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Lot Essay
The superb ormolu mounts of these extraordinary Chinese famille rose pheasants relate to a porcelain design for a jardinière or cuvette Mahon with similar inward curving scrolled feet representing botanical roots, attributed to Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis (d.1774) when artistic director at Vincennes and its successor, Sèvres, during the period 1748-74 (S. Eriksen, G. de Bellaigue, Sèvres Porcelain, Vincennes and Sèvres 1740-1800, London and Boston). A Sèvres stock list of 1 January 1757 shows that the model was created in 1756, and a drawing executed in August 1759 is annotated in Duplessis' hand (ibid., p. 315-316). The quality of the modeling and chasing and the unity of form and decoration of the mounts with naturalistically-chased platforms fitted exactly to the bases of the pheasants, clearly identify them as specifically made for these spectacular pheasants and are very characteristic of Duplessis' oeuvre.
The French fashion for ormolu-mounted porcelain supplied by marchand-merciers such as Lazare Duvaux, and also un-mounted Chinese porcelain birds is revealed in the 'revolutionary' sales, held in Paris in the late 18th century. In the Catalogue d'objets rare et curieux de plus beau choix provenant du Cabinet de M. le Brun, 11-30 April 1791, lot 709, 'Un Perroquet de couleur bien égale, placé sur un socle de bronze' sold for 24 livres, the reference to a perroquet could equally be a pheasant given their brightly coloured plumage. The sale of the Cabinet de feu M. de la Mure, 19 April 1791, lists two pairs of Chinese porcelain birds, lot 188 'Deux Perroquets', and lot 195, 'Deux Oiseaux de proie'. One of the most remarkable collections of Chinese porcelain birds in Britain including pairs of famille rose pheasants was that of Mrs. David Gubbay (d. 1968), cousin of Sir Philip Sassoon, and one of the greatest connoisseur-collectors of her generation, donated to to the National Trust, and exhibited at Clandon Park, Surrey. Enamel colouring was particularly celebrated during the golden era of the Qianlong Emperors. The soft famille rose palette giving a complex range of tones and depths in the enamel paint fired onto ceramic surfaces, it was greatly prized for the intricate detail it lent, as here, to the depiction of exotic colours and textures of plumage.
However, ormolu-mounted Chinese pheasants seem to be exceptionally rare with only un-mounted birds seen on the market. Closely related pheasants in Quianlong porcelain - though without the spectacular ormolu mounts - were in the collection of the Berlin banker Jakob Goldschmidt and exhibited in the great exhibition of Chinese Art at the Berlin Akademie der Künste, 12 January-2 April 1929. A Commemorative Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art held at the Royal Academy of Arts, November 1935-March 1936, presented a pair of famille rose pheasants (p. 81, no. 1845) and two single pheasants, again un-mounted. And another un-mounted pair is in the Wrightsman Collection (C.C. Dauterman, vol. IV Porcelain, 1966, p. 422, no. 195). A comparable pair was sold at Christie's, London, 1 April 1968, lot 86 and a virtually identical pair of porcelain pheasants, though un-mounted, was sold at Sotheby's, London, 6 November 1973, lot 203. A closely related pair of pheasants was sold at Christie's, London, 6 November 1995, lot 137 (£254,000).
The French fashion for ormolu-mounted porcelain supplied by marchand-merciers such as Lazare Duvaux, and also un-mounted Chinese porcelain birds is revealed in the 'revolutionary' sales, held in Paris in the late 18th century. In the Catalogue d'objets rare et curieux de plus beau choix provenant du Cabinet de M. le Brun, 11-30 April 1791, lot 709, 'Un Perroquet de couleur bien égale, placé sur un socle de bronze' sold for 24 livres, the reference to a perroquet could equally be a pheasant given their brightly coloured plumage. The sale of the Cabinet de feu M. de la Mure, 19 April 1791, lists two pairs of Chinese porcelain birds, lot 188 'Deux Perroquets', and lot 195, 'Deux Oiseaux de proie'. One of the most remarkable collections of Chinese porcelain birds in Britain including pairs of famille rose pheasants was that of Mrs. David Gubbay (d. 1968), cousin of Sir Philip Sassoon, and one of the greatest connoisseur-collectors of her generation, donated to to the National Trust, and exhibited at Clandon Park, Surrey. Enamel colouring was particularly celebrated during the golden era of the Qianlong Emperors. The soft famille rose palette giving a complex range of tones and depths in the enamel paint fired onto ceramic surfaces, it was greatly prized for the intricate detail it lent, as here, to the depiction of exotic colours and textures of plumage.
However, ormolu-mounted Chinese pheasants seem to be exceptionally rare with only un-mounted birds seen on the market. Closely related pheasants in Quianlong porcelain - though without the spectacular ormolu mounts - were in the collection of the Berlin banker Jakob Goldschmidt and exhibited in the great exhibition of Chinese Art at the Berlin Akademie der Künste, 12 January-2 April 1929. A Commemorative Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art held at the Royal Academy of Arts, November 1935-March 1936, presented a pair of famille rose pheasants (p. 81, no. 1845) and two single pheasants, again un-mounted. And another un-mounted pair is in the Wrightsman Collection (C.C. Dauterman, vol. IV Porcelain, 1966, p. 422, no. 195). A comparable pair was sold at Christie's, London, 1 April 1968, lot 86 and a virtually identical pair of porcelain pheasants, though un-mounted, was sold at Sotheby's, London, 6 November 1973, lot 203. A closely related pair of pheasants was sold at Christie's, London, 6 November 1995, lot 137 (£254,000).