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Lot Essay
These monumental vases were displayed prominently in the grand salon of Hubert de Givenchy’s hôtel d’Orrouer in Paris and were previously part of the celebrated collections of Baron Achille Seillière (1813-1873).
Executed in the fashionable goût grec of the 1760s and of highly unusual, overscale design, they relate to the oeuvre of two of the greatest artists active at the Royal lapidary workshops at the Menus-Plaisirs, the ciseleur-doreur du Roi, Pierre Gouthière (d. 1813) and the Genoese sculptor Augustine Bocciardi (fl. 1760-90). The vases have handles modelled as Bacchic masks above entwined serpents; these feature in the series of designs by Ennemond Alexandre Petitot (d. 1801), published in 1764 and available throughout Europe, but also on a design by Gilles-Paul Cauvet (d. 1788) and others by Jean-Louis Prieur (d. 1792).
The present vases, placed in Givenchy’s sitting room at his last Parisian residence Hôtel d’Orrouer, are emblematic of the designer’s sophisticated and nuanced taste that favoured the best in 17th and 18th century furniture and works of art – the vases were part of the exhibition 'La Galerie de Girardon - Evocation by Hubert de Givenchy', at Christie's, Paris, 11 - 29 September 2012. Their overall shape, imposing proportions but above all decorative repertoires allow us to relate the vases to two further pairs similarly celebrated for their fine quality and the prestigious collections of which they were part. Also, featuring delicately entwined serpent handles flanking tapering bodies, the green porphyry vases circa 1785 in the Musée du Louvre, and formerly in the collection of Marie-Antoinette's celebrated architect, Richard Mique, are closely related to those offered here (D. Alcouffe, A. Dion-Tenenbaum, G. Mabille, Gilt bronzes in the Louvre, 2004, p. 226, no. 113).
Although tantalizingly unidentified, Daniel Alcouffe suggests that the bronzier responsible for the mounts on the Louvre example might be the foremost ciseleur-doreur, Pierre Gouthière, (d.1813) with whom Mique collaborated. A pair of covered vases virtually identical to the Louvre vases, albeit devoid of any foliate swags, were formerly part of the collection of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman until sold Sotheby's, New York, 22 May 1993, lot 187; whilst two closely related bois pétrifié vases circa 1780, featuring related entwined serpents are in the Musée Nissim de Camondo (inv. 153). These originally stood in the salle de bain of Marie-Antoinette at Versailles and were subsequently entrusted by the Queen to the celebrated marchand-mercier, Dominique Daguerre, on the eve of the Revolution. Although a slightly different model to the Louvre and Wrightsman pairs, the pair of pink granite vases offered 'The Wildenstein Collection', Christie's, London, 14-15 December 2005, lot 74, are also closely related to the present pair and share the naturalistic interlaced serpent handles and reed-tied Bacchic masks. A third closely related example is the porphyry vase circa 1760-65 in the Wallace Collection (inv. F355, see also F356-7). As Peter Hughes remarks, the entwined serpents - with their mouths agape and seemingly reaching to fruiting vines - recall those featured on a vase from an etching in Raccolta di Vasi Diversi by Stefano della Bella, published circa 1646, pl. 6 (P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Furniture, vol. III, London, 1996, p.1378, fig.283). The fine gilt-bronze mounts on the Wallace vase were probably cast and chased by the goldsmith, Robert-Joseph August (1723-c.1805), sculpteur and royal goldsmith to both Louis XV and Louis XVI. Pierre Verlet identified the latter vase as that noted in 1766 by the marchand-mercier, Thomas-Joachim Hébert, in the first Salon of the hôtel of Augustin Blondel de Gagny (d.1776), the renowned collector and supervisor of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi from 1752.
The enduring popularity of objéts montées featuring entwined serpents as the main stylistic element is illustrated by the plethora of designs popularised in the second half of the 18th century by a select group of bronziers, sculptors, ornemanistes and designers. These include Jean-Guillaume Moitte (d. 1810) who supplied designs for use by William Beckford at Fonthill Abbey; and Ennemond Alexandre Petitot (d.1801) whose celebrated series of designs was published in 1764 and available throughout Europe. Also of note, Gilles-Paul Cauvet (d.1788), whose design for a vase with entwined serpents and Bacchic masks was published in 1777 in 'Recueil d'Ornemens à l'usage des jeunes artistes qui se destinent à la décoration des bâtiments' (Drawings for Architecture, Design and Ornament). But it is most probably to designs by the sculpteur, ciseleur et doreur du Roy, Jean-Louis Prieur (d.1792) Prieur's designs for King Stanislas-Auguste Poniatowski's Royal Palace in Warsaw are of particular note with the 'Vase... du Boudoir' dated 1766 being especially close to the pair here discussed. Also particularly noteworthy are the vine-bearing Bacchic masks, which flank the waisted necks of the present vases. Clearly reminiscent of the many representations of the wine deity by André-Charles Boulle and executed a third of a century after the latter's death, they are a testament to the legacy of the most celebrated ébéniste of the baroque.
The rich granite which was cut and polished to form the core of the present vases reflects the engouement for rare marble, porphyry, jasper, agates and other precious stones in the second half of the 18th century. Such passion and 'true art of collecting' rare stone vessels or precious mounted objects was further enhanced by the visionary marchands-merciers - then ultimate arbiters of taste. From about 1765, vessels modelled upon prototypes from classical antiquity were produced from these rare materials. Louis-Marie Augustin, 5th duc d'Aumont (1709-1782), arguably the most fervent admirer and hardstone collector of the century, held his family's hereditary position as 'premier gentilhomme de la chambre du Roi' in 1723, which he kept until Louis XV's death in 1774. In 1770, he set up a workshop at the hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs specialising in the cutting and polishing of precious stones, most often with a view to adorn these with rich mounts to satisfy the ever-increasing appetite for objéts montées.
The innovative nature of the intertwined serpent device on these vases and its employment for the most prestigious of commissions is demonstrated by a pair of vases listed as lot 152 in the sale catalogue of the Duc D'Aumont which are similarly described as 'de forme lisbet, à deux serpents entrelacés... saillant sur le pourtour et s'elevant sur les côtés, posent leur tête sur la panse, dont ils forment les anses...'. Clearly of comparable form and decoration to the pieces in the Duc D’Aumont’s collections, the present vases were similarly most probably commissioned by a sophisticated connoisseur such as Blondel de Gagny or Ange-Laurent de Lalive de Jully (d.1779) and likely supplied by a prominent 18th century marchand-mercier, the present vases were almost certainly executed by one of the then leading bronziers. Without any further evidence to support an attribution, the identity of such bronzier will remain tantalizingly unknown. Amongst the most likely contenders, the two leading bronziers of the period, Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain (d.1791) and Philippe Caffiéri (d.1774); the latter chiefly remembered for the bronze mounts on the 'iconic' gôut grec bureau plat cum cartonnier supplied circa 1755 to Lalive de Jully.
Executed in the fashionable goût grec of the 1760s and of highly unusual, overscale design, they relate to the oeuvre of two of the greatest artists active at the Royal lapidary workshops at the Menus-Plaisirs, the ciseleur-doreur du Roi, Pierre Gouthière (d. 1813) and the Genoese sculptor Augustine Bocciardi (fl. 1760-90). The vases have handles modelled as Bacchic masks above entwined serpents; these feature in the series of designs by Ennemond Alexandre Petitot (d. 1801), published in 1764 and available throughout Europe, but also on a design by Gilles-Paul Cauvet (d. 1788) and others by Jean-Louis Prieur (d. 1792).
The present vases, placed in Givenchy’s sitting room at his last Parisian residence Hôtel d’Orrouer, are emblematic of the designer’s sophisticated and nuanced taste that favoured the best in 17th and 18th century furniture and works of art – the vases were part of the exhibition 'La Galerie de Girardon - Evocation by Hubert de Givenchy', at Christie's, Paris, 11 - 29 September 2012. Their overall shape, imposing proportions but above all decorative repertoires allow us to relate the vases to two further pairs similarly celebrated for their fine quality and the prestigious collections of which they were part. Also, featuring delicately entwined serpent handles flanking tapering bodies, the green porphyry vases circa 1785 in the Musée du Louvre, and formerly in the collection of Marie-Antoinette's celebrated architect, Richard Mique, are closely related to those offered here (D. Alcouffe, A. Dion-Tenenbaum, G. Mabille, Gilt bronzes in the Louvre, 2004, p. 226, no. 113).
Although tantalizingly unidentified, Daniel Alcouffe suggests that the bronzier responsible for the mounts on the Louvre example might be the foremost ciseleur-doreur, Pierre Gouthière, (d.1813) with whom Mique collaborated. A pair of covered vases virtually identical to the Louvre vases, albeit devoid of any foliate swags, were formerly part of the collection of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman until sold Sotheby's, New York, 22 May 1993, lot 187; whilst two closely related bois pétrifié vases circa 1780, featuring related entwined serpents are in the Musée Nissim de Camondo (inv. 153). These originally stood in the salle de bain of Marie-Antoinette at Versailles and were subsequently entrusted by the Queen to the celebrated marchand-mercier, Dominique Daguerre, on the eve of the Revolution. Although a slightly different model to the Louvre and Wrightsman pairs, the pair of pink granite vases offered 'The Wildenstein Collection', Christie's, London, 14-15 December 2005, lot 74, are also closely related to the present pair and share the naturalistic interlaced serpent handles and reed-tied Bacchic masks. A third closely related example is the porphyry vase circa 1760-65 in the Wallace Collection (inv. F355, see also F356-7). As Peter Hughes remarks, the entwined serpents - with their mouths agape and seemingly reaching to fruiting vines - recall those featured on a vase from an etching in Raccolta di Vasi Diversi by Stefano della Bella, published circa 1646, pl. 6 (P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Furniture, vol. III, London, 1996, p.1378, fig.283). The fine gilt-bronze mounts on the Wallace vase were probably cast and chased by the goldsmith, Robert-Joseph August (1723-c.1805), sculpteur and royal goldsmith to both Louis XV and Louis XVI. Pierre Verlet identified the latter vase as that noted in 1766 by the marchand-mercier, Thomas-Joachim Hébert, in the first Salon of the hôtel of Augustin Blondel de Gagny (d.1776), the renowned collector and supervisor of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi from 1752.
The enduring popularity of objéts montées featuring entwined serpents as the main stylistic element is illustrated by the plethora of designs popularised in the second half of the 18th century by a select group of bronziers, sculptors, ornemanistes and designers. These include Jean-Guillaume Moitte (d. 1810) who supplied designs for use by William Beckford at Fonthill Abbey; and Ennemond Alexandre Petitot (d.1801) whose celebrated series of designs was published in 1764 and available throughout Europe. Also of note, Gilles-Paul Cauvet (d.1788), whose design for a vase with entwined serpents and Bacchic masks was published in 1777 in 'Recueil d'Ornemens à l'usage des jeunes artistes qui se destinent à la décoration des bâtiments' (Drawings for Architecture, Design and Ornament). But it is most probably to designs by the sculpteur, ciseleur et doreur du Roy, Jean-Louis Prieur (d.1792) Prieur's designs for King Stanislas-Auguste Poniatowski's Royal Palace in Warsaw are of particular note with the 'Vase... du Boudoir' dated 1766 being especially close to the pair here discussed. Also particularly noteworthy are the vine-bearing Bacchic masks, which flank the waisted necks of the present vases. Clearly reminiscent of the many representations of the wine deity by André-Charles Boulle and executed a third of a century after the latter's death, they are a testament to the legacy of the most celebrated ébéniste of the baroque.
The rich granite which was cut and polished to form the core of the present vases reflects the engouement for rare marble, porphyry, jasper, agates and other precious stones in the second half of the 18th century. Such passion and 'true art of collecting' rare stone vessels or precious mounted objects was further enhanced by the visionary marchands-merciers - then ultimate arbiters of taste. From about 1765, vessels modelled upon prototypes from classical antiquity were produced from these rare materials. Louis-Marie Augustin, 5th duc d'Aumont (1709-1782), arguably the most fervent admirer and hardstone collector of the century, held his family's hereditary position as 'premier gentilhomme de la chambre du Roi' in 1723, which he kept until Louis XV's death in 1774. In 1770, he set up a workshop at the hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs specialising in the cutting and polishing of precious stones, most often with a view to adorn these with rich mounts to satisfy the ever-increasing appetite for objéts montées.
The innovative nature of the intertwined serpent device on these vases and its employment for the most prestigious of commissions is demonstrated by a pair of vases listed as lot 152 in the sale catalogue of the Duc D'Aumont which are similarly described as 'de forme lisbet, à deux serpents entrelacés... saillant sur le pourtour et s'elevant sur les côtés, posent leur tête sur la panse, dont ils forment les anses...'. Clearly of comparable form and decoration to the pieces in the Duc D’Aumont’s collections, the present vases were similarly most probably commissioned by a sophisticated connoisseur such as Blondel de Gagny or Ange-Laurent de Lalive de Jully (d.1779) and likely supplied by a prominent 18th century marchand-mercier, the present vases were almost certainly executed by one of the then leading bronziers. Without any further evidence to support an attribution, the identity of such bronzier will remain tantalizingly unknown. Amongst the most likely contenders, the two leading bronziers of the period, Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain (d.1791) and Philippe Caffiéri (d.1774); the latter chiefly remembered for the bronze mounts on the 'iconic' gôut grec bureau plat cum cartonnier supplied circa 1755 to Lalive de Jully.