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Lot Essay
This pair of wine-coolers was commissioned by Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff on his appointment as Danish ambassador to the French Court in 1744.
PART OF AN AMBASSADORIAL PLATE
Bernstorff was a distinguished statesman and diplomat in the service of the Danish crown during the eighteenth century. Born into a noble Hanoverian family, he entered Danish diplomatic service in the 1730s serving as Danish envoy (minister plenipotentiary) to the court of Louis XV in Paris from 1744 to 1750, before being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1751 under King Frederick V. During almost two decades in office he successfully preserved Denmark's neutrality throughout the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), strengthening the kingdom's commercial prosperity and international standing.
Beyond foreign affairs, Bernstorff encouraged administrative reform, agricultural improvement, and the growth of commerce, helping to strengthen the Danish state during the Enlightenment. Bernstorff is regarded as one of the foremost architects of eighteenth-century Danish diplomacy who established principles of prudent neutrality and balanced diplomacy that shaped Danish foreign policy for generations.
The accession of King Christian VII in 1766 transformed the political landscape at court. Bernstorff was dismissed from office in 1770 following the rise of Johann Friedrich Struensee and retired to his estates in Germany, where he died on 18 February 1772.
A PATRON OF THE ARTS
Bernstorff was also an important patron of the arts and a discerning collector. His years in Paris, at the centre of European luxury production, provided exceptional opportunities to acquire works of the highest quality and helped shape his cosmopolitan taste. Bernstorff commissioned these wine-coolers upon his arrival in Paris as Danish envoy, from the Royal goldsmith Claude II Ballin. Nephew to Claude I Ballin, Louis XIV's goldsmith, Claude the younger trained in his uncle's workshop before entering his mark in 1688. Unlike his uncle, he appears to have worked regularly for the courts of Russia, Bavaria, Saxony, Spain and Portugal as well as their representatives in Paris such as the count von Bernstorff.
AFTER A DESIGN BY CLAUDE BALLIN THE ELDER
These vases are loosely inspired by Claude Ballin the elder's vases designed in 1665 at the request of King Louis XIV for the Parterre du Midi and the Parterre du Nord at Versailles. Five of these were engraved by Jean Lepautre in 1675 and contributed to their enduring popularity.
For these wine-coolers Ballin the younger retained the general shape favoured by his uncle whilst using sculptural rococo elements to great effect, notably the spaniels' head. The dog motif is a recurring ornament on silver intended for an aristocracy fond of hunting. Indeed, Ballin used another version for a pair of wine-coolers commissioned by Marchese Brignole Sale (1695-1760) in 1737 which featured handles shaped as raised poodles and described in the order as '2 sceaux richement ornes avec des caniches qui servent d'ancer' (see Laureal Tagliaferro, La magnificenza private, 'Argenti gioie, quadrie altri mobili' della famiglia brignole Sale secoli XVI-XIX, Geneva, 1995, p. 198). Although their location is currently not known, a version of this model by an unknown Genoa maker, dated 1777, is in the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Acc. no. Loan:Gilbert.746-2008), having previously been sold Christie's, Geneva, 17 April 1976, lot 79.
THE ORLÉANS-PENTHIÈVRE SERVICE PAIR
Ballin produced another identical pair of wine-coolers which are part of the Penthièvre-Orléans service and later applied with the arms of Louis-Philippe, duc d'Orléans (1773-1850), King of the French (1830-1848). As the maker's mark is not legible, these were traditionally attributed to Thomas Germain, largely responsible for the rest of this service. As Germain was a contemporary of Ballin, their work was often compared. Both stood at the cusp of a stylistic change from Regence to Rococo and both make use of the decorative vocabulary so characteristic of the rococo. However, Ballin's work always demonstrates a certain sobriety reminiscent of his uncle's style.
PART OF AN AMBASSADORIAL PLATE
Bernstorff was a distinguished statesman and diplomat in the service of the Danish crown during the eighteenth century. Born into a noble Hanoverian family, he entered Danish diplomatic service in the 1730s serving as Danish envoy (minister plenipotentiary) to the court of Louis XV in Paris from 1744 to 1750, before being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1751 under King Frederick V. During almost two decades in office he successfully preserved Denmark's neutrality throughout the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), strengthening the kingdom's commercial prosperity and international standing.
Beyond foreign affairs, Bernstorff encouraged administrative reform, agricultural improvement, and the growth of commerce, helping to strengthen the Danish state during the Enlightenment. Bernstorff is regarded as one of the foremost architects of eighteenth-century Danish diplomacy who established principles of prudent neutrality and balanced diplomacy that shaped Danish foreign policy for generations.
The accession of King Christian VII in 1766 transformed the political landscape at court. Bernstorff was dismissed from office in 1770 following the rise of Johann Friedrich Struensee and retired to his estates in Germany, where he died on 18 February 1772.
A PATRON OF THE ARTS
Bernstorff was also an important patron of the arts and a discerning collector. His years in Paris, at the centre of European luxury production, provided exceptional opportunities to acquire works of the highest quality and helped shape his cosmopolitan taste. Bernstorff commissioned these wine-coolers upon his arrival in Paris as Danish envoy, from the Royal goldsmith Claude II Ballin. Nephew to Claude I Ballin, Louis XIV's goldsmith, Claude the younger trained in his uncle's workshop before entering his mark in 1688. Unlike his uncle, he appears to have worked regularly for the courts of Russia, Bavaria, Saxony, Spain and Portugal as well as their representatives in Paris such as the count von Bernstorff.
AFTER A DESIGN BY CLAUDE BALLIN THE ELDER
These vases are loosely inspired by Claude Ballin the elder's vases designed in 1665 at the request of King Louis XIV for the Parterre du Midi and the Parterre du Nord at Versailles. Five of these were engraved by Jean Lepautre in 1675 and contributed to their enduring popularity.
For these wine-coolers Ballin the younger retained the general shape favoured by his uncle whilst using sculptural rococo elements to great effect, notably the spaniels' head. The dog motif is a recurring ornament on silver intended for an aristocracy fond of hunting. Indeed, Ballin used another version for a pair of wine-coolers commissioned by Marchese Brignole Sale (1695-1760) in 1737 which featured handles shaped as raised poodles and described in the order as '2 sceaux richement ornes avec des caniches qui servent d'ancer' (see Laureal Tagliaferro, La magnificenza private, 'Argenti gioie, quadrie altri mobili' della famiglia brignole Sale secoli XVI-XIX, Geneva, 1995, p. 198). Although their location is currently not known, a version of this model by an unknown Genoa maker, dated 1777, is in the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Acc. no. Loan:Gilbert.746-2008), having previously been sold Christie's, Geneva, 17 April 1976, lot 79.
THE ORLÉANS-PENTHIÈVRE SERVICE PAIR
Ballin produced another identical pair of wine-coolers which are part of the Penthièvre-Orléans service and later applied with the arms of Louis-Philippe, duc d'Orléans (1773-1850), King of the French (1830-1848). As the maker's mark is not legible, these were traditionally attributed to Thomas Germain, largely responsible for the rest of this service. As Germain was a contemporary of Ballin, their work was often compared. Both stood at the cusp of a stylistic change from Regence to Rococo and both make use of the decorative vocabulary so characteristic of the rococo. However, Ballin's work always demonstrates a certain sobriety reminiscent of his uncle's style.