MARK OF CHRISTIAN HEINRICH INGERMANN, DRESDEN, 1747

A PATRON OF THE ARTS

Augustus III (1696-1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augustus II. The only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong (1670-1733), Imperial Prince-Elector of Saxony and monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, he was groomed to succeed his father as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and thus in 1712, he converted to Catholicism. In 1719 he married the Archduchess, Maria Josepha of Austria (1751-1767), daughter of Joseph I, the Holy Roman Emperor and together they had fifteen children.
After his father's death in 1733, he inherited the state of Saxony and was elected King of Poland, with the support of Russian and Austrian military forces in the War of the Polish Succession (1733-1738). During his reign he was uninterested in the affairs of state. Following his father's example, he became a great patron of the arts and architecture and expanded the Saxon royal art collections. His father had advised him in 1719, the year of his marriage, that 'Princes win immortality through great building as well as great victories.' Of Augustus it was said that '...he showed neither talent or inclination for government but took great interest in music and painting.' Nancy Mitford's observations were more acerbic 'Historians look with no good eye on Augustus the Strong and his son Augustus III who between them reduced the rich state of Saxony to penury in order to satisfy their craving for works of art. Beautiful Dresden under their rule was the most civilized town in the Empire' (N. Mitford, op. cit., p. 33).

A FASHIONABLE NEW SERVICE

During his reign, under the direction of Prime Minister Heinrich, count von Brühl, much of the existing silver in the Dresden hofsilberkammer was melted down to be refashioned in the latest style, often French, by Dresden silversmiths. The present candlesticks and candelabra are part of the magnificent Doppelt Matt Vergoldete service (twice gilt matt service) listed in its own chapter (Caput II) of the inventory of the silberkammer. They were delivered by Christian Heinrich Ingermann on 20 November 1747 and comprised twenty-four candelabra and thirty-six candlesticks made using silver from twelve candelabra, of which eight were from the original Matt Vergoldete service of 1718 and twenty-four candelabra from the Glantz Vergoldete service, which had been melted in March of that year (see T XI., Nr. 29, annotations under Abgang p. 48 and 109).

Despite the melting of vast quantities of silver to help pay for the debt of the kingdom in 1765, the present candlesticks and candelabra, and indeed most of the service survived. It remained at Dresden and was even expanded in 1784 with the addition of four candlesticks, nos. 37, 38, 39 and 40, delivered in December by Carl David Schrödel and described as engraved with the cypher FA under crown.
The inventory of 1774 (T XI., Nr. 041) records all the silver-gilt in the same chapter while only the twice gilt matt service retained its identity under the heading 'service'. The list includes weights and numbers on p. 126 and 128 for the forty candlesticks whilst the twenty-four candelabra are on p. 122 and p. 124.

The candlesticks and candelabra are further recorded in the subsequent inventories of 1882, updated in 1918 and 1932 (op. cit., T XI, Nr. 046a). An undated note under Abgang records that sixteen of the forty candlesticks were sold, presumably via the firm Ball and Graupe and that a further four pieces, nos. 21-24 were handed over to Ball on 25 February 1930 [16. Außerdem 4 Stuck No.21-24 am 25.2 1930 an Firma Ball abgegeben] while eight out of the twenty-four candelabra were also sent to Ball on 25 February 1930, whilst a further two, nos. 15 and 16, were sent there for inspection [8. außerdem 2 Stuck zur Ansicht bei der Firma Ball. 25.2.30 (No. 15 u[nd] 16] and in 1932, another two, Nos 1 and 2, were handed over to His Royal Highness Prince Ernst Heinrich in Munich, 16 January 1932 [Zwei Stück Nr.1.2 an Sn. K.H. den Prinzen Ernst Heinrich in München abgegeben / 16 Jan. 1932].

This set of eight candlesticks as well as a set of four candelabra were offered in the Mannheimer collection sale held at Frederik Muller, in Amsterdam between 14 and 21 October 1952, under lots 175 and 177. Another set of six candlesticks numbered 29 through 34, were sold by Sotheby's Geneva, May 12, 1983, lot 80 in the Bernouilli Collection, and again from a German Private Collector at Sotheby's Geneva, 18 May 1992, lot 83 and Sotheby’s London, 23 November 2004, lot 83.

Nos. 23 and 24 were offered at Christie's, formely from the collection of the late Sir Siegmund Warburg, London, 16 November 2010, lot 351. The candelabra, nos. 19 and 20 were offered at Sotheby’s, London 23 November 2004, lot 82.

ANTENOR PATINO

The Patiño family were great art collectors and the sale here of magnificent silver-gilt candlesticks and candelabra from the Elector of Saxony’s Doppel Vergoldt service follows other high profile sales held by Christie’s for the family, the first of silver was the auction of English and Continental silver in Christie’s New York on 28 October 1986. The introduction to the catalogue, written by the Conservateur en chef honoraire of the Musée National de Versailles, Gerald Van Der Kemp (1912-2002), celebrated the taste and generosity of Antenor Patiño and wife Beatriz, especially mentioning the many gifts they made to the Louvre and Versailles and their ‘eagerness to share their connoisseurship and enthusiasm for the arts of the past’. A long standing friend of the couple, Van Den Kemp described Mr. Patiño as ‘a man of great culture, great courtesy and of the most refined taste.’

The Patiño silver collection was started in the early years of the 20th century by Simon Iturri Patiño (1860-1947), Antenor’s father, the Bolivian mining pioneer known as the Rey del Estaño, The Tin King. His passion for collecting the finest works of art was inherited by his son, Antenor Patiño (1896-1982) who, at the aged of 21, commissioned a large silver dinner service from the Paris jewellers and goldsmiths Joseph Chaumet. With a preference for the 18th century, Antenor Patiño made his first acquisitions of antique silver in the 1920s. He continued to collect through the 1970s, creating one of the most comprehensive group of European silver assembled in the 20th century.