Recorded in the Sèvres archives as “un vase de Lesbos” – implying a vessel found on the ancient island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea – Taxile Doat’s design features three figural panels showing autumn fetes honoring Greco-Roman deities. Portrait medallions below the panels identify Diana, goddess of the hunt; Pomona, goddess of abundance; and Bacchus, god of wine. Form, decoration, and celadon glaze all nod to arts of the past, but the simulated wrought iron band at the vase’s shoulder recalls that France played a major role in the structural use of wrought iron to support vast open spaces in public buildings such as railroad stations and libraries – which were sometimes clad in classicizing ornament.