Imperial Bleu de Huê Octagonal Chinese Blue and White, Thiêu Tri niên tao and of the period (1841-1847)
Of typical octagonal form favored by the Thiêu Tri King with eight roundels of dragon in cloud on each side, centered by a larger one within a four characters imperial reign mark. D: 13cm (5 1/8in). Estimated Price: $1,000 - $1,500
RB Gallery. CHINESE ANTIQUES, JADEITE & WORKS OF ART. June 22, 2014, 3:00 PM PST - www.invaluable.com
LA ROCHELLE - Dans le cadre des Années croisées France-Vietnam, les musées d’Art et d’Histoire de La Rochelle ont souhaité mettre en lumière leur collection de céramiques vietnamiennes. Cette collection, qui n’a encore jamais été exposée, sera complétée par des œuvres prêtées par le Musée Cernuschi, musée des Arts de l’Asie de la Ville de Paris, afin de montrer l’évolution et les spécificités de cette production remarquable.
En parallèle, des gouaches et dessins d’André Maire, peintre voyageur du XXe siècle seront exposés. Ses œuvres, qui évoquent le Vietnam de façon originale, instaurent un dialogue entre œuvres anciennes et contemporaines, entre Orient et Occident.
Cette exposition est visible au musée des Beaux-Arts du 23 mai au 8 septembre 2014.
Terres de Vietnam. Céramiques vietnamiennes et œuvres picturales d’André Maire" au musée des Beaux-Arts de La Rochelle © MAHLR
Sapphire Diamond Solitaire Ring. Jacob & Co.
A Breathtaking AGTA & GIA Certified 58.72Ct Cushion Cut Cabochon Burma Blue Sapphire (Center Stone) Surrounded By 3.00 Ct. Pave' Set White Diamonds on Platinum Prong and Split Shank.
Color Change Sapphire Solitaire. Jacob & Co.
A Breathtaking Color-Change Sapphire Solitaire, Featuring: GIA & GRS Certified 30.63 Ct Oval Shaped, (Tanzanian Origin) Color Change Sapphire, Surrounded By 3.50 Ct Pave Set White Diamonds In 18K White Gold.
Sapphire Briolette Earrings. Jacob & Co.
Briolette Drop Earrings, Featuring: Gublin Certified 37.72 Ct Briolette Cut Blue Sapphire (2 Stones), Surmounted by 7.53 Ct Mixed Cut Diamonds Set in Platinum.
Blue Sapphire Cocktail Ring. Jacob & Co.
Blue Sapphire Cocktail Ring, Featuring: Gubelin Certified 29.94 Ct Blue Sapphire, Surrounded by Pave' Set 3.33 Ct White Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds, All Mounted in Platinum.
The Star of Kashmir. Jacob & Co.
The Star Of Kashmir Is A Stunning AGL Certified 24.07 Ct. Step-Cut Kashmir Sapphire, Mounted In 18K Yellow Gold, With Two AGTA Certified 2.57 Ct. Trillion Cut Diamond Shoulders (2 Stones) Mounted In Platinum.
Sapphire Drop Earrings. Jacob & Co.
Sapphire Drop Earrings, 44.55cts Blue Sapphires (2 Stones), 3.47cts Round Cut Diamonds (10 Stones), Highlighted with 3.81cts Pave Set White Diamonds (192 Stones). - Type: Black Plated Gold; Weight: 27.7 Grams; Quality: 18K; Size: L - 7.61 cm; W - 2.08 cm
Photos and text by courtesy of Jacob & Co
Pot-pourri « vaisseau » de Madame de Pompadour par Charles-Nicolas Dodin. Sèvres, 1760. Porcelaine tendre. Musée du Louvre, département des Objets d'art, OA 10965© 1990 RMN / Daniel Arnaudet
Détail. Pot-pourri « vaisseau » de Madame de Pompadour par Charles-Nicolas Dodin. Sèvres, 1760. Porcelaine tendre. Musée du Louvre
Détail d'une paire de vases pots-pourris "girandoles" ou "à bobèches"à scènes chinoises. Manufacture de Sèvres, vers 1762. Attribués à C.N. Dodin.Porcelaine tendre, bronze doré. Ancienne collection de la marquise de Pompadour au château de Ménars. Musée du Louvre
Détail d'une paire de vases pots-pourris "girandoles" ou "à bobèches"à scènes chinoises. Manufacture de Sèvres, vers 1762. Attribués à C.N. Dodin.Porcelaine tendre, bronze doré. Ancienne collection de la marquise de Pompadour au château de Ménars. Musée du Louvre
Détail d'une paire de vases pots-pourris "girandoles" ou "à bobèches"à scènes chinoises. Manufacture de Sèvres, vers 1761. Attribués à C.N. Dodin, peintre. Porcelaine tendre à fond "petit verd'. Ancienne collection de Louis XV. Musée du Louvre
Andreas Schelfhout, A dune landscape with Haarlem in the distance, 1847. Oil on panel. Collection Simonis & Buunk, Ede.
HAARLEM.- This summer De Hallen Haarlem is staging a major exhibition about the sky in Dutch art since 1850. The museum will be showing a wide range of interpretations of the sky: from late Romantic artists like Schelfhout, by way of Impressionists like Weissenbruch and Mesdag, to contemporary artists like John Körmeling and Guido van der Werve. Some 150 paintings, sculptures, photographs and films show how inspiring the sky was and still is as a subject for artists.
Colossal cloud formations, double rainbows, romantic, moonlit nights and flaming orange sunsets. The sky has been a magnificent subject for artists for centuries. The ‘inventor’ of the sky in painting was the seventeenth-century Haarlem-born artist Jacob van Ruisdael. He was the first to allow the legendary Netherlandish cloudy skies to dominate his landscapes. After artists in the Romantic Movement had shown a marked preference for storm clouds, sunsets and flashes of lightning, Impressionists like Weissenbruch and Mesdag went on to accentuate space and atmosphere. These nineteenth-century artists based their work on studies done en plein air: a selection of these will also be on show in the exhibition. Post-Impressionists like Jan Sluijters and Leo Gestel sought new styles and forms. Landscapes by cloud-lover Jan Voerman are unique, while Carel Willink also painted entirely individual, dramatic skies. Later in the twentieth century Cobra artists and other Expressionists – Corneille, Eugène Brands, Constant and Gerrit Benner – also concentrated on the sky. More recently, artists like Marinus Boezem, JCJ Vanderheyden, Guido van der Werve and Anne de Vries take the sky as the point of departure for work with a conceptual basis.
The exhibition is not chronological. It is arranged thematically by such subjects as ‘cloudy skies’, ‘rainbows’ and ‘moonlit nights’, so that works of art from entirely different periods and movements can engage in dialogue with one another.
The most recent work in the exhibition is a photographic piece by Berndnaut Smilde. He created a fleeting artificial cloud in the Vleeshal, one of De Hallen Haarlem’s galleries, and captured it in a photograph especially for SKY!
SKY! in Dutch Art since 1850 is the eighth exhibition in the De Hallen Haarlem Summer Series focusing on modern art. As usual it is accompanied by a beautifully illustrated catalogue. The publication costs €15 in the Frans Hals Museum and De Hallen Haarlem shops. The exhibition is one of three in a series that includes A Portrait of Holland, about the Dutch landscape, and To the Sea. SKY! has been made possible through the generous support of Dr Marijnus Johannes van Toorn & Louise Scholten Stichting.
The Frans Hals Museum is showing a number of seventeenth-century paintings with the sky as the subject till 28 September 2014.
Leo Gestel. Autumn, 1909. Oil on canvas. Kranenburgh, Bergen N.H.
Charles Leickert, Dutch river landscape at sunset, c. 1849 . Oil on panel. Collection Simonis & Buunk, Ede
Jan Sluijters, October sun, Laren, 1910. Oil on canvas. Frans Hals Museum | De Hallen Haarlem. Photo: Thijs Quispel
Carel Willink, View of a city, 1944. Oil on canvas. Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen.
Jan Wiegers. Landscape with rainbow at Davos, 1947. Oil on canvas. Private collection. Photo: Arend Velsink
John Körmeling. Hole in the cloud, 1989. Polystyrene, iron. Collection Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (M HKA). Courtesy M HKA Antwerpen
Guido van der Werve. Nummer negen, The day I didn't turn with the world, 2007. HD video on minimac, 9 min. Frans Hals Museum | De Hallen Haarlem. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Juliètte Jongma, Amsterdam.
Berndnaut Smilde. Nimbus De Hallen, 2014. C-type print on dibond. Photography: Cassander Eeftinck Schattenkerk
An exceptional 122.52 carat blue diamond recovered at the Cullinan mine in June 2014.
Petra Diamonds Limited announces the recovery of an exceptional 122.52 carat blue diamond at the Cullinan mine in South Africa.
The stone will require further analysis in order to assess its potential value and upon completion of this process, Petra will be in a position to evaluate its optimal route to market. The diamond will therefore not be sold before the end of the Company's current financial year (30 June 2014).
The rarity of a blue diamond of this magnitude sets it apart as a truly significant find. Cullinan is known as the world's most important source of blue diamonds and since Petra acquired the mine in 2008, it has continued to produce a number of exceptional blues.
An exceptional 122.52 carat blue diamond recovered at the Cullinan mine in June 2014.
Johan Dippenaar holding the exceptional 29.6 carat blue diamond recovered in January 2014
An exceptional 29.6 carat blue diamond recovered at the Cullinan mine in January 2014
Johan Dippenaar holding the exceptional 29.6 carat blue diamond recovered in January 2014
An exceptional 29.6 carat blue diamond recovered at the Cullinan mine in January 2014
A rare Longquan celadon molded jar, Southern Song dynasty, 12th-13th century. Photo: Bonhams.
The cylindrical body finely molded at the top with three graduated horizontal lobes supporting a dragon curled around the vessel pursuing a flaming jewel above a lower section elegantly carved with stiff petals above a flared foot, the vessel covered in and out with a pale green glaze extending to the slightly flared foot burnt orange red in the firing, the cover surmounted with a crouching bird; 10in (25.4cm) high. Estimate US$ 10,000 - 15,000 (€7,400 - 11,000)
For related jars see Chu Boqian, Longquan yao qingci (Celadons from Longquan Kilns), no. 105, page 138; Sotheby's, London sale , 12 May, 2010, lot 144.
Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART, San Francisco, 24 Jun 2014 10:00 PDT - http://www.bonhams.com/
A Longquan celadon molded seal paste box, Northern Song dynasty. Photo: Bonhams.
The circular box finely molded on the cover with two lotus flowers above a single leaf, covered in and out with a pale celadon glaze wiped clean at the narrow concave foot. 1 5/8in (4.2cm) high; 3 9/16in (9cm) diameter. Estimate US$ 1,200 - 1,500 (€880 - 1,100)
Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART, San Francisco, 24 Jun 2014 10:00 PDT - http://www.bonhams.com/
A Longquan celadon bowl, Northern Song dynasty. Photo: Bonhams.
The deep well-potted bowl carved on the exterior with stiff petals under a flared rim, the interior finely carved at the cavetto with a band of six flower heads covered with a thin transparent glaze; together with a small 'twin fish' dish under a covered in and out with a brilliant celadon glaze, the recessed base burnt orange in the firing. [2]; 6 5/8in (17cm) and 5in (12.5cm) diameters. Estimate US$ 3,000 - 5,000 (€2,200 - 3,700)
Provenance: both dishes with a paper label reading 'Frank Caro, successor to C.T. Loo;' the carved bowl with paper label reading 'Ann C. Woolworth'
Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART, San Francisco, 24 Jun 2014 10:00 PDT - http://www.bonhams.com/
A Longquan celadon dish, Ming dynasty. Photo: Bonhams.
Strongly potted in circular form with a concave rim, the central well molded with a peony spray under a ribbed cavetto, covered overall in a rich celadon glaze, the recessed foot burnt orange red in the firing. 13 1/2in (34.3cm) diameter. Estimate US$ 3,000 - 5,000 (€2,200 - 3,700)
Provenance: the base with paper label attached reading 'Ann C. Woolworth 31'
Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART, San Francisco, 24 Jun 2014 10:00 PDT - http://www.bonhams.com/
Two Longquan celadon vases, Ming dynasty. Photo: Bonhams.
Each similarly fashioned of tapered cylindrical form raised on a narrow foot and carved with abstracted leaf-form petals under a main diaper banded panel of free-form flowers set off by a narrow whorl band at the shoulders and a short waisted neck, covered overall with a brilliant celadon glaze stopping short of the foot burnt orange in the firing. 9 and 8 3/4in (22.8 and 22.2cm) high. Estimate US$ 3,000 - 5,000 (€2,200 - 3,700)
Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART, San Francisco, 24 Jun 2014 10:00 PDT - http://www.bonhams.com/
A Longquan celadon dish, Ming dynasty. Photo: Bonhams.
Stoutly potted with ribbed interior centered on a molded floral spray under a plain, everted rim, the exterior without decoration, covered overall with a deep celadon glaze stopping at the foot rim burnt red in firing. 13 1/8in (33.4cm) diameter. Estimate US$ 2,500 - 4,000 (€1,800 - 2,900)
Provenance: the foot with paper label reading 'Ann C. Woolworth 30'
Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART, San Francisco, 24 Jun 2014 10:00 PDT - http://www.bonhams.com/
Pair of King Wilhelm III's Malachite Centre Tables attributed to Heinrich Gambs after a design of Andrej Voronikhin. .
LONDON.- In June 1802 Tsar Alexander I met Queen Luise of Prussia, wife of King Wilhelm III, during a state visit. The Tsar was so enchanted by the young Queen that upon his return to Russia, he instructed his vice-chancellor, Graf Victor Pavlovitch Kotschubej to commission an opulent collection of state gifts for her. Queen Luise, a famous beauty, cherished and beloved by her people, was renowned for her generosity and charitable deeds. She was regularly engaged in important political negotiations on behalf of her husband, due to her intelligence and charm.
In amongst the hoard of treasures gifted to Luise and presented by the Tsar in 1803, was a pair of Russian Imperial guéridon tables attributed to the Russian court cabinet-maker, Heinrich Gambs, after a design by the Royal Academician Andrej Voronikhin.
Documents in the Leningrad state archives support the delivery of a number of these gifts on the 12th October 1803 from St Petersburg to the Königlichen Palace in Berlin. The most magnificent of the presentation were the guéridon tables partnered with a full length Psyche mirror, which has since been lost.
Over 40 years after the gifts were presented and upon leaving Royal ownership, the pair of tables parted into separate collections. Now, for the first time since leaving the estate of Queen Luise’s daughter, Princess Luise of the Netherlands, the pair has been reunited and will go on sale at Masterpiece London, offered by Mallett.
Although the Königlichen Palace does not survive today, the lavish ensemble was clearly recorded in a watercolour by Leopold Zielke (d. 1861) entitled A View of King Friedrich Wilhelm III’s Study in the Königlichen Palais, Unter den Linden. The pair of tables is clearly visible on the left- hand side of the room framing the mirror.
The tables each feature a circular Russian malachite top framed within an exceptionally drawn gilt-bronze guilloche. The base is constructed of mahogany with a lioness mask in drapery and the legs are mounted with a gilt-bronze female mask with patinated bronze bat wings.
Russian Imperial guéridon table attributed to Heinrich Gambs after a design of Andrej Voronikhin. Stock number: F3B0297, Russia, Circa 1803. Height: 31.9 in (81.0 cm) Width: 21.7 in (55.0 cm). Photo courtesy Mallet
The table features an inset circular Russian malachite top framed within an exceptionally drawn gilt-bronze guilloche decorated with intertwined flowers and foliage, the whole above an egg-and-dart border. The tripod base supports constructed of mahogany veneered wood with a lioness mask in drapery with surrounding scrolling foliage at the apex, the inward curved legs are mounted with a gilt-bronze female mask with patinated bronze bat wings, while the rear of the legs are applied with brass strips, the whole standing on elaborately fashioned leaf-cast claw and ball feet. This table remains the only table to retain its original condition and finishes.
Provenance
This table was one of a pair presented in 1803 by Tsar Alexander I as a state gift to the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III and Queen Luise for the Königlichen Palace on Unter den Linden in Berlin.
Thence inherited by descent around 1840 by Princess Luise of the Netherlands.
Private European Collection.
History
This style of guéridon table was particularly revered among the aristocracy due to the marriage of the revival of the Antique with a utilisation of precious materials, of which malachite is an example. The table is one of a pair which formed part of an opulent collection of state gifts following the first meeting between Tsar Alexander I and King Friedrich Wilhelm III and Queen Luise of Prussia in June 1802. The Russian Tsar was so enchanted with the Prussian Queen that upon his return he instructed his vice-chancellor, Graf Victor Pavlovitch Kotschubej, to commission gifts for her. Documents in the Leningrad state archives support the delivery of a number of gifts on the 12th of October 1803 from St Petersburg to the Königlichen Palace in Berlin, the most magnificent of which was a full length Psyche mirror with a pair of matching splay-legged tripod tables. Although the original Palace does not survive today, the lavish ensemble was clearly recorded in a watercolour by Leopold Zielke (d. 1861) entitled A View of King Friedrich Wilhelm III’s Study in the Königlichen Palais, Unter den Linden, the pair of tables, one of which belongs to Mallett, are clearly visible on the left-hand side of the room framing the mirror.
Burkhardt Göres’ article for Apollo magazine, ‘Russian Furniture for the Prussian Court: A Present of Imperial Friendship’ states that in 1975 two designs by the Russian architect Andrej Voronikhin were formally identified with the gift at Königlichen Palace; one of the drawings clearly depicts a side view of the mirror with the splay-legged tripod table, bearing the monogram of the architect and the date 19th January 1803.
Having received the commission by Royal Command of the Tsar, Voronikhin would have dedicated all of his time and energy into seeing the ensemble completed to the highest standard, thus demonstrating the quality of Russian materials and craftsmanship. For example, The splay-legged tripod base is very delicately executed, able to support the contrasting heavy malachite top through a series of expertly applied brass strips extending along the inside leg. The patinated bronze wings of the chased female heads also provide additional support by channelling the weight further down the legs towards the feet.
Andrej Voronikhin (b.1759 – d.1814) was the son of a serf belonging to Count Alexander Sergeievich Stroganov, although it is generally accepted he was the illegitimate son of Stroganov. In 1777 he was sent to Moscow where he studied architecture, painting and perspective before accompanying the youngest son of Count Stroganov, Pavel Alexandrovich in a ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe in 1785, to widen his knowledge and build on his already exceptional talents, resulting in his ‘freedom’ from serfdom in 1786. Having been recalled to St Petersburg by Count Stroganov in 1790 and subsequently elected to the Academy of Arts, he spent the rest of his life involved in the construction of many Imperial palaces and grand residences including the rebuilding of the Kasan Cathedral, alongside producing many drawings for objects d’art and furniture most notably for Pavlovsk Palace.
Heinrich Gambs (b. 1765 – d.1831) was a pupil of the great German Master, David Roentgen, who made furniture for most of the crowned heads of Europe. By the late 1780’s Gambs was established in St Petersburg , his first workshop, with Jonathan Ott was in the area of the Kalinkin Bridge, and in 1795 he opened another workshop on Nevsky Prospect. Appointed Court cabinet-maker in 1810,
Gambs made furniture for Catherine the Great and, after her death, for Alexander I, both of whom commissioned pieces often designed by Andrej Voronikhin, for all the Imperial residences.
Literature
Antoine Chenevière, Russian Furniture: The Golden Age 1780 – 1840, London, 1988.
Burkhardt Göres, Russian Furniture for the Prussian Court: A Present of Imperial Friendship, Apollo Magazine, February, 1992.
A Louis XV vari-coloured gold and enamelled snuff box by Jean-Joseph Barrière, Paris 1771, the rim stamped 724. Sold for £158,500 (€198,746). Photo Bonhams.
LONDON.- A rare Louis XV vari-coloured gold and enameled snuff box was sold for £158,500 at Bonhams Fine Silver and Gold Boxes sale in London yesterday (18 June). It had been estimated at £100,000-150,000.
The ovoid box, which was made in Paris in 1771 by Jean-Joseph Barrière, the cover with a central enamelled panel painted after Boucher with a grisaille camaïeu depiction of Art, with a young teacher instructing a pupil and three putti in painting, drawing and sculpting within an applied yellow gold bell husk frame surmounted by a mask head and flanked by two bright-cut panels within a border of alternating panels of applied yellow gold acanthus on foliate and matted engraved ground and turquoise enamel ovals, the sides with similar camaïeu panels depicting putti; to the front, Geography, to the left, Oenology, the back with Mining/Industry, the right with Perfumery, all within fluted frames and separated by putti caryatid pilasters below a band of festooned 'turquoise' ovals and above a thinner band of enamel panels and applied yellow gold acanthus leaves, the underside with a camaïeu panel of Music, with a tutor, a young girl and two putti with a lyre, violin and a horn, within a similar applied yellow gold bell husk frame, in later velvet case, length 8cm, weight 154.8gms.
Jean-Joseph Barrière was apprenticed to Charles-Nicolas-Loys Dumossay in 1750 and, in 1763, was made master sponsored by Henri Delobel. He had his workshop on the Pont Notre-Dame until the bridge was re-built in 1786, when he moved to rue du Coq-St. Honoré. Henry Nocq comments: "Il n'est pas de collection de tabatières où on ne trouve une ou plusiers boites à la marque JJB," Le Poinçon de Paris, (8th edition, Paris 1968), page 73.
A similar, but slightly smaller, box is in the Wallace collection (G49), it has a comparable series of enamel cameos and is further decorated with simulated malachite panels and the Victoria and Albert (Jones Bequest 913-1882) has a box, with simulated pink stone instead of the malachite and green dashes of enamel to the border. Barrière clearly repeated designs with small alterations. The Louvre holds a box from 3 years earlier that can be seen as a pre-cursor, (Baronne Salomon de Rothschild bequest, 1922, OA 7695), with similar flat enamel panels to the borders and putti within pilaster niches.
An even closer comparison is a box of the same year, formerly in the collection of Baron Henri James de Rothschild and sold, after several further owners, by Sotheby's Paris, 10 April 2008, that uses the same 'turquoise' panels and putto caryatid pilasters but is further enhanced with simulated agate panels rather than the polished bright-cut ones on the present lot.
For a comment on the numbering system used by Barrière, see Charles Truman, The Wallace Collection: Catalogue of Gold Boxes (London 2013) page 181.
It was formerly in the Jaime Ortiz-Patiño Collection and one of several lots from the collection of Barbara and Arnold Burton which together made over £450,000. Arnold Burton was the youngest son of Sir Montague Burton, the founder of the famous clothing empire.
The sale also included an important Louis XVI silver soup tureen made in 1779 by Robert-Joseph Auguste, the most highly regarded silversmith of his day. It sold for £128,500.
An important Louis XVI silver soup-tureen, cover and stand mark of Robert-Joseph Auguste, Paris, by Robert-Joseph Auguste, Paris, the stand and cover 1779, the base and liner 1780 all with the ewer discharge mark of Henri Clavel. Sold for £128,500 (€161,128). Photo Bonhams.
The oval cover with berry and acanthus finial on an acanthus calyx and spreading flutes separated by matting with plain band to the edge, the base with outswept ribbon-tied laurel rim and applied laurel festoons draped from the acanthus junctions of the scrolling acanthus and reeded handles, on four outswept acanthus feet, the underside engrave with an armorial shield, the oval stand with central raised platform engraved with a coat of arms within laurel wreath with gadrooned border, with removable fitted liner with scrolling stub handles, engraved with an armorial shield, the base with four polished panels within matted frame separated by relief sunflowers with a ribbon-tied laurel border, raised on four protruding fluted feet, height 34cm, length of stand 52cm, weight 274oz.
Provenance: Count Brandolini, Christies, 5 July 1972, ex-lot 56.
Count Brandolino Brandolini (1918-2005), was the grandson of Dona Maria JoséÀlvares Pereira de Melo, 8th Duke of Cadaval (1844-1913) and son of Cristina Agnelli.
The Dukes of Cadaval have their origins in Dom Álvaro of Braganza, Lord of Tentúgal, Póvoa, Buarcos and Cadaval, 4th male son of Dom Ferdinand I, 2nd Duke of Braganza. Dom Álvaro married Dona Phillipa of Melo, the rich daughter and heir of Rodrigo Afonso de Melo, 1st. Count of Olivenza. The title was created on April 26, 1645, by King John IV of Portugal to his distant cousin, Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira de Melo (1638–1727), who was already 3rd Marquis of Ferreira and 5th Count of Tentúgal.
Nuno was a general in the Portuguese Restoration War, which earned him prestige and achieved himself the title of Duke of Cadaval. Following the end of the war, he was made Constable of Portugal in the Portuguese Cortes of 1668. In June 1670, Nuno became a member of the Ultramarine Council, an administrative organ of the Portuguese Empire. In 1707, the Duke was made chief of the Portuguese army. He married Marguerite of Lorraine (17 November 1662 – 16 December 1730), daughter of Louis, Count of Armagnac.
Robert-Joseph Auguste, (1723-ca.1805) was made master in 1757 but little is known of his indroduction to silversmithing: he was outside the usual apprentice sysem but worked for the King. Whilst little remains of his production from 1757 to 1770, after that we have evidence of a vast production for various foreign courts. The large size of his workshop could be compared to that of François-Thomas Germain: around 120 workmen in 1757, see Claire Corbellier, "Robert-Joseph Auguste, Silversmith-and Sculptor?" Metropolitan Museum Journal 31, p211ff.
It is clear that Auguste was able to produce such vast services for his various clients by re-using designs and castings, both forms and details. Compare the berry and leaf finials, acanthus calyx and fluted detail the cover of the present lot to those on the Ekaterinoslav Service. The stands for the tureens are the same oval form with chased panel separated by flowerheads and having slightly projecting feet formed as capitals. Furthermore, the wine coolers from the Ekaterinoslav service have the same decorative idiom as those made for the Dukes of Cadaval sold at Christie's Geneva, 8 November 1977. See table 35 (reproduced here) from Baron A von Foelkersam: Inventaire de l'argenterie conservée dans les garde-meubles des palais impériaux, (Saint Petersburg, 1907).
Interestingly, Jaques and Yvon Helft, the great French silver dealers, had for many years the Toilet Service of the 3rd Duchess of Cadaval, and often exhibited it at the same time as their pieces from the Russian Imperial Collections, Jacques Helft, Treasure Hunt: Memoirs of an Antique Dealer, (London 1957) plate 3.
A pair of silver vegetable dishes by the same maker and used by the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great made £37,500.
Catherine the Great: An important pair of Louis XVI silver circular dish covers (cloches) and dishes from the Ekaterinoslav and Moscow Services, covers by Robert-Joseph Auguste, Paris 1782-83, dishes by Louis-Joseph Lenhendrick, Paris 1777-78. Sold for £37,500 (€47,021). Photo Bonhams.
Provenance: Ordered for Catherine the Great
Re-called to Winter Palace, St Petersburg, by Tsar Paul the First
Disposal by The Soviet Government
Probably with Jacques Helft, circa 1928.
A European Nobleman thence by descent.
Literature: Baron A de Foelkersam, Inventaire de l'argenterie conservée dans les garde-meubles des palais impériaux, (Saint Petersburg, 1907).
Jacques Helft, Treasure Hunt: Memoirs of an Antique Dealer (London 1957).
Gérard Mabille, Orfevrerie Française des XVI XVII XVIII Siècles, Catalogue raisonné des collections du Musée des Arts Décoratifs et du Musée Nissim de Camondo, (Paris 1984).
Claire le Corbellier, "Robert-Joseph Auguste, Silversmith – and Sculptor?," Metropolitan Museum Journal 31, p211ff
Yves Carlier, Chantal Bouchon, Sylvie Legrand-Rossi and Anne Foray Carlier, introductory essays to the exhibition: Dessins d'orfèvrerie de l'atelier de Robert-Joseph Auguste (1723-1805) November 2011 to April 2012
Catherine the Great's desire for monumental and extensive table services as an expression of her wealth and her appreciation of western taste is most spectacularly shown in the famous Orloff Service by Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers Various tureens and plates from this service were in the collection of Jaime Ortiz-Patiño and sold in 1992; for examples of gold boxes from this collection, see lots 1, 2 and 31. From 1776, Catherine's agents ordered twenty-two further services for the Gubernatorial capitals newly created in her reorganisation of the administration of the Russian Empire. Five were from Russian silversmiths and the rest from outside the empire: Paris, London and Augsburg. In Paris, they turned to Roettiers successor Robert-Joseph Auguste, for four; Ekaterinoslav (1776-1778), Kazan (1778), Nijni-Novgorod (1778-1779) and Moscow (1782-1783). For the former, Auguste had to enlist the aid of Louis-Joseph Lenhendrick, who had collaborated on the Orloff Service.
Robert-Joseph Auguste (1723–ca.1805) was a sculptor and royal goldsmith to Louis XV and Louis XVI of France, whose coronation crown he made. Unusually for the time, Auguste appears to have worked outside the normal guild system; he was made master in 1757 but very little of his production of the next ten years still exists, five gold boxes through the 1760's. The recall of plate during the reign of Louis XVI means that little of Auguste's work made for French patrons survives, however we are fortunate that he had magnificent orders from foreign courts including Count de Creutz, a Swedish Ambassador, King George III and Catherine the Great. Auguste was an excellent exponent of the new Neoclassical style, radically different to the flamboyant and naturalistic Rococo that had passed in the middle of the century and an evolution of the Classical style; with fewer references to architectural forms. The designs of the services show a little more restraint than that for the Sachsen-Teschen Tureen by Jacob Ignatz Wurth sold in these rooms on 13 June 2013, ex lot 151.
The services were re-called to St Petersburg on Catherine's death by her successor, Tsar Paul the First. The next full published assessment of the remnants is by Baron A de Foelkersam, in 1907. Sadly his detail for the present services is not as extensive as for the Orloff service, but he does include the bill for Moscow service: 232,200 livres (including commission) for 2351 marks (18,808oz) of silver. He also provides a tally of pieces that were melted for bullion through the 19th century.
In the aftermath of the Revolution, the new Soviet Government sold some of the remnants of the services along with other treasures from the Imperial collections. Jacques Helft recounts: "It was during this same year [1926] that I secured from the Trade Representatives of the USSR at Berlin, a large consignment of French Goldsmiths' work," which included the Orloff table service (Helft, p.29).
It is possible that the present lot came from this consignment, as is suggested by evidence from the ledgers in the archives of Helft's client, Count Moise Nissim Camondo, published by Sylvie Legrand-Rossi. In July 1929, Moïse de Camondo bought from Helft, for 250 000 francs a pair of rectangular tureens by Auguste (1782) and a pair of round tureen covers by the same maker and date and two round plates by Louis-Joseph Lenhendrick (1777). In November of the following year, Camondo exchanged the latter pair and 40 000 francs for a second pair of the rectangular tureens (Les Arts Décoratifs, musée Nissim de Camondo, inv. CAM 256 and 257). Further, Helft had, the year before, given to the Louvre a dish and cover with the identical combination (Musée des Arts Décoratifs, don Jacques et Yvon Helft, 1928, inv. 26750 and 26751). It is also possible that the present lot are two of four tureens illustrated in a photograph of a showcase of Auguste's work in the 1926 Louvre, L'exposition d'Orfèvrie Française Civile. The cloches were purchased, in Paris, by the present owner's parents.
Helft gives a clue as to why the dispersal of the Imperial silver took so long: "I had dazzling hopes of success when my clients should come to inspect all these wonders; but as it happened the reception was guarded and cool." p. 29. Indeed, in 1942, after he had been forced to move to New York, he was still offering the Orloff Dish Covers and Moscow verrières sold to Ortiz Patiño, see plate 5.
At first glance the covers and dishes sit well together, despite the difference in dates and makers, probably because Auguste and Lenhendrick cooperated on the Ekaterinoslav service. The dishes can easily be assigned to this service with their prickdot engraved "EK2," as well as their date and maker. The covers must come from the Moscow service with their continuous bands of shallow flutes around the side rather than being separated into four panels, see illustration.
The numbering of the pieces is somewhat unexpected and may have been added later by the Hermitage; it appears to be by type of dish or cover rather than to keep covers and bases together. The present lots are incuse stamped "2" on both dishes and covers. The two pairs of rectangular compotiers and covers from the Moscow Service in the Musée Nissim de Camondo each have 1 to the base and 3 to the cloche. Other platters and plates sold recently have been marked "EK1," whilst the dessert plates from Ortiz Patiño Collection were marked "No3." This eccentricity may give a hint as to how the covers and bases became mixed either whilst in the Imperial Collection or at the point of sale by the Soviets.
Bonhams Head of Silver, Michael Moorcroft said, “ We were delighted to be able to offer so many fine pieces from the Burton collection and the high prices achieved are a testament to Barbara and Arnold’s taste and discrimination.”
Tête de Bouddha, Chine, entre 960 et 1279. Photo KOHN
Pierre. H. 48,3 cm. Estimation : 30 000 € / 40 000 €
STONE HEAD OF BUDDHA, China, Circa: 960 to 1279
Stone. Dimension: 19’’ high
After the collapse of the Tang Dynasty (906 AD), there was a succession of short-lived governments (known as the Five Dynasties). This period of unrest came to an end with the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty in 960 AD. Renewed political stability helped to usher in a period of economic prosperity and a massive rise in population. Amongst the many cultural achievements of the Song Dynasty, the re- invigoration of the examination system and the invention of movable type rank highly. Intellectually the greatest achievement was the development of Neo-Confucianism- a philosophical movement heavily influenced by Buddhist teachings.
Although Buddhism had reached China from India during the Han Dynasty, it took time for the new faith to make progress. This was partly because it had to compete with native ideologies, namely Confucianism and Daoism. It was possible, however, to find common ground between these belief systems and by the Tang Dynasty Buddhism was experiencing a golden age in China. his head of Buddha is an exquisite example of the trend toward simplistic renderings of Buddhist images as a result of the expansion of Ch’an school teachings during the Sung period. The face is rounded and carved with a sense of fluidity as the facial expressions convey the blissful, serene sensation of enlightenment. The lips of the mouth are upturned, giving the impression of a «smiling Buddha,» and the eyes are half closed in meditation, accentuating the Buddha’s transcendence of all states of existence. Elegantly arched eyebrows and the delicately sculpted nose create a fluid line that extends beyond both corners of the mouth to the undefined area of the chin, giving the face a rather supple feel. The hair is twisted into tight curls incised with spirals forming an usnisa, a swelling on the top of the head signifying the Buddha’s enlightenment. Though the swelling is usually covered with hair, in this image, it is bare, boldly protruding from the summit of the head. The pendant earlobes curve upward at the tips, unadorned and rounded. Buddhist sculpture of the Sung period is characterized by sentimentalism, expressed through the grace and feminine refinements of the features. This sculpture captures the artistic as well as spiritual sentiments of the period.
KOHN. Collection Fayez Barakat, Antiques, Art Islamique, Art Précolombien ..., le 23 Juin 2014 à 17h. HÔTEL LE BRISTOL – SALON CASTELLANE, 112 RUE DU FAUBOURG SAINT HONORÉ– 75008 PARIS. Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 18 73 00.
Ensemble de huit plaques de mur de temple figurant un dragon, Chine, dynastie Ming, entre 1368 et 1644. Photo KOHN
Terre cuite vernissée. H. 70 cm, L. 54 cm environ, la plaque. Estimation : 150 000 € / 200 000 €
SET OF FOUR MING GLAZED TERRACOTTA TEMPLE WALL TILES DEPICTING A DRAGON, China, Circa: 1368 AD to 1644 AD
Glazed Terracotta. Dimensions: 27.56’’ high, approximately 21.25’’ wide each panel
Upon leading a victorious rebellion against the foreign Mongul rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, a peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang seized control of China and founded the
Ming Dynasty in 1368. As emperor, he founded his capital at Nanjing and adopted the name Hongwu as his reign title. Hongwu, literally meaning “vast military,” reflects the increased prestige of the army during the Ming Dynasty. Due to the very realistic threat still posed by the Mongols, Hongwu realized that a strong military was essential to
Chinese prosperity. Thus, the orthodox Confucian view that the military was an inferior class to be ruled over by an elite class of scholars was reconsidered. During the Ming
Dynasty, China proper was reunited after centuries of foreign incursion and occupation. Ming troops controlled Manchuria, and the Korean Joseon Dynasty respected the authority of the Ming rulers, at least nominally. Like the founders of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 220 A.D.), Hongwu was extremely suspicious of the educated courtiers that advised him and, fearful that they might attempt to overthrow him, he successfully consolidated control of all aspect of government. The strict authoritarian control
Hongwu wielded over the affairs of the country was due in part to the centralized system of government he inherited from the Monguls and largely kept intact. However, Hongwu replaced the Mongul bureaucrats who had ruled the country for nearly a century with native Chinese administrators. He also reinstituted the Confucian examination system that tested would-be civic officials on their knowledge of literature and philosophy. Unlike the Song Dynasty (960- 1279 A.D.), which received most of its taxes from mercantile commerce, the Ming economy was based primarily on agriculture, reflecting both the peasant roots of its founder as well as the Confucian belief that trade was ignoble and parasitic.
Culturally, the greatest innovation of the Ming Dynasty was the introduction of the novel. Developed from the folk tales of traditional storytellers, these works were transcribed in the everyday vernacular language of the people. Advances in printmaking and the increasing population of urban dwellers largely contributed to the success of these books. Architecturally, the most famous monument of the Ming Dynasty is surely the complex of temples and palaces known as the Forbidden City that was constructed in Beijing after the third ruler of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle, moved the capital there. Today, the Forbidden Palace remains one of the hallmarks of traditional Chinese architecture and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the vast nation.
Glazed sculptural tile are today considered one of the hallmarks of classical Chinese architecture. However, despite their popularity in modern times, they were relatively scarce until after the end of the T’ang Dynasty. Even then, during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, they were still infrequently used. It was not until the rise of the Ming
Dynasty that glazed sculptural tiles became a popular decorative devise extensively employed in temples, altars, imperial palaces, and gardens. Beijing became the center of glazed architectural tile production during the Ming period, and colorfully decorated pagodas began to sprout up around this region. Eaves and entryways were decorated with vibrant sculptures that served both decorative and sometimes religious purposes. On temples and palaces, representations of mounted warriors and snarling dragons were meant to ward off evildoers, of both the physical and spiritual kind. Later, during the Qing Dynasty, dragons would be replaced by stone lions and Fu dogs as the main choice of guardian creatures. However, dragons continue to be revered, as they were during the Ming era, for their infinite protective qualities.
This group of glazed terracotta tiles would have been one of the centerpieces in the decorative scheme of a Ming Dynasty temple. Brilliantly colored in rich green and yellow ochre hues, these tiles depict a ferocious undulating dragon against a background of flowers and foliage. With its open mouth, sharp fangs, and beady eyes, this dragon was clearly meant to frighten away any potential evildoers, be they human or otherworldly, which might try to infiltrate the building it once adorned.
This group of four tiles is but one part of a larger frieze of glazed tiles that would have once decorated the interior or exterior of the temple structure. When we imagine the entire temple structure covered in such tiles, from the walls to the roof, the glory of Ming Dynasty China becomes apparent.
KOHN. Collection Fayez Barakat, Antiques, Art Islamique, Art Précolombien ..., le 23 Juin 2014 à 17h. HÔTEL LE BRISTOL – SALON CASTELLANE, 112 RUE DU FAUBOURG SAINT HONORÉ– 75008 PARIS. Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 18 73 00.
Panneau de mosaïque polychrome, Asie centrale, XVe siècle - XVIe siècle. Photo KOHN
Composé de trois pans, figurant un grand médaillon tapissé et encadré de fleurs ; au centre le nom d’Allah. Céramique émaillée polychrome. H. 137,2 cm, L. 66 cm. Estimation 70 000-90 000 €
POLYCHROME MOSAIC CUT-TILE PANEL, Central Asia, Circa: 15th to 16th century
Glazed Earthenware.Dimensions: 54’’ high, 26’’ wide
Consisting of three panels depicting a large floral medallion surrounding the name of Allah
KOHN. Collection Fayez Barakat, Antiques, Art Islamique, Art Précolombien ..., le 23 Juin 2014 à 17h. HÔTEL LE BRISTOL – SALON CASTELLANE, 112 RUE DU FAUBOURG SAINT HONORÉ– 75008 PARIS. Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 18 73 00.
Trois panneaux de mosaïque, Asie centrale, XVe siècle - XVIe siècle. Photo KOHN
Faïence. H. 105,5 cm environ, L. 50 cm environ par panneau. Estimation : 40 000 € / 50 000 €
THREE POLYCHROME MOSAIC-CUT TILE PANELS, Central Asia, Circa: 15th to 16th century
Glazed earthenware. Dimensions: Approximately 41.53’’ high, 19.65’’ wide by panel
This rectangular panel, composed of three tiles, is dominated by a dense floral design.
The pattern is painted in an opaque orange-yellow, two tones of green, dark and light blue, black and white. From the 11th to the 18th Century faience (glazed coloured earthenware) became the dominant element of Islamic architectural decoration. The naturalistic floral decoration is to relate to the influence of Ottoman art.
KOHN. Collection Fayez Barakat, Antiques, Art Islamique, Art Précolombien ..., le 23 Juin 2014 à 17h. HÔTEL LE BRISTOL – SALON CASTELLANE, 112 RUE DU FAUBOURG SAINT HONORÉ– 75008 PARIS. Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 18 73 00.
Panneau épigraphique avec la Chahada, Art Moghol, fin XVIIIe siècle. Photo KOHN
Composée de douze carreaux émaillés, inscrits de l’attestation de foix et du « Taqbir ». Céramique émaillée. H. 76,8 cm, L. 123,8 cm. Estimation : 40 000 € / 50 000 €
MUGHAL GLAZED TERRACOTTA TILED PANEL, Mughal Art, Circa: End of the 18th Century
Glazed Terracotta. Dimensions: 30.25’’ high, 48.75’’ wide
The Mughal Dynasty was a line of Muslim emperors who ruled over lands comprising the modern states of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The Mughal style blended the native Persian patterns imported by the Mughals with the indigenous genius for intricate craftsmanship that characterizes the subcontinent. Noted equally for their distinctive architecture as well as their beautiful jewelry, the crowning achievement of this style is the Taj Mahal, the world famous monument built in the Mughal capital of Agra. This gorgeous glazed rectangular panel is composed of twelve individual tiles arranged in three rows of four.
Together, they depict a large medallion featuring an inscription in the Thuluth script, utilizing white letters against a dark blue background detailing the glory of god. The Thuluth calligraphic script first appears during the birth of Islam in the 7th Century A.D. However, it was not fully developed until the 9th Century. Characterized by curved letters written with barbed heads, the letters are linked and sometimes intersecting, producing a complex flow of cursive letters. The name Thuluth literally means, “a third.” Scholars debate whether the name refers to the script being a third the size of another contemporary script, or whether it refers to the ratio of straight lines to curves. Despite the fact that the Thuluth script is rarely used for writing the Qur’an (although it was employed for many of the large copies produced from the 13th Century A.D. onwards), it is the most important of all the ornamental scripts used to write sura headings, religious inscriptions, princely titles, and epigraphs.
The central medallion is framed by a series of flowers in white with dark blue highlights against a light blue background. This section is in turn surrounded by another band that frames the entire composition featuring dark blue flowers with light blue leaves rendered in the saz style against a white background. This stunning glazed tile panel would have once decorated an important structure built during the Mughal Dynasty, reflecting the luxurious splendor characteristic of this style.
KOHN. Collection Fayez Barakat, Antiques, Art Islamique, Art Précolombien ..., le 23 Juin 2014 à 17h. HÔTEL LE BRISTOL – SALON CASTELLANE, 112 RUE DU FAUBOURG SAINT HONORÉ– 75008 PARIS. Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 18 73 00.
Assiette calligraphiée, Art Safavide, entre 1800 et 1900. Photo KOHN
Céramique. H. 5,8 cm, Diam. 48,3 cm. Estimation : 5 000 € / 7 000 €
SAFAVID CERAMIC INSCRIBED PLATE, Circa: 1800 to 1900
Ceramic. Dimensions: 2.3’’ high, 19’’ wide
KOHN. Collection Fayez Barakat, Antiques, Art Islamique, Art Précolombien ..., le 23 Juin 2014 à 17h. HÔTEL LE BRISTOL – SALON CASTELLANE, 112 RUE DU FAUBOURG SAINT HONORÉ– 75008 PARIS. Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 18 73 00.
