A PAIR OF LARGE VASES WITH LID, SAVONA, CIRCA 1720 PAIR OF LARGE VASES WITH LID, SAVONA, CIRCA 1720 polychrome decorated faience, baluster body with expanded rim and base, domed lids with rounded knob. The decoration is consistent in both specimens with an alternating pattern of reserves on the body depicting female figures accompanied by children or cupids, while on the base the relief reserves contain female portraits. The decoration is completed by polychrome pods and French-style decorative elements outlined in cobalt blue. The two vases belong to a series whose provenance and attribution has led to various interpretations over the years. Similar specimens passed through private collections, published in the 1970s with attributions that were at first generic and then close to the Ligurian area (Morazzoni; Levy 1964) and then for some attributed to Lombard production in the Lodi area (Conte 1973). However, all studies remain in agreement as to the date, to be ascribed to the first quarter of the 18th century. The attribution of the works to Agostino Ratti, already hypothesised by Poggi at the time when similar vases became part of the collections of the Savona Museums, is currently to be rejected. Two similar specimens complete with lids are preserved in the collections of the Cassa di Risparmio di Savona, while three other vases are in the Museo della Ceramica di Savona, without lids and restored after being damaged during the last war. Reference should be made to these latter works for further study history and related bibliography; h. cm 46, mouth diameter cm 25.5, foot diameter cm 18.8 Literature S. Levy, Maioliche settecentesche. Piemontese, ligurian, romagnole, marchiane, toscane e abruzzesi , Milan 1964, table XII Comparative literature R. Aiolfi (ed.), La ceramica Savonese nella Raccolta Civica , Savona 1990, pp. 72-75 n. 143