Lot 22. Plateau de pierres dures et nacre attribuéà Cosimo Fanzago (1591-1678), Naples, fin du XVIIe siècle. Estimation 70,000 — 100,000 €. Prix réalisé 75 000 €. Photo Sotheby's

de forme rectangulaire, l'ovale central en albâtre, orné de rinceaux feuillagés, arabesques en marbre noir, vert de mer, jaune de Sienne et incrustation de nacre ; bordure en marbre brocatelle d'Espagne. Haut. 7 cm, long. 132,5 cm, larg. 79 cm

Références bibliographiques: Maria Ida Catalano, Marmi policromi e pietre dure and Donald Garstang, Cosimo Fanzago e le maestranze palermitane, in  Civilta' del Seicento a Napoli, Napoli, 1984, pp.386-399.
Anna Maria Giusti, Pietre Dure, London, 1992, page 230.
Caterina Napoleone, Delle Pietre Antiche Di Faustino Corsi , Milan, 2001, pages 85/86 and 130/131;
Gentile Ortona, Erminia / Caracciolo, Maria Teresa / Tavella, Mario, L'Ambasciata d'Italia a Parigi, Milan, 2009, page 199

Notes: Notre plateau appartient à un groupe de « commessi » et de devants d’autel qui étaient produits à Naples par des marbriers « marmorari », dont Cosimo Fanzago (1591-1678), l’un des plus célèbres architectes et sculpteurs de l’époque baroque à Naples. Son chef d’œuvre est sans conteste l’église et les cloîtres de la Certosa di San Martino où les sols de l’église sont couverts de superbes panneaux de marqueterie d’une très grande variété de pierres, ponctués de nacre que l’on retrouve sur notre panneau.

Le dessin de ces panneaux s’inspire directement des modèles romains et florentins mais le choix des pierres et leur insertion particulière sont tout à fait représentatifs de la production napolitaine.

Sotheby's. B. B. S. Un Hommage, Paris, 30 Jun 2016

Lot 54. Rhinocéros et sa terrasse en bronze doré d’époque Louis XV, vers 1750. Estimation 15,000 — 20,000 €. Prix réalisé68,750  €. Photo Sotheby's

le rhinocéros reposant sur une base ajourée rocailleuse et volutes d'acanthe. Haut. 14 cm, larg. 22,5 cm, prof. 15 cm

Notes: Ce rhinocéros en bronze fut très vraisemblablement ciselé d’après le plus fameux modèle vivant de l’époque, un rhinocéros femelle en provenance d’Inde nommé Clara, cinquième rhinocéros à parvenir vivant dans l'Europe moderne, et le second à gagner une célébrité internationale que l’on ne peut comparer qu'à celle du rhinocéros de 1515 gravé par Dürer ou encore par Burgkmair.

Sur la paire provenant de la collection Dillée, vendue chez Sotheby’s à Paris, le 18 mars 2015, lot 3, les rhinocéros présentaient un modelé et une ciselure laissant supposer une origine étrangère, probablement allemande vers 1700 ayant reçu une base Louis XVI ; ce rhinocéros quant à lui s’inscrit comme un travail typiquement français du milieu du XVIIIe siècle.

Paire de plaques à papier au rhinocéros d’époque Louis XVI, ancienne collection Dillée, vente Sotheby’s Paris, le 18 mars 2015, lot 3

Âgée d'un an, l’animal - dont la mère avait paraît-il été tuée par des chasseurs indiens - avait été reccueillie par Jan Albert Sichterman, directeur au Bengale de la Compagnie néerlandaise des Indes orientales (VOC). Il l'appela Clara. Elle était parfaitement apprivoisée et circulait librement dans la demeure de son maître. En 1740, Sichterman la donna ou la vendit au capitaine Douwe Mout Van Der Meer, commandant du Knappenhof qui retournait en Hollande. Clara débarqua à Rotterdam le 22 juillet 1741 et, comme l'avaient été les rhinocéros anglais de 1684 et de 1739, fut immédiatement exposée au public. Le succès rencontré par ces expositions incita Douwe Mout van der Meer à quitter la VOC en 1744 et à entreprendre une tournée européenne accompagné de son rhinocéros. On lui construisit un véhicule spécial adapté aux longues étapes terrestres, et la tournée rencontra un succès prodigieux. Clara fut exposée à Bruxelles dès 1743, puis à Hambourg en 1744.

Clara le Rhinocéros à Mannheim en 1747, gravure-souvenir.

Âgée d'un an, l’animal - dont la mère avait paraît-il été tuée par des chasseurs indiens - avait été reccueillie par Jan Albert Sichterman, directeur au Bengale de la Compagnie néerlandaise des Indes orientales (VOC). Il l'appela Clara. Elle était parfaitement apprivoisée et circulait librement dans la demeure de son maître. En 1740, Sichterman la donna ou la vendit au capitaine Douwe Mout Van Der Meer, commandant du Knappenhof qui retournait en Hollande. Clara débarqua à Rotterdam le 22 juillet 1741 et, comme l'avaient été les rhinocéros anglais de 1684 et de 1739, fut immédiatement exposée au public. Le succès rencontré par ces expositions incita Douwe Mout van der Meer à quitter la VOC en 1744 et à entreprendre une tournée européenne accompagné de son rhinocéros. On lui construisit un véhicule spécial adapté aux longues étapes terrestres, et la tournée rencontra un succès prodigieux. Clara fut exposée à Bruxelles dès 1743, puis à Hambourg en 1744.

La tournée débuta véritablement au printemps 1746 : Hanovre, puis Berlin, au Spittelmarkt. Le 26 avril, le roi Frédéric II de Prusse vint la voir. Puis ce fut Francfort-sur-l'Oder, Breslau (Wrocław), et enfin Vienne, où elle fit une entrée triomphale escortée de huit gardes empanachés. Le 5 novembre, l'Empereur François Ier, l'Impératrice Marie-Thérèse et l'Impératrice douairière vinrent la voir. En 1747, elle passa à Munich, Ratisbonne, Freiberg, le 5 avril à Dresde où elle posa pour Johann Joachim Kaendler de la Manufacture de porcelaine de Meissen, et où elle reçut le 19 avril la visite d'Auguste III, Électeur de Saxe et roi de Pologne. Le 23 elle était à Leipzig pour la Foire de Pâques, dans une baraque de la Petersthor. En juillet elle fut hébergée à l'orangerie du château de Kassel, invitée par le Landgrave Frédéric II de Hesse. En novembre, elle était à Mannheim, à l'Auberge du Paon (Gasthof zum Pfau) où elle reçut la visite de l'Electeur Palatin Carl-Theodor et de sa famille ; en décembre elle se trouvait à Strasbourg pour la Foire de Noël. En 1748, elle fut présentée à Berne, Zurich, Bâle, Schaffhouse, Stuttgart, Augsbourg, Nuremberg et Würzburg. 

Après un probable retour à Leyde, elle prit la route de la France. En décembre 1748, elle était à Reims, et fut reçue en janvier 1749 par le roi Louis XV à la Ménagerie royale de Versailles. À partir de février, elle passa cinq mois à Paris dans une baraque de la foire Saint-Germain, rue des Quatre-Vents. Le succès fut prodigieux et confina au délire. On publia à son sujet des livres, des épigrammes, et même une cantatille. On lança la mode des perruques ou des parures « à la rhinocéros ». Clara fut examinée par Buffon, posa pour le peintre Jean-Baptiste Oudry - son Rhinocéros grandeur nature sera une des vedettes du Salon de 1750, et servira de modèle pour les gravures de l'Histoire Naturelle de Buffon. On baptisera même Rhinocéros un vaisseau de la Marine Royale lancéà Rochefort en 1751. 

Fin 1749, Clara s'embarqua à Marseille et entreprit une tournée italienne : Naples, dans une baraque près de Castelnuovo, Rome en mars 1750, aux thermes de Dioclétien - enfin un rhinocéros était de retour à Rome, 1500 ans après celui de Philippe l'Arabe ! 

C'est à Rome que, pour des raisons de sécurité sans doute, on lui scia sa corne. Elle passa ensuite en août à Bologne puis en octobre à Milan, dans une baraque de la Piazza Mercanti. En janvier 1751 elle arriva à Venise où elle fut une des attractions majeures du carnaval le mois suivant, posant pour le peintre Pietro Longhi. Elle aurait rapporté 4000 ducats à Venise, dont son maître Douwe Mout van der Meer aurait reperdu une grande partie aux tables de jeu du Ridotto. Puis, en passant par Vérone, Clara revint à Vienne, pour gagner Londres à la fin de l'année, où le roi et la famille royale vinrent l'admirer.

Sotheby's. B. B. S. Un Hommage, Paris, 30 Jun 2016

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez

BERLIN.- The Siglo de Oro – the Golden Age of Spanish art – remains one of the most important chapters in European cultural history. Prominent painters of the era such as Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Zurbaran belong to the ranks of the greatest masters of art history just as much as do the sculptors Gregorio Fernández, Pedro de Mena and Juan Martínez Montañés. 

Diego Velázquez (Sevilla 1599 – Madrid 1660), Mars, nach 1641. Öl auf Leinwand, 179 x 95 cm. Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid © Museo Nacional del Prado

This summer, for the first time, 17th-century painting and sculpture in all its fascinating variety can be comprehensively explored outside of Spain: From 1 July 2016, the Gemäldegalerie, which itself holds one of the most important collections of Spanish painting in Germany, will be dedicated to the Golden Age with a large-scale exhibition featuring over 130 masterpieces from 64 international lenders, including the Museo del Prado in Madrid, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Louvre in Paris and the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid. 

Eugenio Cajés (Madrid 1574 – 1634), Der Heilige Ildefons empfängt von Maria die Kasel, 17. Jh. Öl auf Leinwand, 82,5 x 49 cm. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux © Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, 1860, Foto: L. Gauthier, F. Deval

Paradoxically, the Siglo de Oro evolved during a time marked by profound crisis: epidemics, famines and armed conflicts were causing upheaval throughout Europe. At the beginning of the 17th century, Spain was still the most powerful country in the Western hemisphere, ruling a territory that spanned five continents. However, King Philip IV, who ascended the throne of the Spanish Empire in 1621, struggled to combat continuous decline and an increasing loss of territorial and political hegemony. Against the sombre background of societal reality, art became the most important political medium for simulating would-be stability and power.  

Francisco de Zurbarán (Fuente de Cantos, Badajoz 1598 – Madrid 1664), Heilige Margareta von Antiochien, 1630-34. Öl auf Leinwand, 163 x 105 cm. The National Gallery, London. Bought, 1903 © The National Gallery, London

El Siglo de Oro. The Age of Velázquez shows the artistic opulence of the era between 1550 and 1680, taking into account the political and geographical conditions of the time. Employing the most important art centres in Spain as examples, the exhibition depicts, in chronological order, the general development of Baroque painting and sculpture during the reigns of Philip III, Philip IV and Charles II. Thus, visitors are taken through different artistic regions, of which the most important cities are Madrid, Valladolid, Toledo, Valencia and Seville. Special attention is paid to concrete topics such as portrait painting and still life as well as the close relationship between painting and sculpture, which is given particular expression in the form of masterful polychrome wood sculptures. One room of the exhibition is devoted exclusively to the art of Spanish drawing, with singular Baroque drawings from the Kupferstichkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin which will be on view for the first time. 

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Sevilla 1617 – 1682), Junger Mann mit einem Fruchtkorb, ca. 1640-1650. Öl auf Leinwand, 143,2 x 120 cm. National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh. Purchased by Private Treaty with the aid of the Art Fund in 1999 © Scottish National Gallery. 

Under Philip III (1578–1621, king from 1598), surprising diversity and strong foreign influences shaped the Spanish arts. Originally from Greece, Domenikos Theotokópoulos (the highly original artist otherwise known as El Greco) worked in the city of Toledo. In his work he combined Italian and Spanish pictorial traditions with those of his homeland, developing his own distinctive style that influenced many of his contemporaries. The artist Juan Sánchez Cotán also lived in Toledo. Together with the Madrilenian Juan van der Hamen y León, he played a significant role in the development of a typical Spanish still-life genre, the bodegón.  

El Greco (Kreta 1541 – Toledo 1614), Immaculata Oballe, 1613. Öl auf Leinwand, 347 x 174 cm. Eigentum der Parroquia de San Nicolás de Bari – Arzobispado de Toledo. Als Dauerleihgabe im Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo © Parroquia de San Nicolas de Bari, Toledo, Foto: David Blázquez

The port city of Seville, rich and cosmopolitan at the time, was Andalusia’s artistic heart. Religious works destined for America were also created here. The most important representative of the Sevillian school of sculpture is Juan Martínez Montañés, whose sculptures are characterised by profound realism and lifelike renderings.  

Francisco de Zurbarán (Fuente de Cantos, Badajoz 1598 – Madrid 1664), Das Schweißtuch der Heiligen Veronika, 1658. Öl auf Leinwand, 105 x 83, 50 cm. Museo Nacional de Escultura. Valladolid © Museo Nacional de Escultura

The second section of the exhibition focuses on the artistic peak of the Baroque period’s great masters, contextualised by political and religious elites of their day. Philip IV (1605–65, king from 1621) was a great lover of the arts. Together with his favourite, the Count-Duke of Olivares, he fashioned art in the midst of economic and social crises into his primary instrument of political propaganda. The enormous number of artistic initiatives he sponsored for this purpose ultimately established Madrid, the seat of the court, as Spain’s most important artistic centre.  

Jusepe de Ribera (Játiva, Valencia 1591 – Neapel 1652), Vision des Belsazar, 1635. Öl auf Leinwand, 52 x 64 cm. Arcidiocesi di Milano, Galleria Arcivescovile, Ufficio Beni Culturali Ecclesiastici e Arte Sacra, Mailand © Arcidiocesi di Milano, Curia Arcivescovile, Foto: Paolo Manusardi, Milano

The capital attracted many artists, including the Sevillian Diego Velázquez, who at the age of 24 took a court position and was soon appointed court painter—the highest royal office obtainable by an artist. As a painter, Velázquez distinguished himself in the field of portraiture in particular. His position meant that he was responsible for the creation of official portraits of the monarch and his family. The empathy and interest in the psychology of his subjects that is so keenly palpable in these works also influenced his numerous other portraits of personalities of the court and its surroundings.  

Spanien, Schule von Madrid, Bücherstilleben, um 1630/40. Öl auf Leinwand, 34,9 x 56,8 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Foto: Jörg P. Anders

During the Counter-Reformation, the Church was the most important commissioner of works of art. In Valladolid an independent school of sculpture committed exclusively to religious subjects emerged. Gregorio Fernández was its dominant figure and became the most successful Spanish sculptor of the century. His Cristo Yacente of El Pardo (1627) is an exemplary masterpiece of polychrome carved wooden sculpture and one of the most representative creations of Spanish Baroque sculpture. The artist adorns this life-sized, recumbent statue with additional elements such as ivory teeth and nails fashioned from bull’s horn to achieve a more realistic effect. The carefully executed polychroming is attributed to the painters Diego de la Peña and Jerónimo de Calabria. Deeply dramatic sculptures such as this one express a religiosity that was newly emerging at the time, which can be understood as a reaction against the CounterReformation. They were meant to strengthen the viewer’s religious faith, leaving a lasting impression. Another example of polychrome sculpture, a group comprising life-size figures that portray a cross-carrying Christ and the attendant scene (after 1610), is still used to this day as part of a yearly procession in the streets of Valladolid. Now, for the first time in history, it will be on display in Germany, in the Gemäldegalerie.  

Juan de Arellano (Santorcaz, Madrid 1614 – Madrid 1676), Blumenstillleben, um 1670. Öl auf Leinwand, 85 x 105 cm. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden © Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Foto: E. Estel/H.-P. Klu

Art in Valencia, too, was steeped in a deep sense of religion and spirituality. In part thanks to its distance from Madrid, Valencia, the birthplace of Jusepe de Riberas, evolved into an independent artistic centre with its own presentational style. In Ribera’s Madonna with the Christ Child and Saint Bruno, reality and hallucination are masterfully folded in on one another. Another impressive example from Seville is Francisco de Zurbarán’s St. Francis of Assisi in His Tomb. In Zurbarán’s painting, which is life-sized and painted head-on, the border between natural and supernatural dissolves; the viewer is confronted with a miraculous event. 

Diego Velázquez (Sevilla 1599 – Madrid 1660), Die drei Musikanten, um 1616-20. Öl auf Leinwand, 88 x 111 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Foto: Jörg P. Anders

As the seat of the court, Madrid was one of the largest cities in Europe towards the end of the century, while many other cities in Spain were experiencing an ongoing demographic decline. The heir apparent to Philip IV was Charles II, his son (1661–1700, king from 1665). As a result of Madrid’s centralisation, all artistic activity became focused on the capital and a lively exchange arose between the artists who had settled there. The most significant commissions were fresco cycles for the decoration of buildings and churches.  

Gregorio Fernández (Sarriá, Lugo 1576 – Valladolid 1636), Gang zum Kalvarienberg, um 1610. Holz, polychromiert, Ch. 144 x 84 x 124 cm., Cir. 176 x 106 x 91 cm., Ver. 172 x 84 x 95 cm., Sch. 164 x 53 x 101 cm., Tromp. 192 x 93 x 92 cm. Museo Nacional de Escultura. Valladolid © Museo National de Escultura, Foto: © Javier Muñoz/Paz Pastor

The artists’ work simultaneously shows the influence of their environment and the upheavals of their time. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, next to Velázquez the best-known Spanish Baroque painter of his day, developed a new genre of painting, in which he depicted scenes from daily street life. Children Eating a Pie shows two barefoot children in ragged clothes. The cheerful mood and the childlike unselfconsciousness outshines their obvious poverty.  

Francisco de Zurbarán (Fuente de Cantos, Badajoz 1598 – Madrid 1664), Hl. Franziskus, um 1640. Öl auf Leinwand, 180,5 x 110,5 cm.Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona © Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, Foto: Calveras / Mérida / Sagristà

As the century came to a close, so did these artistic golden days; however, they left a significant mark, tangible in the work of generations of artists to come. Concurrent with the turn of the century, the death of the childless king led to the end of the Spanish line of the Habsburg dynasty and the beginning of a new chapter in Spanish history.

Juan Carreño de Miranda (Avilés, Asturias 1614 – Madrid 1685), König Karl II. von Spanien als Knabe, 1673. Öl auf Leinwand, 205 x 142 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Foto: Jörg P. Anders

Diego Velázquez (Sevilla 1599 – Madrid 1660), Bildnis einer Dame (Condesa de Monterrey?), um 1630/33. Öl auf Leinwand, 123,7 x 101,7 cm Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Foto: Jörg P. Anders

Antonio de Pereda y Salgado (Valladolid 1611 – Madrid 1678),  Bergige Landschaft mit Ziehbrunnen, um 1650. Öl auf Leinwand, 33 x 41 cm.  Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Foto: Jörg P. Anders

Antonio de Pereda (Valladolid 1611 – Madrid 1678),  Der Künstler vor Gianbolognas Appennino, 1665-1678?. Feder in Braun, grau laviert, auf Papier, 261 x 215 mm. Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, KdZ 28977, Foto: Volker-H. Schneider

Diego Velázquez (Sevilla 1599 – Madrid 1660), Don Gaspar Guzmán, Conde Duque de Olivares, ca. 1635. Öl auf Leinwand, 92,5 x 74 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York © bpk, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Malcolm Varon

Alonso Cano (Granada 1601 – 1667), Johannes von Gott (Detail), um 1660-1665. Holz, polychromiert, 30,5 x 22 x 21 cm. Museo de Bellas Artes de Granada © Museo de Bellas Artes de Granada, Foto: © Javier Muñoz/Paz Pastor

Gregorio Fernández (Sarriá, Lugo 1576 – Valladolid 1636), Heilige Theresa von Ávila (Detail), 1625. Holz, polychromiert, 172 x 103 x 85 cm. Museo Nacional de Escultura. Valladolid © Museo Nacional de Escultura, Foto: © Javier Muñoz/Paz Pastor

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Sevilla 1617 – 1682), Mariä Himmelfahrt, 1665-68. Feder in Braun, braun laviert, über grauem Stift, auf Papier, 146 x 155 mm. Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, KdZ 28977, Foto: Volker-H. Schneider

El Greco (Kreta 1541 – Toledo 1614), Der Heilige Martin und der Bettler, 1597 / 1599. Öl auf Leinwand, 193,5 x 103 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener Collection © Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Juan Antonio de Frias y Escalante (Córdoba 1633 – Madrid 1669), Der Engel erweckt den Propheten Elias in der Wüste, um 1650/60. Öl auf Holz, 49 x 33 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Foto: Jörg P. Anders

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Sevilla 1617 – 1682), Ecce Homo, 1670. Öl auf Leinwand, 153 x 105 cm. Museo de Bellas Artes de Murcia © Museo de Bellas Artes de Murcia

Alonso Cano (Granada 1601 – 1667), Christus in der Vorhölle, ca. 1655. Öl auf Leinwand, 167,64 x 120,65 cm. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Gift of Bella Mabury) © Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Bella Mabury (M.48.5.1), Foto: © Museum Associates/LACMA

Jusepe de Ribera (Játiva, Valencia 1591 – Neapel 1652), Madonna mit dem heiligen Bruno, 1624. Öl auf Leinwand, 205 x 153,5 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Foto: Jörg P. Anders

José Antolínez (Madrid 1635–1675),  Atelierszene (Der Bildhändler), um 1670. Öl auf Leinwand, 201,9 x 125,6 cm. Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlu ngen München – Alte Pinakothek © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München - Alte Pinakothek

Diego Velázquez (Sevilla 1599 – Madrid 1660), Der Hofnarr Diego de Acedo, 1635. Öl auf Leinwand, 107 x 82 cm. Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid © Museo Nacional del Prado

Pedro Roldán (Sevilla 1624–1699), Mater Dolorosa, um 1670/75. Holz, polychromiert, 37 x 35 x 24 cm. Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Staatliche Muse © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Foto: Antje Voigt

Diego Velázquez (Sevilla 1599 – Madrid 1660), Francisco Pacheco, ca. 1620. Öl auf Leinwand, 41 x 36 cm. Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid © Museo Nacional del Prado (inv. P01209), © Photographic Archive, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Jusepe de Ribera (Játiva, Valencia 1591 – Neapel 1652), Brustbild eines Mannes, um 1613-1615. Öl auf Leinwand, 76 x 63,5 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Foto: Jörg P. Anders

Jusepe de Ribera (Játiva, Valencia 1591 – Neapel 1652), Kopf mit Verband, ca. 1630. Pinsel in Braun, auf hellem Papier, 243 x 179 mm. Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, KdZ 20821, Foto: Volker-H. Schneider

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Sevilla 1617 – 1682), Die Pastetenesser, um 1670/75. Öl auf Leinwand, 123,6 x 102 cm. Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlu ngen München – Alte Pinakothek © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München - Alte Pinakothek

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez. Installation view © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Achim Kleuker

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez. Installation view © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Achim Kleuker

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez. Installation view © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Achim Kleuker

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez. Installation view © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Achim Kleuker

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez. Installation view © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Achim Kleuker

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez. Installation view © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Achim Kleuker

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez. Installation view © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Achim Kleuker

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez. Installation view © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Achim Kleuker

El Siglo de Oro. Die Ära Velázquez. Installation view © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Achim Kleuker 

Lot 82. A Roman amethyst intaglio ringstone,  Augustan, circa 1st Century B.C-A.D. Estimate £1,200 - 1,400 (€1,400 - 1,700). Photo Bonhams.

Lot 83. A Roman obsidian intaglio ringstone, Circa 1st-2nd Century A.D. Estimate £1,000 - 1,500 (€1,200 - 1,800). Photo Bonhams.

Lot 84. A Roman banded agate intaglio ringstone, Circa 1st-2nd Century A.D. Estimate £1,500 - 2,000 (€1,800 - 2,400). Photo Bonhams.

Lot 85. A Roman carnelian intaglio ringstone, Circa 1st Century A.D. Estimate £3,000 - 4,000 (€3,600 - 4,800). Photo Bonhams.

Lot 86. A Roman carnelian intaglio ringstone, Circa 1st Century B.C.-A.D. Estimate £1,000 - 1,500 (€1,200 - 1,800). Photo Bonhams.

Sur la plaine du Pô, au nord de l’Italie, l’architecte Paolo Zermani a bâti son autoportrait. Une œuvre en briques comme une ode aux fondements de l’architecture, qui abrite sa vie et ouvre une fenêtre sur son âme. Sur la façade principale, une immense ouverture circulaire observe le paysage et éclaire la bibliothèque, au cœur de la maison. © Mauro Davoli

La brique est quasi omniprésente à l’extérieur comme à l’intérieur, encadrant ici la cheminée et les pans de la bibliothèque, qui court sur les deux niveaux de la maison. © Mauro Davoli

Lot 63. Luca della Robbia 'il Giovane' (circa 1475-1548), Italian, Florence, circa 1510-1520, Tondo with the coat of arms of the Visdomini Family. Estimate 60,000 — 35,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

inscribed: DEBIS / D[OMI]NIS, polychromed glazed terracotta, within a painted metal mount, 62cm., 24 3/8 in. diameter.

Provenance: Carlo De Carlo, Florence;
sold Eredi Carlo De Carlo, Semenzato Florence, 19 April 2001, lot 110

Exhibition: Fiesole, Basilica di Sant'Alessandro, I della Robbia e l’arte nuova della scultura invetriata, 1998, no. IV.19

Bibliography: G. Gentilini, I Della Robbia: La scultura invetriata nel Rinascimento, Florence, 1992, pp. 334, 356;
F. Quinterio in G. Gentilini, I della Robbia e l’arte nuova della scultura invetriata, exh. cat., Florence 1998, no. IV.19, p. 314;
M. Scalini and A. Tartuferi, Un Tesoro Rivelato: Capolavori dalla collezione Carlo De Carlo, Florence, 2001, p 59, no. 20, pl. XVII;
R. Dionigi (ed.), Stemmi Robbiani in Italia e nel Mondo: per un catalogo araldico, storico e artistico, Florence, 2014, no. 129

Notes: The vibrantly coloured and decorated roundels with coats of arms produced by the Della Robbia family created an insatiable demand among the Florentine elite of the 15th and 16th centuries. According to Gentilini (1998, op. cit., p. 64), the earliest use of such a heraldic tondo in glazed terracotta is the Stemma della Mercanzia on the Orsanmichele, Florence, from circa 1440-1445, by the founding father of the workshops, Luca della Robbia. His successors Andrea, and later Giovanni, continued to model such works for Tuscany’s foremost noble families. 

The present tondo shows the coat of arms of the Visdomini, whose name is inscribed in Latin across the background. The Visdomini were a privileged family group that held the right to administer the diocese of Florence during those times when the Bishop’s seat was vacant. The term was used as a surname by families that had held this office.  

The tondo has been attributed to Luca della Robbia the Younger, a great-nephew of his famous namesake, because of the precise and refined modelling, as well as the delicate tonal varieties of the glazing, for which he was known. Luca chose to dispense with the architectural framing that had often been used in similar tondi by his predecessors, thereby enhancing the rich luminosity of the garland. 

Lot 52. Italian, Tuscany or Umbria, circa 1450-1470, Dish painted with a contour portrait of a young man, maiolica, 36.3cm., 14 1/4 in. diameter. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

Provenance: Franco Semenzato, Firenze, November 1987, lot 309

Bibliography: R. Falchi and D. Tiscione, Antiche Maioliche Italiane, Bergamo 1989, cover, pp. 16-17

Sotheby's. Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art Including Splendours from a Mantuan Palazzo, Londres, 05 juil. 2016, 02:30 PM 

Lot 46. Italian, Faenza or perhaps Pesaro, circa 1500, Double handled albarello with a contour-panel portrait of a lady. the reverse with gothic foliage, maiolica, 21.4cm., 8 3/8 in. high. Estimation 15,000 — 25,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

Provenance: Christie's London, 3rd October 1983, lot 238 (as Tuscan)

Sotheby's. Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art Including Splendours from a Mantuan Palazzo, Londres, 05 juil. 2016, 02:30 PM 

Lot 239. A Roman pale purple glass Ajax amphoriskos, circa 1st century A.D. Estimate £60,000 – £80,000 ($79,800 - $106,400). Poto Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Mould-blown, the oval body decorated with two scenes from the mythological cycle of Ajax, one scene showing the hero aboard a ship, holding a shield and sword, his name in Greek beside him (AIAC), the inscription vertical and retrograde, the ship with a high prow, single mast with rigging descending to the hull, and oars at rest, a helmsman at the stern, fish in the sea below; the other scene showing the hero seated on a rock beneath an olive tree, a wineskin or satchel suspended from the branches, the figure nude but for a chlamys, stabbing or withdrawing a weapon from an animal which stands before him, the vessel with a flat base and short cylindrical neck and everted rim, remains of the applied opaque white handle; 3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm.) high

Provenance: Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 8 December 1995, lot 189.

Exhibited: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Made by Ennion: Ancient Glass Treasures from the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, May-December 2011.

PUBLISHED: Y. Israeli, Made by Ennion: Ancient Glass Treasures from the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, exhibition cat. (Israel Museum), Jerusalem, 2011, pp. 80-1. 

Notes: Ajax, son of Telemon and king of Salamis, was renowned for his heroic bravery and courage, and commanded a fleet of ships on the side of the Greeks at Troy. After the death of Achilles, Ajax entered into a contest with Odysseus for Achilles's armour, which he ultimately lost. This perceived slight to his honour drove the hero to madness, and, after committing an outrageous slaughter of the Achaeans' captured livestock, he committed suicide, rather than live with the dishonour he had brought upon himself. He was a quintessential tragic Homeric hero.

The present lot is one of an exceedingly rare type, of which only seven other examples are known; five of these are opaque white, with the remainder being purple. For a full list of known examples, see Whitehouse, 2001, p. 49. The other two purple amphoriskoi are at the Museo Vetrario di Murano, Venice (IGVE 403) and the Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Bodrum (Ozet, 1993, p. 142-5).

Previously interpreted as showing scenes from the cycle of Jason and the Argonauts, the unmistakable inscription of AIAC confirms that the scenes on these amphoriskoi relate to the myth of Ajax. Whitehouse suggests that the first scene shows Ajax at the point of disembarkment, with the second showing him killing one of the Achaeans' animals in his fit of madness - the tree conveys how the massacre of the sheep and cattle took place in the open, before Ajax returned to the Greek camp (op. cit., p. 51). Thus the great tragedy of Ajax is relayed within the diminutive scenes on this small flask: he arrived at Troy a giant, second only to Achilles in his valour, yet fell prey to pride and madness, and was driven to ignoble suicide.

Christie's. ANCIENT GLASS FROM THE SHLOMO MOUSSAIEFF COLLECTION, 6 July 2016, London, King Street

Lot 241. A Roman amber glass Harvest beaker, circa 1st century A.D. Estimate £50,000 – £80,000 ($66,500 - $106,400). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The body blown into a two-part mould, decorated with two bands of scrolling ivy leaves and grape clusters, two ribbed bands below, around the middle and above, the separate base plate decorated with a thick concentric circle on the underside; 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm.) high

Provenance: Acquired prior to 1998.

Exhibited: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Made by Ennion: Ancient Glass Treasures from the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, May-December 2011.

PUBLISHED: Y. Israeli, Made by Ennion: Ancient Glass Treasures from the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, exhibition cat. (Israel Museum), Jerusalem, 2011, p. 70.

Note: This type of beaker is similar to that of the waisted "Harvest Beaker". Cylindrical glass beakers of non-waisted form with similar frieze decoration include two vessels from the Oppenländer collection now in the Getty Museum, nos. 2003.318 and 2003.316 (cf. von Saldern 1974, nos. 446 and 452); and another from the Cinzano collection, now in the Getty Museum (cf. Lazarus, 1974, no. 6). A similar beaker to the above lot with a pale blue-green tinge from the collection of David and Jemima Jeselsohn, Zurich, was also included in the 2011 Made by Ennion exhibition (op. cit., pp. 72-3).

Christie's. ANCIENT GLASS FROM THE SHLOMO MOUSSAIEFF COLLECTION, 6 July 2016, London, King Street

Lot 242. A Roman yellow-green glass leaf beaker, circa late 1st century A.D. Estimate £50,000 – £80,000 ($66,500 - $106,400). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Mould-blown, the walls decorated with four stylized plants, each plant with three different types of lancelot leaves including plain with a raised edge, plain with a border of short lines, and the smallest with veins branching from a central rib, with two horizontal ribs below the cut-off rim and above the base, a thick concentric circle on the underside of the base; 3 ¼ in. (8.3 cm.) high

Provenance: Acquired prior to 1995.

Exhibited: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Made by Ennion: Ancient Glass Treasures from the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, May-December 2011.

PUBLISHED: Y. Israeli, Made by Ennion: Ancient Glass Treasures from the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, exhibition cat. (Israel Museum), Jerusalem, 2011, p. 74.

Notes: For a discussion of these leaf beakers and their dating, with particular reference to an example in the J. Paul Getty Museum (85.AF.91), see Wight, 2000, pp. 61-79. Comparing their type of decoration and size, and use of natural coloured glass rather than the bright blues and greens popular in the Augustan and Julio-Claudian period, Wight suggests a date in the late Neronian-Flavian period for these beakers - the third quarter of the 1st Century A.D. 

As well as the Getty leaf beaker Wight lists another five beakers known to her including one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 81.10.222) one formerly in the Antiken Abteilung, Berlin, one in the Miho Museum (Akiyo, 2001, no. 142), one formerly in the Kofler-Truniger collection, sold at Christie's, London, 5-6 March, 1985, lot 117 (see Clemenz & Steinemann, 1981, p. 80, no. 271), and one formerly in the Motamed collection, Frankfurt (once Christie's London, 11 July 1990, lot 20). She also mentions a sixth beaker that she saw in the mid-1990s, which might correspond to the above lot. 

Christie's. ANCIENT GLASS FROM THE SHLOMO MOUSSAIEFF COLLECTION, 6 July 2016, London, King Street

Lot 1. The Hohenzollern-von Hirsch chess piece. German, probably Cologne, circa 1300-1320, Chess piece: a King, a proposed portrait of Frederick II Hohenstaufen (1194-1250). Estimation 120,000 — 180,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

with a label on the underside printed: Robert von Hirsch / Sotheby's, and inscribed: 269; partially polychromed walrus ivory; 7.2cm., 2⅞in.    

Provenance: Fürstlich Hohenzollern collection (inv. no. 5175), Schloss Sigmaringen, Germany, by 1871;
Robert von Hirsch (1883-1977), Basel, Switzerland;
his sale Sotheby's, London, 22 June 1978, lot 269;
Noble European collection

Bibliography: F. A. Lehner, Fürstlich Hohenzollernsches Museum zu Sigmaringen: Verzeichnis der Schnitzwerke, 1871, no. 264; 
H. Sprinz, Die Bildwerke der Fürstlich Hohenzollernschen Sammlung Sigmaringen, Stuttgart, 1925, pp. 8-9, no. 15, fig. 10;
Kurzes Verzeichnis der im Staedelschen Kunstinstitut ausgestellten Sigmaringer Sammlungen, Frankfurt am Main, 1928, p. 33, no. 257;
J. Dörig, 'Ritratti dell' Imperatore Federico II', Rivista d'Arte, XXX, 1955, pp. 65-91, fig. 2-4; F. Greygoose,Chessmen, Newton Abbot, 1979, p. 45, fig. 18
V. Keats, Chess. Its Origin, Oxford, 1994, vol. II, pp.10 & 113, fig. 31
P. Williamson and G. Davies, Medieval Ivory Carvings 1200-1500 Part II, London, 2014, p. 722

Notes: This outstanding chess piece epitomises the Gothic style in presenting an image of youthful nobility and confident authority. It is one of the most sculptural of medieval chess figures, carved completely in the round and with a strong sense of monumentality. In the assured gesture of the King's left hand casually pulling at his cloak strap, with his delicate short wavy hair and pointed shoes, it is a seminal portrait of a 14th century sovereign.

The King sits upright, his feet set firmly on the ground. The heavy folds of his cloak hang in a broad sweep across his lap. A belt draws in his robe defining his waist. His gloved left hand is raised to his chest and pulls forward the strap which holds his cloak around his shoulders. The King looks straight forward his fixed stare looking into the distance.  He is a young man, clean shaven, his hair cut short under his crown. Behind him a falcon or eagle (see discussion below) is perched on the back of the throne; the pendant bird is missing. The King would have held an attribute in his missing right hand, most probably an orb or sceptre. The King's youthful good looks and slight smile give a sense of well-being and serenity. The bird perched bolt upright is a telling symbol of nobility and courtly life.

Whether the bird represents an eagle or a falcon has been interpreted differently. In 1978 the bird was described as an eagle (see The Robert von Hirsch Collection. Works of Art, Sotheby Parke Bernet, London, 22 June 1978, vol. 2, p. 94). This certainly fits with an heraldic view of royalty, however, 50 years earlier the catalogue of the Sigmaringen collection described it as a falcon (Sprinz, op. cit. p. 8) and this became a key element in the proposition that the chess piece is a portrait of Frederick II Hohenstaufen.

Identification as Frederick II Hohenstaufen

In an article in Rivista d'Arte in 1955 José Dörig proposed that our chess piece represents Frederick II Hohenstaufen. This idea originated from a visit to the stimulating environment of Robert von Hirsch's home in Engelgasse, Basel.  There Dörig would have seen the walrus ivory displayed on the same shelf as other masterpieces of medieval art, such as the enamel armillae, believed to have come from the coronation vestments of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, a Eucharistic Dove from the Hohenzollern collection and also from Sigmaringen the champlevé enamel reliquary with a massive rock crystal dome (See Sotheby Parke Bernet, op. cit. lots 222, 239 and 229 respectively).

Dörig took as his starting point Frederick II's well known association with falconry. The Emperor famously wrote a treatise on this subject, De Arte Venandi cum Avibus, so the representation of falcons on the throne is eminently appropriate. He expanded his argument on the grounds that the seated King actually looks like known representations of Frederick II in various manuscript sources. Dörig admits that the physiognomy of the King is not based on a direct portrayal of Frederick II, and as Williamson points out the chess piece dates to at least 50 years after the emperor's death, although Dörig dates it a little earlier, to the last quarter of the 13th century (Dörig, op.cit. p. 79). He further associates our King with two cruder chessmen, one in Berlin and and one in Ravenna (see below) which represent a King holding a falcon. To support his arguments he drew some conclusions that cannot be substantiated, such as the origin of the chess piece in southern Italy, which weaken the two salient points of his argument. Dörig notes that Georg Swarzenski had described the material as narwhal, which Williamson has observed is a mistake which contributed to an erroneous identification of the present figure as Frederick II.

The heart of Dörig's thesis has merit, but rather than hoping to conclude that the Hohenzollern-von Hirsch King is an specific portrait of Frederick II, the importance of this chess piece is that it is one of the key surviving Gothic sculptures which codify the image of sovereignty and kingship. This iconography of Frederick II Hohenstaufen presents an image of a young and self-confident ruler, handsome and benevolent. The gesture with his gloved left hand holding the his cloak strap is one used in a few early Gothic portraits of rulers, most famously in the Bamberg Rider from around 1230. So it is perhaps legitimate to say that this wonderful piece of miniature sculpture does represent the Frederick II Hohenstaufen ideal of kingship, even though it may not have been intended as a direct likeness.

The pendant King in the Victoria & Albert Museum and Bishops in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

With the exception of the famous Lewis chessmen and the Charlemagne chessmen (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris), it is extremely rare to find surviving medieval chess pieces from the same set. It is significant therefore that the Hohenzollern-von Hirsch King can be connected with a pendant figure of a King and two Bishops.

The unquestionable connection between the V&A King (inv. 213-1867) and the former von Hirsch King make it certain that they are of the same date. Ivory samples were taken from the King in the V&A for radiocarbon dating in 2011 resulted in a date of 1077-1255 with a 95.4% degree of probability (Williamson and Davies, op.cit. p.722).

The V&A and Hohenzollern-von Hirsch Kings are so close in their overall appearance to make it almost certain that they are opposing Kings from the same 14th century chess set. But they are not identical.  They both wear the same heavy cloak, but the V&A King has more drapery around his middle covering his waist which is defined with a belt in our King. Both Kings hold their cloak straps with their gloved left hand, but the V&A King holds the strap with just his thumb from the back, whilst our King also folds two fingers over the the strap from the front.  The general physiognomy and crown is identical in both figures. Our King is unique with the addition of the falcon perched on the back of the throne and consequently the throne of the V&A King has a taller back. These crucial differences underline the fact that the figures are close enough to be made by the same artist but different enough to be used as opposing Kings in a royal game of chess.

As stated above, Williamson rejects the suggestion that the present King was made in southern Italy, as proposed by Dörig and points to several stylistic affinities with figures from the high altar of Cologne Cathedral from the early 14th century. Parallels for the Kings' short cut wavy hair and low crown can be found in sculptures from Cologne as well as in Strasbourg as cited by Williamson (op. cit., p. 723). The distinctive gesture of the King pulling his cloak strap forward with his left hand animates the seated figure with a casual but poised air of authority can be compared with two large gothic sculptures: the famous stone Bamberg Rider in the east choir of Bamberg Cathedral which may represent Constantine the Great or St Stephen of Hungary, and the polychrome walnut tomb effigy of the Count Palatine Henry II in the abbey church, Maria Laach, Germany.

Chesspiece, German, Cologne, ca.1300-1320, carved walrus ivory, London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. No. 213-1867). Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Further comparison can be made with two Bishops in the Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin which again are so stylistically close as to be by the same hand and from the same set. The Kings and Bishops sit on the same thrones, the ecclesiastical vestments of the Bishops are clearly defined, but they are carved with the same broad folds and sense of monumentality. The slightly oversized hands are the same, but, most strikingly, the physiognomy is identical. The Berlin Bishops were damaged during the 1940s.

Bishop (Chesspiece), German, Cologne, 14th century, ivory, Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Inv. No. 667). Photo: © bpk / Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

Gothic Chess Pieces representing the King

Gothic chess pieces representing the King are carved in many forms and their variety is striking. They may be categorised into three broad groups. Equestrian groups of the King with attendants, groups of the King enthroned or standing with attendants and individual figures of the King enthroned.

Outstanding examples of the equestrian King group are those in the V&A (A.22-1912) and British Museum (1859, 0516.1). These pieces are larger, over 10cm., but the numerous figures make the individual characterisation of the figures and faces more general.  More individuality is achieved in the second group of the King with attendants. One of the most spectacular is the enthroned King carried by four attendants in Berlin (inv. 710), which is admittedly very late Gothic as it may date into the 16th century. However, still none of the examples in this group have the strong observation of physiognomy and costume achieved in our chess piece and the others from the same set. Within this group of a King with attendants is an enthroned king holding a falcon, now sadly damaged (Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Berlin,  Inv. 677, see also Museo Nazionale di Ravenna, inv. 1063, for a similar but lesser quality example, Gothic Ivories Project at The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 26.5.2016). With the falcon iconography and the sword held in the right hand the Berlin and Ravenna Kings combine elements from both the V&A and our King and may be seen as further examples of Frederician symbolism in this genre.

Three fine enthroned Kings with an orb or flower attributes (Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. 2000.153, The State Hermitage Museum, inv. F 3403, and Sotheby's, 4 December, 2013, lot 12; Gothic Ivories Project at The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, www.gothicivories.courtauld.ac.uk, 26.5.2016) share a strong sculptural focus on the regal character of the seated figure which are the best comparisons for the V&A and Hohenzollern-von Hirsch Kings.

The Provenance of the Hohenzollern - von Hirsch chess piece

This remarkable chess piece has been one of the defining objects in two legendary collections of medieval art. The King is illustrated amongst the major ivories in the Hohenzollern collection at Sigmaringen in the 1928 catalogue. At the time of going to press it is not known how it entered this Royal German collection, but its existence there is consistent with its origins in Germany in the early 14th century. Robert von Hirsch formed the core of his collection in the 1920s and 1930s so it is almost certain that he acquired the work around this time. Bernard Berenson is reported to have said to the Swiss art historian, Michael Stettler, that he had known only three collectors who really knew about the works of art that they collected and these were the two Stoclets and Robert von Hirsch (See Sotheby Park Bernet, op. cit., p. x). Von Hirsch certainly knew what he was doing when he acquired this monumental little chess piece of a King from the Hohenzollern collections at Sigmaringen. Von Hirsch had other very fine games pieces, notably the early 12th century bone seated King chess piece from the Stapel collection, Darmstadt and a walrus Ivory Knight also from Sigmaringen, from where he also bought a beautiful draughtsman carved with a scene from the life of St Apollonius of Tyre.

As individual diminutive sculptures of enthroned Kings without attendants the V&A and Hohenzollern-von Hirsch Kings continue the tradition of Romanesque chess pieces, epitomised in the supreme figures from the group found on the Isle of Lewis and now divided between the British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland.

RELATED LITERATURE: W. F. Volbach, Die Bildwerke des Deutschen Museums. Vol. 1. Die Elfenbeinbildwerke, Berlin, 1923, p. xi, nos. 124-125

Sotheby's. Treasures, Londres, 06 juil. 2016, 05:30 PM

Lot 3. Attributed to Léonard Limosin (circa 1505-1575), French, Limoges, circa 1530-1540, Roundel with a portrait of a noblewoman, probably Louise of Savoy, or Marguerite of Angoulème, Queen of Navarre, and with the Adoration of the Virgin and Child on the reverse. Estimation 100,000 — 150,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

inscribed with a Latin prayer to the Virgin on the reverse: MEDIATRIX OMNIVM ET FONS VIVVS IN DESINEN... ORE COPIOSE FVNDEN... MARIA TE QVESO (D)ULCISSIMA MATER PER ILLAN TVRBATION... QVA; partially gilt painted enamel on copper; 8.8cm., 3½in. diameter

Provenance: Ian Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll, Marquess of Lorne;
his sale, The Property of a Nobleman, Christie's London, 7 October 1970, lot 122;
private collection, United Kingdom

Bibliography: R. Pinkham, 'Attributions to the Master MP and Master IVL', in Apollo CVIII, no. 201, November 1978, pp. 333-334, figs. 4 and 5;
T. Crépin-Leblond and M. Barbier (eds.), Une reine sans couronne? Louise de Savoie, mère de François Ier, exh. cat. Musée national de la Renaissance, château d’Écouen, Paris, 2015, p. 124

Notes: This delicate enamelled roundel, finely painted on both sides, is an enigmatic treasure. Depicting the bust of a lady in the mourning dress of Renaissance France, it relates closely to four other roundels, which appear to show the same, or a related, sitter on the obverse. Various identifications have been proposed for the woman, or women, portrayed, of whom all are prominent members of the French court. Arguably the most convincing identifications have been Louise of Savoy, mother of King Francis I, and her daughter, Marguerite of Angoulème, Queen of Navarre. The enamel is remarkable not only for the finely executed portrait, but for the beautiful scene with the Virgin and Child in blue hues depicted on the reverse. Its extraordinary quality, and the life dates of its possible sitters, suggest an origin in one of the most accomplished workshops active in Limoges around 1540, most likely that of the court enameller, Léonard Limosin.

The enamel plaque is of slightly convex circular shape. Its obverse depicts the bust of a woman facing slightly to the right, clad in the dueil blanc (white mourning veil), which comprises a coif covering the forehead and eyebrows, with a heart-shaped border above the forehead, and a chest covering that is pleated at the centre. The portrait is painted on a black background with a regularly looped blue border. On the reverse, in counter-enamel, two women wearing a similar veil are seen kneeling with a rosary in front of the enthroned Virgin and Child, who are surrounded by two trumpet-playing winged angels. Behind the throne are three more figures, and the scene is set against an architectural background with high columns and a vaulted ceiling; all except the kneeling women is tinted in various shades of blue. The white border of the reverse is inscribed in black letters with a Latin prayer to the Virgin, which appears in medieval books of hours. Some wear around the rim suggests that it was probably once set within a frame.

Three other known enamelled medallions, all of a similar size and facture, appear to depict the same portrait, though each is painted with a different religious subject on the reverse. The version closest to the present enamel was sold as lot 9 in the Cyril Humphris sale at Sotheby’s New York on 10 January 1995, there attributed to Jean II Penicaud. Equally circular in shape, the medallion is only marginally larger than the present version, and the portrait almost identical. The border also consists of a blue band motif, though its shape is here not looped but a repetition of the Savoy knot. The polychrome reverse depicts Saint Margaret sitting on a dragon against an architectural background. It is likely that this enamel is the same as one illustrated in the 19th-century archive at Blythe House, which was formerly in the Necessidades Palace in Lisbon and shown at the Great Exhibition of Ornamental Arts in 1882. An oval version of slightly smaller dimensions, set in a later frame, is preserved in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (inv. no. 44.504, fig. 1). This differs from the previously mentioned not only in shape, but in the inclusion of the shaft of a crucifix that cuts across the woman’s wimple. Moreover, it varies in its translucent blue border with gilt stars around the portrait, while its reverse bears a gold camaieu scene with Saint Anne and the Virgin and Child after a design by Marcantonio Raimondi. The Baltimore enamel, too, has been attributed to Jean II Pénicaud (Verdier, op. cit.). The third example is another oval version, in an elaborate associated frame, which was formerly in the Kofler-Truniger collection in Lucerne and given to Léonard Limosin (Schnitzler, op. cit.). Only its obverse was illustrated in the catalogues, showing the identical portrait though arguably of inferior quality, with a thin gilt border. The reverse was described as depicting a scene from the legend of Saint Margaret in which the saint kneels under a colonnade adoring the Virgin and Child, who are being held aloft by winged angels – seemingly a variant of the scene on the reverse of the present plaque.

fig. 1. Medallion, attr. Léonard Limosin, Baltimore, The Walters Art Museum (Inv. No. 44.504). Photo:© Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

A closely comparable medallion housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. 7912-1862, figs. 2 and 5) adds to the intrigue provided by the series. Owned before 1842 by the prominent collector, Horace Walpole, this enamel is again smaller than the present version and of near-oval shape, set in a gilt metal frame. Although strikingly similar in style and appearance to the other examples, the portrait on the obverse shows a woman with slightly different features and a variation in the veil – here the eyebrows are exposed, and the top section of the coif is doubled. The border around the portrait is again different; while of a similar blue as in the present enamel, it consists of interlocking knotted S-scrolls. The reverse is painted in gold with Moses receiving the tablets of the law, which are inscribed in French.

fig. 2. Medallion, attr. Léonard Limosin, London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. No.7912-1862). Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

fig. 5. Medallion (reverse of fig. 2), attr. Léonard Limosin, ca. 1530-1540, London, Victoria and Albert Museum (Inv. No.7912-1862). Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Questions of Identification

The debate concerning the identification of the portraits centres upon ladies of the French court who were portrayed in mourning attire during the second quarter of the 16th century. Seemingly worn not only by widows but as an almost fashionable statement of grief and piety in general, the deuil blanc appears frequently in portraiture from this time. Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (1480-1530) was portrayed by Bernard van Orley as a widow in a veil almost identical to those in the enamels, one which is also seen in a Limoges painted enamel portrait of Marie of Luxembourg, Countess of Vendome (d.1547). Although both women are connected to the House of Savoy, their features do not show sufficient similarity with the ladies portrayed in the enamels to justify an identification. Despite this, both have been proposed in the scholarship as possible sitters; the other identifications being Louise of Savoy (1476-1531), her daughter Marguerite of Angoulème (1492-1549), and Guillemette de Sarrebruck (d.1471), all of whom were portrayed at some stage in their lives wearing the deuil blanc or a similar costume. Although a drawing of Guillemette by Jean Clouet from circa 1537 depicts the woman in a veil identical to that in the V&A enamel, an identification with this lady-in-waiting is unconvincing, not only because of her more prominent nose, but her lack of a connection with the House of Savoy and comparatively low status. A series of elaborately enamelled miniature portraits would have been a costly commission, no doubt a privilege afforded only to immediate members of the royal family.

A theory proposed recently by Thierry Crépin-Leblond identifies each portrait with a different woman and suggests that the commission for the medallions may have commemorated the Paix des Dames of 1529, negotiated in Cambrai by Louise of Savoy, her daughter Marguerite, Margaret of Austria, and Marie of Luxembourg (Crépin-Leblond, op. cit., p. 124). The resulting treaty was of historical significance in affecting peace between the King of France, Francis I, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. While a connection with this event is a fascinating suggestion, it is difficult to find such numerous individual features in the largely identical portraits on the surviving medallions. Moreover, the differences in scale, shape, and decoration such as the borders, indicate that the medallions were not produced as part of the same series. Although it is possible that each surviving medallion belonged to a separate series commemorating these four women, it would seem a remarkable coincidence that four of the five versions appear to portray the same woman. 

The most compelling identifications for the medallions remain Louise of Savoy, the King's mother, and her daughter, Marguerite of Angoulème. This may be argued not only because of the similarity of their features, and their association with the Savoy knot that appears in at least one of the medallions, but their high status in the French court, which would have supported such a costly, repeated commission. The features of both the woman in the V&A medallion and that portrayed in the present example are strikingly close to several portraits of Louise of Savoy by and after Jean Clouet from the first half of the 16th century (see Crépin-Leblond, op. cit., pp. 22, 23, and 110-111). While both enamel portraits are partially idealised, such as in the small, doll-like lips, Louise’s full face and straight nose in the drawn portraits resemble both, indicating the possibility that the V&A medallion may in fact portray the same woman as the other examples. However though Louise is portrayed in the drawings wearing a similar headdress, often with a cloth covering her forehead and eyebrows, the outer section of her veil is usually black (see fig. 3). The theory that the lady in the present medallion represents Marguerite of Angoulème is based on a drawing by Clouet, now in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, which depicts the Queen of Navarre in a white mourning veil, though with her eyebrows left uncovered (Mellen, op. cit., fig. 149, cat. no. 124, and here fig. 4). Marguerite was not widowed, but there may have been a separate reason for her attire, such as the death of a family member. It is perhaps the long nose exhibited by both Marguerite and the lady on the present enamel, combined with a family resemblance to Louise of Savoy, that makes this identification particularly plausible. Moreover, it has been suggested that the presence of Saint Margaret on one of the versions with this portrait indicates that the sitter’s name may have been Marguerite. 

fig. 3. Portrait of Louise of Savoy, attributed to François Clouet, 16th century, black and red chalk, Rennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts, (Inv. No. INV794-1-2611). Photo: (C) MBA, Rennes, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Jean-Manuel Salingue.

fig. 4. Portrait of Marguerite of Angoulème, François Clouet, 1526, black and red chalk, Chantilly, Musée Condé (Inv. No. MN43;B323). Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (domaine de Chantilly) / Harry Bréjat.

Several possible scenarios follow from these observations. The first is that all the surviving medallions depict Louise of Savoy and were commissioned by the King’s mother herself, perhaps as devotional gifts to those close to her. The second is that they are posthumous portraits of Louise –more likely, given the probable date of manufacture in the 1530s – and commissioned by the King, or Marguerite of Angoulème, to commemorate their mother. A third possibility is that the V&A portrait depicts Louise of Savoy, and the others Marguerite of Angoulème. The mourning dress, and the devotional nature of the paintings on the reverse, suggest that perhaps each medallion was made to mark the death of a family member and considered a token of the woman’s grief and piety. Each example may have been produced some time after another, for a different recipient, which would account for the subtle differences in size, decoration, and drawing style. Does Saint Margaret praying on top of the Dragon symbolise Marguerite of Angoulème’s own devotion? Could the two women kneeling in front of the Virgin in the present enamel represent Louise of Savoy and Marguerite as mother and daughter? Both women were powerful female figures in their time, their direct involvement in the Ladies’ Peace attesting to their influence in political matters at the utmost level.  Marguerite in particular was celebrated as a visionary Renaissance woman who, despite her Catholicism, fought against the persecution of Calvinists during the Reformation. If indeed the commission for the medallions came from Marguerite, they would provide a fascinating insight into the life and thought of this exceptional woman. 

The Maker

Left tantalisingly unsigned, the roundels have inspired varying attributions in the scholarship. It is unusual for enamelled works of such accomplished artistry to be left without a monogram or signature, emphasising perhaps the private nature of the commission. Enamelled miniature roundels that are painted on both sides were technically challenging objects and rarely produced. As outlined above, most published attributions of the roundels have focused on the two most highly skilled enamel painters of their time, Jean II Pénicaud (fl. 1534-1549) and Léonard Limosin (c.1505-c.1576). An attribution to Jean II Pénicaud, perhaps the most prominent member of the Pénicaud family of enamellers, who perfected the grisaille technique, may be supported by the existence of a small double-sided roundel attributed to Pénicaud in Lyon (Musée des Beaux-Arts). Depicting a battle scene and the goddess Minerva, it mirrors the high quality of the present roundel and some of the other versions. Pénicaud used the same iconographic source as the reverse of the Baltimore roundel in a plaque at the Louvre (inv. no. MV 496), while another of his attributed works, a plaque with the Nativity and a background of columns and arches, recalls the scene on the reverse of the present enamel. However, Pénicaud’s figural style is on the whole more classical, and his few known portraits lack the soft, naturalistic detail observed in the group of medallions. Roger Pinkham’s 1978 attribution of the present enamel to the elusive ‘Master MP’ (op. cit.), who was formerly associated with the Pénicaud family, finds little credence in the light of more recent, inconclusive, research on the MP monogram (see Baratte, op. cit., p. 127). 

First-hand comparison between the present roundel and that at the V&A has revealed, despite subtle differences in the drawing, the likelihood that the two originate from the same workshop, if not from the same hand. Most recently, the roundel at the V&A has been attributed to Léonard Limosin, whose likely authorship forms the more compelling case. Thought to have trained in the Pénicaud workshop, Limosin was called to the French court in the mid-1530s, and thereafter divided his time between Fontainebleau and Limoges, producing highly accomplished enamels for his royal patrons. Limosin was particularly known for his portraits, to which the present roundels and its variants compare well. The precise drawing of contours, particularly the upper eyelid, and the subtle differentiation of flesh tones and shadows exhibited by the present portrait are seen in some of Limosin’s portrait plaques at the Louvre, such as those of Cardinal Jean Bertrand (inv. no. MR R 282), the future Francis II (inv. no. N 1253), as well as the portrait of Henri d’Albret, King of Navarre, in the Wallace Collection (inv. no. C585). 

The hand of a highly talented artist such as Limosin may also be observed in the beautiful painting on the reverse of the present medallion. The skill and imagination of the enameller was such that he was able to capture the light emanating from the window in the differentiated shades of blue applied to the dreamlike scene. A similar impressionistic effect with an architectural background is seen in works by Limosin, such as in the blue and white column held by an Angel in the Crucifixion Retable from Sainte Chapelle (Musée du Louvre, inv. no. MR XIII), and a grisaille plaque showing Ceres and Psyche in front of a Greek temple (Louvre, inv. no. R 282). It may also be noted that Limosin frequently used a rich blue colour in the background of his portraits, notably that of Henri II in Braunschweig (Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, inv. no. Lim 45). Crépin-Leblond’s attribution of the V&A enamel to Léonard Limosin (Crépin-Leblond, op. cit., p. 124) is based partly on a double-sided portrait medallion signed by the artist at the British Museum, which is dated 1539 (inv. no. 1885,0508.15). Showing a posthumous profile portrait of the dauphin François in grisaille with a blue background on the obverse, and a portrait of his father, the King, in gold camaieu on the reverse, it compares closely with the roundel at the V&A, as well as the present example. We are here presented with evidence that Limosin produced the same type of double-sided portrait medallion, and that such a commission is likely to have come from King Francis I himself. This would support the supposition that the portrait on the present roundel depicts an immediate family member of the King and was executed by Limosin. It also provides a likely date of creation for the group of roundels during the enameller’s early career in the later 1530s. 

Conclusion

An intricately produced objet d’art of exquisite quality, the medallion would have been suited to being kept in a private drawer, or as part of an intimate display of valuables, serving as a memento of the portrait’s sitter. Crépin-Leblond records several entries in royal inventories from the mid-16th century that list painted enamel portrait medallions, including – compellingly – one of Louise of Savoy, ‘mere du Roy, esmail de Lymoges, enchassée on or’ (as quoted in Crépin-Leblond, op. cit., p. 124). While the precise commission and relationship with the other versions remains unclear, a convincing case has been made for the present roundel’s direct relation to the French royal family, as well as the likely identity of the woman portrayed – either the King’s mother, or his sister. Its return to the market after more than forty-five years will no doubt inspire further research and debate, bringing closer the tantalising possibility of resolving the intrigue surrounding this precious enamel. 

RELATED LITERATURE: H. Schnitzler et al., Email, Goldschmiede- und Metallarbeiten, Sammlung E. und M. Kofler-Truniger Luzern, Band II, Lucerne and Stuttgart, 1965, p. 42, no. E 123 and pl. 67; P. Verdier, Catalogue of the Painted Enamels of the Renaissance, cat. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, 1967, pp. 103-104; P, Mellen, Jean Clouet: Complete Edition of the Drawings, Miniatures and Paintings, London, 1971; S. Baratte, Léonard Limosin au musée du Louvre, Paris, 1993; S. Baratte, Les Émaux peints de Limoges, cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2000, pp. 317-361; I. Münsch, Maleremails des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts aus Limoges, cat. Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, 2002, pp. 140-141; S. Higgott, Catalogue of Glass and Limoges Painted Enamels, cat. The Wallace Collection, London, 2011, pp. 264-269; T. Crépin-Leblond and M. Barbier (eds.), Une reine sans couronne? Louise de Savoie, mère de François Ier, exh. cat. Musée national de la Renaissance, château d’Écouen, Paris, 2015

Sotheby’s would like to thank Judith Crouch, Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, for making the medallion at the V&A available for our inspection. We are also grateful to Erika Speel and Suzanne Higgott, Curator at the Wallace Collection, for kindly sharing thoughts and information with us.

Sotheby's. Treasures, Londres, 06 juil. 2016, 05:30 PM

Lot 6. Master I. C. (workshop active circa 1550-1615), French, Limoges, circa 1600-1610, Pair of salt cellars with the profiles of a nobleman and a lady, probably King Henri IV of France and Marie de' Medici. Estimation 100,000 — 150,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

each monogrammed: I.C. to the underside of the foot; partially gilt painted enamel on copper, with a modern dark blue leather box lined with peach velvet; salts: 14 by 8.6cm., 5½ by 3 3/8 in. each; box: 16 by 22 by 12cm., 6¼ by 8 5/8  by 4¾in.

Provenance: Private collection, United Kingdom

Notes: This exquisite pair of richly decorated enamelled salt cellars represents an important addition to the oeuvre of the so-called Master I.C., one of the foremost workshops active in Limoges during the second half of the sixteenth century. In addition to their rarity as being an extant pair in the unusual balustrade shape, the salts are remarkable in bearing idealised portraits of a man and a woman who may be identified as Henri IV, King of France, and his wife, Marie de’ Medici. Relating to another pair of salt cellars by the Master I.C. which portray the same King and Queen, the present enamels are therefore a valuable historical document, as well as sumptuous objets de vertu. 

Works by the Master I.C.

The salts bear the monogram I.C. on the underside of each foot, indicating that they were produced by the eponymous enamelling workshop active in Limoges. The identity of the maker’s mark has long been the subject of debate in the scholarship and remains partially unresolved today. Traditionally associated with the name of Jean de Court, which appears in various records from 16th-century Limoges, the mark is today thought to have been used by a major workshop which operated for several decades, from the mid-16th to the early 17th century. The workshop seems to have been led by successive enamellers with the name of Jean de Court (or variations thereof) who were probably members of the same family (see Higgott, op. cit., pp. 286-287). Works signed I.C. exist in many major collections of Limoges enamels, including the Louvre, the Herzog-Anton-Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig, and the Wallace Collection in London. These range from objects painted in grisaille, which are usually dated to the second half of the 16th century, to those that use polychromy and are thought to be of a slightly later date.

In both form and decorative scheme, the present pair of salt cellars are a characteristic product of the Master I.C. workshop. The salts are conceived in a distinctive shape, comprising a voluminous bowl at the top containing the receptacle, which joins with a balustrade stem ending in a bell-shaped foot. The gilding and polychrome painting is applied on a dark blue background with three white borders around the rims at the top, bottom and middle sections. As seen in many works signed I.C., the undersides of the feet are decorated in gold with fleurs-de-lys and dotted flower motifs. Each foot shows a Bacchic procession with goats and putti, which are characterised by their pronounced musculature. A laurel wreath runs around each foot, and the top of the stems are decorated with gilt sunrays and circles. The stems are painted with herms and fruit and gilt ‘II’s around the joints with the upper sections. One of the upper sections is painted with winged amorini, the other with infant satyrs, both separated by long-eared masks. The receptacles are painted with busts in profile on a gold-dotted background, framed by a border of gilt circles and polychrome gems. One shows a bearded man wearing a laurel wreath and a cuirass with a lion mask cauldron; the other a woman in classical drapes with braided hair and a pointed diadem. 

Salts in a similar balustrade-shape appear to be solely the work of the Master I.C. workshop. Several examples of this rare object type are found in collections, all following the same basic decorative scheme, yet surviving almost exclusively as single objects rather than as pairs, which highlights the rarity of the present objects. At least three of the surviving balustrade-shaped salts are painted in grisaille. A damaged salt at the Louvre follows a similar decorative scheme but with two reclining gods, putti playing with lions and dogs, and a portrait of a woman in classical dress in the receptacle (inv. no. R263, fig. 1). Another single grisaille salt cellar of this shape is housed in Braunschweig, likewise depicting putti and beasts, while showing the profile of a man in classical armour (inv. no. Lim 138). A polychromed pair marked I.C. was reproduced in the Spitzer sale catalogue (op. cit., nos. 158-159), each apparently with the profile bust of a woman in the receptacle, and two others are housed in the Frick Collection in New York (inv. nos. 16.4.37 and 16.4.27). Of the two salts at the Frick, the one in grisaille has a varying decorative scheme and was attributed to Pierre Reymond by Vigier (op. cit., pp. 146-148), though it has more recently been associated with the Master I.C. workshop (Braunschweig, op. cit., p. 226). The other, polychromed, salt is signed I.C. and compares very closely to the present pair. The masks surrounded by scrolls, seated putti, details of the decoration, and use of vibrant colours are particularly similar, and the Frick salt equally shows a Bacchic procession with putti on the foot. It is probably the use of translucent enamel over foil (paillon), as in the present pair, which has led Sophie Baratte to suggest a later dating for the Frick example than for the grisaille in the Louvre (op. cit. 2000, p. 349). It follows therefore that the present salt cellars, too, are datable to around 1600.

fig. 1. Salière : Jeux d’enfants, Master I.C., enamel, Paris, Musée du Louvre (Inv. No. R263). Photo: © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Stéphane Maréchalle.

The Portraits

Although the profile busts shown on the receptacles of the present salts are generally comparable to the idealised portraits shown on the other examples of this type, their distinctive headgear and facial features appear to distinguish them as important individuals. The man’s laurel wreath and lion mask pauldron mark him out as man of high military status, possibly royal, while the woman’s unusual pointed diadem suggests a similarly prominent role. Significantly, the Musées d’Angers house a pair of salt cellars by the Master I.C. whose portraits on the receptacles have been identified with certainty as Henri IV of France (r.1589-1610) and his wife, Marie de’ Medici (inv. no. MA 2 R 135, fig. 2). It is this pair of salts which confirms the assumption that the I.C. workshop continued into the early 17th century – Henri and Marie were married in 1600, ten years before the King’s death (see Baratte 1992, op. cit., pp. 32-34).

fig. 2. Pair of enamelled salts (detail), Master I.C., enamel, Angers, Musée d’Angers (Inv. No. MA II R 135 a, b). Photo: © Musées d’Angers, P. David.