A FRENCH GILTWOOD FIRE SCREEN WITH A BEAUVAIS TAPESTRY PANEL
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A FRENCH GILTWOOD FIRE SCREEN WITH A BEAUVAIS TAPESTRY PANEL

THE FRAME OF LOUIS XVI STYLE, 19TH CENTURY, THE TAPESTRY CIRCA 1746-1762, AFTER FRANÇOIS BOUCHER

Details
A FRENCH GILTWOOD FIRE SCREEN WITH A BEAUVAIS TAPESTRY PANEL
The frame of Louis XVI style, 19th Century, the tapestry circa 1746-1762, after François Boucher
Of rectangular form with entrelac border, the rising screen with a scene of two musicians and a lady singing in a woodland, 'La Musique' from the series 'Les Fêtes Italiennes', the sides with ribbon-twist mouldings, on downswept foliage-carved legs with scrolled feet, with 19th Century paper label inscribed in ink 'No. 212'
48 in. (122 cm.) high; 34 in. (86.5 cm.) wide; 18 in. (45.5 cm.) deep
Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

This screen panel originally almost certainly formed part of a room decorated entirely with tapestries depicting scenes from the Beauvais series 'Les Fêtes Italiennes'. François Boucher designed the series upon his return from Italy and as first commission for Beauvais with the first weaving started in 1736. The designs appear to have been supplied in two groups of four paintings, one in 1736 and the second, to which 'La Musique' belongs, in 1746. The series enjoyed considerable success with 34 full or partial weavings recorded between 1736 and 1762. Two drawings specifically relating to the two musicians depicted remain, one of the violinist in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut and the other of the flute player in a private collection in Paris. Five screen panels of this subject are recorded: One illustrated in J. Badin, La Manufacture de Tapisseries de Beauvais, Paris 1909, opposite p. VII of the introduction, one at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, one in the Palazzo Bianco, Genova (H. Göbel, Die Wandteppiche und ihre Manufakturen in Franreich, Italien, Spanien und Portugal, Leipzig, 1928, fig. 257), one in the Comte Greffulhe collection, sold Sotheby's London, 23 June 1937, lot 59, and one in the Harry Payne Whitney collection, sold Parke-Bernet, 29 April 1942, lot 107.

E. Standen, 'Fetes Italiennes: Beauvais tapestries after Boucher in The Metropolitan Museum of Art', Metropolitan Museum Journal, 1977, vol. 12, pp. 107-130.
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