kong in 1979, after getting his start in London in the 1950s as an antique dealer who also sold reproduction furniture, something that would become a Maitland-Smith specialty. The manufacturer’s early reproductions of 17th- and 18th-century furniture soon expanded into a range of decorative designs that often exuded a whimsical spirit. Since its founding, Maitland-Smith’s sourcing has been based in Asia, and although Paul Maitland-Smith later sold the company that still bears his name and is now headquartered in North Carolina, the brand’s furnishings are still largely made in Cebu, Philippines. Today, Maitland-Smith continues to innovate on its finely crafted offerings by collaborating with contemporary designers and studios.