Jacobus Cressant (1714)

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These two large marble garden vases were made in 1714 by the French sculptor Jacob Cressant. He was commissioned to make them by the wealthy silk merchant David van Mollem, who owned a country pile outside Utrecht, called Zijdebalen. The grounds of the estate were decorated with elegant garden sculptures. Other artists beside Cressant who contributed to Van Mollem's garden included Jan Baptist Xaverij. Cressant himself also made a number of putti, portrait busts and a statue of Neptune for the silk merchant. Appropriately for a garden, Cressant decorated each of the vases with one of the four seasons. Illustrated here on the front are Bacchus, god of wine and fertility, and Cronos, god of time. They represent autumn and winter.
www.rijksmuseum.nl/