Founded in 1845, the Maison Christofle is an industrial company that harnesses the most innovative electrolytic gilding and silvering techniques as well as outstanding designers to produce extraordinary creations. Presented at the World’s Fair of 1880, this remarkable pair of polychrome bronze vases designed by Émile Reiber (1826−1893) bear witness to the firm’s excellence in this field. Reiber drew on Japanese art in the handles and the bases, which are decorated with branches of apple trees, while the female figures accompanied by animals (a bird and an imaginary creature) recall the queens of ancient Chinese dynasties found in an album by Hokusai.