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Lot Essay
These wall-lights of outstanding quality relate to the oeuvre of Gilles-Marie Oppenord (1672-1742), whose appliqués with asymmetrical arms often feature human figures as the dominant decorative element, as seen in Oeuvres de Gille Marie Oppenord ... contenant différents fragments d'architecture, et d'ornements, Paris, circa 1725. Oppenord’s designs for bronzes d’ameublement were executed by some of the most talented bronziers of the Régence and early Louis XV periods, such as Charles Cressent (1685-1768), who headed one of the most important workshops in Paris between 1719 and 1757. Cressent is known to have executed a number of related wall-lights, such as those illustrated A. Pradère, Charles Cressent, Dijon, 2003, p. 209.
These wall-lights are products of a lesser-known facet of the West’s fascination with the East: the taste for Turquerie or Turquoiserie. Less widespread and shorter lived than Chinoiserie, the fashion for anything Turkish, or Turkish-inspired, was curiously the result of the decline of the Ottoman Empire as it was pushed out of Central Europe at the end of the seventeenth century, and ceased to be perceived as a threat to Christian Europe. Turquerie influenced every branch of the arts from music and fashion to painting and the decorative arts. In a manner similar to Chinoiserie, Turquerie took considerable liberties with authentic Turkish motifs, adapting them freely and inventively to fit the West’s own taste and needs. To achieve a 'Turkish look,' lighthearted figures in Turkish-inspired costume were often simply incorporated into the decoration of an object, as in this lot. Occasionally, entire new forms were invented based on real, or imagined, Turkish prototypes, such as was the case with the novel bed design, the lit à la Turque.
Turquerie began in the final years of Louis XIV’s reign, when France was allied with the Ottoman Empire against the Habsburgs, and gained greater momentum after the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, before flourishing from the second quarter of the eighteenth century until the outbreak of the Revolution. Turquerie was particularly popular in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, where the Ottoman threat had been imminent, and a number of German princely residences were decorated with Turkish motifs, such as the wall-lights in the Great Galerie at Schleißheim, celebrating the victories of the Bavarian Prince-Elector Max Emanuel (see H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, vol. 1, Munich, 1986, p. 64, fig. 1.9.15). Interestingly, as a result of the increased travel, mutual curiosity and cultural exchange between Europe and the Porta, Ottoman artists of the early-mid 1700s were also influenced by European Baroque and Rococo, as evidenced by their output during the Tulip period.
These wall-lights are products of a lesser-known facet of the West’s fascination with the East: the taste for Turquerie or Turquoiserie. Less widespread and shorter lived than Chinoiserie, the fashion for anything Turkish, or Turkish-inspired, was curiously the result of the decline of the Ottoman Empire as it was pushed out of Central Europe at the end of the seventeenth century, and ceased to be perceived as a threat to Christian Europe. Turquerie influenced every branch of the arts from music and fashion to painting and the decorative arts. In a manner similar to Chinoiserie, Turquerie took considerable liberties with authentic Turkish motifs, adapting them freely and inventively to fit the West’s own taste and needs. To achieve a 'Turkish look,' lighthearted figures in Turkish-inspired costume were often simply incorporated into the decoration of an object, as in this lot. Occasionally, entire new forms were invented based on real, or imagined, Turkish prototypes, such as was the case with the novel bed design, the lit à la Turque.
Turquerie began in the final years of Louis XIV’s reign, when France was allied with the Ottoman Empire against the Habsburgs, and gained greater momentum after the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, before flourishing from the second quarter of the eighteenth century until the outbreak of the Revolution. Turquerie was particularly popular in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, where the Ottoman threat had been imminent, and a number of German princely residences were decorated with Turkish motifs, such as the wall-lights in the Great Galerie at Schleißheim, celebrating the victories of the Bavarian Prince-Elector Max Emanuel (see H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, vol. 1, Munich, 1986, p. 64, fig. 1.9.15). Interestingly, as a result of the increased travel, mutual curiosity and cultural exchange between Europe and the Porta, Ottoman artists of the early-mid 1700s were also influenced by European Baroque and Rococo, as evidenced by their output during the Tulip period.