Artwork
Suite of Vases: Plate 11
Suite of Vases: Plate 11 is a print by the Baroque artist Jacques François Saly. It dates from 1746 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This black‑and‑white plate, part of a series of thirty etchings, depicts an elaborately decorated vase.
About this work
You see a black-and-white etching of a fancy vase covered in wild creatures. Tiny dragons curl around its neck. A bird with a leafy tail perches on the shoulder.
Saly trained as a sculptor, not an etcher. He studied antique shapes but added his own fantasy touches. This plate is from a set of 30 he made in Rome.
Want to see more? Look up Jacques François Saly (French, 1717–1776).
Overview
This black‑and‑white plate, part of a series of thirty etchings, depicts an elaborately decorated vase. The vessel is crowded with imaginative figures—tiny dragons coil around its neck and a bird with a foliage‑filled tail rests on its shoulder—creating a lively, ornamental composition.
Subject & Meaning
The image presents a fanciful reinterpretation of classical vase forms, replacing traditional motifs with a menagerie of mythic and natural creatures. By populating the vessel with such figures, the artist explores the limits of decorative imagination while still referencing the antique shape as a structural anchor.
Technique & Style
Executed in fine line etching, the work demonstrates a sculptor’s sensibility for three‑dimensional form translated onto paper. The artist’s training in sculpture informs the rendering of volume and surface texture, while the intricate, almost whimsical detailing of the creatures reflects a departure from strict classical ornamentation.
History & Provenance
Created by Jacques‑François Saly during his stay in Rome between 1740 and 1746, the plate belongs to a suite he published while a student at the French Academy. The series was intended to showcase his study of antique vase silhouettes alongside his own inventive embellishments.
Context
In the mid‑eighteenth century, decorative designs for vases and urns were a popular genre, offering artists a canvas for inventive ornament. Saly’s work fits within this trend, yet distinguishes itself by integrating fantastical elements that move beyond the conventional neoclassical vocabulary of the period.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jacques François Joseph Saly, also known as Jacques Saly (20 June 1717 – 4 May 1776), French-born sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Malta.
