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Lot Essay
This box is part of a small group of shell-decorated chinoiserie boxes, all made in the 1740s by specialist goldsmiths, including Michel de Lassus, Barnabé Sageret, Michel-Etienne Filassier and Jean II Gaillard.
The iconography of this box is drawn from various sources. Some are borrowed from Jan Nieuhoff's engravings from 1673, while other elements are after François Boucher's (1703-1770) early chinoiserie paintings presented at the Salon in the Louvre between August and September 1742 (now in the Bibliothèque in Besançon).
CHINOISERIE, FROM TRAVEL BOOKS TO TRADE: UTOPIAN IMAGERY
The European fascination with the Far East can be traced back to the thirteenth century and the accounts of travellers, such as Marco Polo. The latter's descriptions of Asia, transmitted through the Livre des Merveilles du Monde and subsequently embellished by later authors, fired the imagination of European audiences. Although these narratives were rarely accompanied by illustrations, they fostered a vision of China and the East that was largely imaginary.
One of the first significant visual sources for the development of chinoiserie was the account of the Dutch traveller Jan Nieuhoff (1618-1672), who participated in the Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) embassy to the Manchu court in 1655. Published with more than one hundred engravings and widely translated into French and English, his work circulated throughout Europe and remained an important source of inspiration for all artists, architects, gardeners well into the nineteenth century.
FROM JAN NIEUHOFF TO FRANÇOIS BOUCHER
Once Europeans were able to bring back highly prized commodities such as porcelain, silk, lacquer and spices from China and other parts of Asia under a tightly controlled import system, known as the Canton System, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, demand for these exotic goods soon began to exceed available supply. As their cost soared, European craftsmen started to imitate Eastern materials, forms and decoration. But the resulting imagery remained utopian, portraying China as a land of luxuriant vegetation, exotic birds, fantastical animals and harmonious societies.
Artists and printmakers played a crucial role in disseminating chinoiserie motifs. In eighteenth-century France, François Boucher became one of the most influential exponents of the style through his ornamental designs and engravings. To meet growing demand, his compositions were reproduced by engravers including Pierre Aveline, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau and, above all, Jacques-Gabriel Huquier, whose celebrated Scènes de la vie chinoise enjoyed widespread circulation and provided a rich source of imagery for decorative artists across Europe.
GAILLARD: SPECIALIST IN SHELL-SET GOLD BOXES
The handful of goldsmiths specialising in gold-mounted mother-of-pearl and shell boxes were almost certainly familiar with such sources. This is demonstrated by at least one closely related example: a gold box by Michel-Étienne Filassier, dated 1745-1747, in the Victoria and Albert Museum (acc. no. 163-1878). These two boxes share a number of distinctive motifs, including the throne, burgau-shell palm trees, the voluminous trousers worn by the chinoiserie figures, and implements such as the large umbrella, as well as exotic birds and luxuriant vegetation.
The decoration of the present snuff-box demonstrates how Gaillard selectively borrowed motifs from a variety of sources, a common practice among eighteenth-century craftsmen. These elements have been arranged against an engraved geometric gold ground, which serves to emphasise the applied ornaments and heighten their decorative effect.
Gaillard was, of course, particularly renowned for his gold-mounted mother-of-pearl and shell boxes (see lot 16), and the present example is characteristic of his ability to adapt fashionable chinoiserie imagery to this highly specialised category of luxury objects.
FROM GAILLARD TO DE LOBEL
Gaillard, despite his undeniable talent, as demonstrated by the two boxes offered in this sale, had a complicated professional life peppered with absences and suspensions from the guild, which may have affected his reputation and his business. This might explain why this box was retailed by another goldsmith, Delobel who may have in fact sold it for Gaillard. Indeed, Henri Delobel became a master in 1756, having worked as a journeyman at the hospice of La Trinité since 1748. Meanwhile, Gaillard appears to have been suspended as a master in 1754, although H. Nocq makes no mention of his whereabouts after that date (see. op. cit. vol. 2 p. 204). It is possible that Delobel resold this snuff-box after 1756 or, more likely, that Gaillard was using Delobel to retail his production.
This large box is undoubtedly a testament to the taste and fashion for chinoiseries, which captures the mystique of distant lands, as well as the legacy of one of the most talented goldsmiths specialising in this type of box.
The iconography of this box is drawn from various sources. Some are borrowed from Jan Nieuhoff's engravings from 1673, while other elements are after François Boucher's (1703-1770) early chinoiserie paintings presented at the Salon in the Louvre between August and September 1742 (now in the Bibliothèque in Besançon).
CHINOISERIE, FROM TRAVEL BOOKS TO TRADE: UTOPIAN IMAGERY
The European fascination with the Far East can be traced back to the thirteenth century and the accounts of travellers, such as Marco Polo. The latter's descriptions of Asia, transmitted through the Livre des Merveilles du Monde and subsequently embellished by later authors, fired the imagination of European audiences. Although these narratives were rarely accompanied by illustrations, they fostered a vision of China and the East that was largely imaginary.
One of the first significant visual sources for the development of chinoiserie was the account of the Dutch traveller Jan Nieuhoff (1618-1672), who participated in the Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) embassy to the Manchu court in 1655. Published with more than one hundred engravings and widely translated into French and English, his work circulated throughout Europe and remained an important source of inspiration for all artists, architects, gardeners well into the nineteenth century.
FROM JAN NIEUHOFF TO FRANÇOIS BOUCHER
Once Europeans were able to bring back highly prized commodities such as porcelain, silk, lacquer and spices from China and other parts of Asia under a tightly controlled import system, known as the Canton System, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, demand for these exotic goods soon began to exceed available supply. As their cost soared, European craftsmen started to imitate Eastern materials, forms and decoration. But the resulting imagery remained utopian, portraying China as a land of luxuriant vegetation, exotic birds, fantastical animals and harmonious societies.
Artists and printmakers played a crucial role in disseminating chinoiserie motifs. In eighteenth-century France, François Boucher became one of the most influential exponents of the style through his ornamental designs and engravings. To meet growing demand, his compositions were reproduced by engravers including Pierre Aveline, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau and, above all, Jacques-Gabriel Huquier, whose celebrated Scènes de la vie chinoise enjoyed widespread circulation and provided a rich source of imagery for decorative artists across Europe.
GAILLARD: SPECIALIST IN SHELL-SET GOLD BOXES
The handful of goldsmiths specialising in gold-mounted mother-of-pearl and shell boxes were almost certainly familiar with such sources. This is demonstrated by at least one closely related example: a gold box by Michel-Étienne Filassier, dated 1745-1747, in the Victoria and Albert Museum (acc. no. 163-1878). These two boxes share a number of distinctive motifs, including the throne, burgau-shell palm trees, the voluminous trousers worn by the chinoiserie figures, and implements such as the large umbrella, as well as exotic birds and luxuriant vegetation.
The decoration of the present snuff-box demonstrates how Gaillard selectively borrowed motifs from a variety of sources, a common practice among eighteenth-century craftsmen. These elements have been arranged against an engraved geometric gold ground, which serves to emphasise the applied ornaments and heighten their decorative effect.
Gaillard was, of course, particularly renowned for his gold-mounted mother-of-pearl and shell boxes (see lot 16), and the present example is characteristic of his ability to adapt fashionable chinoiserie imagery to this highly specialised category of luxury objects.
FROM GAILLARD TO DE LOBEL
Gaillard, despite his undeniable talent, as demonstrated by the two boxes offered in this sale, had a complicated professional life peppered with absences and suspensions from the guild, which may have affected his reputation and his business. This might explain why this box was retailed by another goldsmith, Delobel who may have in fact sold it for Gaillard. Indeed, Henri Delobel became a master in 1756, having worked as a journeyman at the hospice of La Trinité since 1748. Meanwhile, Gaillard appears to have been suspended as a master in 1754, although H. Nocq makes no mention of his whereabouts after that date (see. op. cit. vol. 2 p. 204). It is possible that Delobel resold this snuff-box after 1756 or, more likely, that Gaillard was using Delobel to retail his production.
This large box is undoubtedly a testament to the taste and fashion for chinoiseries, which captures the mystique of distant lands, as well as the legacy of one of the most talented goldsmiths specialising in this type of box.