The decoration on this set carries more depth than one could grasp at first glance.
From a philosophical point of view, the cistern could be considered as a fountain of youth.
The deeper meaning of the decoration on this rare set, makes it an unusually interesting and inspiring whole.

A first wink is already given with the cover, depicting a semi-nude female bust.
Within the different chinoiserie panels, various ladies are depicted, each at a different stage of growth.
The cycle commences near the the hole for the spout, where a young female child is depicted undressed.

Both panels on the side of the cistern, depict an adolescent, not yet fully grown when compared to the size of the ladies in the next panels.
The young girl is depicted pondering, looking at a pagoda-type structure in a mountainous landscape, possibly a metaphor for the path towards adulthood.
The evolution continues in the panels surrounding the central part of the fountain, where an adult lady is shown in a quiet garden surrounding, near a flower vase.
In the central panel above the spout opening, she is shown in the final stage of her life, walking with a cane, somewhat bent over, crossing a bridge, possibly a metaphor for the end of her life.

As the circle is complete, we can now move on to the basin. The ladies have now been replaced by geese, depicted in a chinoiserie water landscape.
Here, the geese are depicted in various stages of growth, again a wink towards evolution.

Provenance:

• Acquired on the Belgian art market, ca. 1970
• A private Belgian collection

Dimensions:

• The wall cistern: H: 49 cm (incl. cover), the base: 24 x 17 cm
• The basin: 41,5 x 37 x10 cm

Other examples:

• A slightly later example with basin decorated in petit feu palette is in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. nr. BK-NM-12400-388.
  As far as we could find, this is the only other example known with original basin.
• A closely related example of a cistern without basin was in the Gustav Leonhardt Collection, sold at Sotheby's, London, 29 April 2014, Lot 446 (GBP 9375).
• Another type of cistern, shaped as a house and also without basin, is in The Fitzwilliam Museum, inv. nr. C.2416.
• Another type of cistern, of rounded shape, was sold at Christie's, New York, 20-21 January 2004, Lot 592 (USD 5378).

Condition:

• The basin with a restored hairline running inwards from ca. 11 o'clock, and a restored chip on one of the rounded parts.
• The cistern with a few small areas of inpainting on the extremities.