Pair of pigeon's-throat opaline vases, 19th century.

These pink opaline or hydrangea-coloured vases are decorated with a white serpent whose scales are painted in gilding, coiled with its head raised around the neck. The widely flared upper rim is scalloped and highlighted with a gilt fillet. The bodies rest on a gilt torus. This particular and rare colour, highly sought after by collectors, is known as gorge de pigeon or hydrangea; it is obtained by adding gold salts to the glass paste.
Circa 1830–1840.
Height 23.5 cm and 22.7 cm