ATTRIBUTED TO MARTIAL COURTEYS (ACTIVE 1544-1581), LIMOGES, CIRCA 1565-1575

Details

A PARCEL-GILT GRISAILLE ENAMEL PLATE DEPICTING THE MONTH OF AUGUST
ATTRIBUTED TO MARTIAL COURTEYS (ACTIVE 1544-1581), LIMOGES, CIRCA 1565-1575
Monogrammed 'M.C.'; inscribed 'AOUST' to the front and 'XII' to the reverse
8 in. (20.6 cm.) diam.

Provenance

George Guy, Fourth Earl of Warwick, until sold,
Christie's, London, 17 July 1896, lot 22.
With Antiquités M. & G. Ségal, Basel, where acquired, and thence by descent to the present owner.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
S. Baratte, Les Emaux peints de Limoges, Paris, 2000, pp. 364-5.
S. Caroselli, The Painted Enamels of Limoges - A Catalogue of the Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1993, pp. 174-194.

Exhibited

London, South Kensington Museum, Special Loan Exhibition of Enamels on Metal, 1874.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Further details

Brought to you by

Donald Johnston

djohnston@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2331

Lot Essay

Martial Courteys (or Courtois) was the son of Pierre Courteys, and was a Limoges enameller active between 1544 and 1581 (Verdier, op. cit., p. 101) and died ten years after his father in December 1592.

Depictions of the months of the year were among one of the most popular themes made in the Limoges workshops in the sixteenth century. Each month was specified by a particular activity and its zodiac sign, and here August is identified with the harvesting of wheat, with labourers cutting the wheat with scythes and bundling it off, eventually to supply to the town shown in the background. The present plate follows Etienne Delaune's engravings of the months of the year, made in Paris prior to 1566 (Rome, Vatican Library, Cicognara IV 2108 1st state, fig.1).

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