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Lot Essay
THE DESIGN FOR THE WINE-COOLERS
The design for this wine-cooler first came to light in a sale at the Hôtel Drouot, Paris, on 4 April 1925. Among the nineteen drawings offered were several attributed to Robert-Joseph Auguste on the basis of the inscription 'auguste' appearing on three sheets in the silversmith's own hand. The drawing corresponding to the present wine-coolers is now in a private collection and was exhibited at the Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris, in Dessins d'orfèvrerie de l'atelier de Robert-Joseph Auguste (1723 -1805) (November 2011- April 2012).
In the accompanying exhibition catalogue, Yves Carlier identified two alternative wine-cooler designs on the sheet. The design on the left was used for the Ekaterinoslav Service (1776–1777) and the service made for Count Povolide, whilst the design on the right was employed for the Nizhny-Novgorod and Kazan services. It is this latter design that most closely corresponds to the present Cadaval wine-coolers. The drawing also reflects the ornamental vocabulary associated with the pastellist and designer Jean-Baptiste Delafosse (1721–1806), whose influence is evident in Auguste's work during this period.
ROBERT-JOSEPH AUGUSTE (1723–1805)
Born in Mons in 1723, Auguste entered his master's mark in 1757 after a lengthy apprenticeship. He quickly established a reputation for exceptional technical skill and artistic originality.
Equally accomplished as a goldsmith, sculptor and bronze worker, Auguste produced luxury objects for the French court, including works acquired by Madame de Pompadour. He collaborated on the crown and regalia for the coronation of Louis XVI, and was appointed orfèvre ordinaire du roi in 1777. His contemporaries regarded him as unrivalled; Charles-Nicolas Cochin praised him as the rare silversmith who both designed and executed his own work, whilst Matthew Boulton sought introductions to him solely on the strength of his reputation.
Between about 1770 and 1785, Auguste reached the height of his career, supplying some of Europe's most important royal and aristocratic patrons. His major commissions included extensive services for the courts of Portugal, Denmark, Hanover and, most notably, four gubernatorial services for Empress Catherine the Great for Ekaterinoslav, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow. Surviving correspondence shows that Auguste worked closely with his patrons, preparing designs that balanced their requirements with the refined Neoclassical idiom for which he became celebrated.
Auguste's surviving works exemplify the sculptural sophistication, architectural clarity and technical brilliance that secured Auguste's reputation as the foremost French silversmith of his generation.
THE DUKES OF CADAVAL
Robert-Joseph Auguste and, later, his son Henri Auguste supplied silver to many of Portugal's leading aristocratic families, including the royal household. Other documented commissions for the Dukes of Cadaval include a four-light candelabrum by Henri Auguste sold Christie's, New York, 11 April 1995, lot 157, and a soup tureen, cover and stand by Robert-Joseph Auguste sold Christie's, London, 9 June 2011, lot 50.
Miguel Caetano Álvares Pereira de Melo, 5th Duke of Cadaval (1765–1808), was born on 6 February 1765 and inherited the dukedom and extensive estates on the death of his father in 1771. The title had been created in 1645 by King João IV of Portugal for his cousin Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira de Melo (1638–1727), Marquis of Ferreira and Count of Tentúgal.
In October 1791 the Duke married Madeleine de Montmorency-Luxembourg, daughter of the Duke of Luxembourg. Contemporary accounts praise her intelligence, charm and character. In her Memoirs of Napoleon, his Court and Family, London, 1832, vol. IV, p. 247, Laure Junot, Duchess of Abrantès, described the Duchess as possessing 'great charms of person, grace of manners, a cultivated mind and an excellent heart', adding that she was 'universally beloved and esteemed in Portugal'. Junot presents a less favourable portrait of the Duke, observing that although handsome in his youth, he had become absorbed by gambling and entrusted the management of his affairs to his wife.
For another pair see Christie's Geneva, 8 November 1977, lot 304.
The design for this wine-cooler first came to light in a sale at the Hôtel Drouot, Paris, on 4 April 1925. Among the nineteen drawings offered were several attributed to Robert-Joseph Auguste on the basis of the inscription 'auguste' appearing on three sheets in the silversmith's own hand. The drawing corresponding to the present wine-coolers is now in a private collection and was exhibited at the Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris, in Dessins d'orfèvrerie de l'atelier de Robert-Joseph Auguste (1723 -1805) (November 2011- April 2012).
In the accompanying exhibition catalogue, Yves Carlier identified two alternative wine-cooler designs on the sheet. The design on the left was used for the Ekaterinoslav Service (1776–1777) and the service made for Count Povolide, whilst the design on the right was employed for the Nizhny-Novgorod and Kazan services. It is this latter design that most closely corresponds to the present Cadaval wine-coolers. The drawing also reflects the ornamental vocabulary associated with the pastellist and designer Jean-Baptiste Delafosse (1721–1806), whose influence is evident in Auguste's work during this period.
ROBERT-JOSEPH AUGUSTE (1723–1805)
Born in Mons in 1723, Auguste entered his master's mark in 1757 after a lengthy apprenticeship. He quickly established a reputation for exceptional technical skill and artistic originality.
Equally accomplished as a goldsmith, sculptor and bronze worker, Auguste produced luxury objects for the French court, including works acquired by Madame de Pompadour. He collaborated on the crown and regalia for the coronation of Louis XVI, and was appointed orfèvre ordinaire du roi in 1777. His contemporaries regarded him as unrivalled; Charles-Nicolas Cochin praised him as the rare silversmith who both designed and executed his own work, whilst Matthew Boulton sought introductions to him solely on the strength of his reputation.
Between about 1770 and 1785, Auguste reached the height of his career, supplying some of Europe's most important royal and aristocratic patrons. His major commissions included extensive services for the courts of Portugal, Denmark, Hanover and, most notably, four gubernatorial services for Empress Catherine the Great for Ekaterinoslav, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow. Surviving correspondence shows that Auguste worked closely with his patrons, preparing designs that balanced their requirements with the refined Neoclassical idiom for which he became celebrated.
Auguste's surviving works exemplify the sculptural sophistication, architectural clarity and technical brilliance that secured Auguste's reputation as the foremost French silversmith of his generation.
THE DUKES OF CADAVAL
Robert-Joseph Auguste and, later, his son Henri Auguste supplied silver to many of Portugal's leading aristocratic families, including the royal household. Other documented commissions for the Dukes of Cadaval include a four-light candelabrum by Henri Auguste sold Christie's, New York, 11 April 1995, lot 157, and a soup tureen, cover and stand by Robert-Joseph Auguste sold Christie's, London, 9 June 2011, lot 50.
Miguel Caetano Álvares Pereira de Melo, 5th Duke of Cadaval (1765–1808), was born on 6 February 1765 and inherited the dukedom and extensive estates on the death of his father in 1771. The title had been created in 1645 by King João IV of Portugal for his cousin Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira de Melo (1638–1727), Marquis of Ferreira and Count of Tentúgal.
In October 1791 the Duke married Madeleine de Montmorency-Luxembourg, daughter of the Duke of Luxembourg. Contemporary accounts praise her intelligence, charm and character. In her Memoirs of Napoleon, his Court and Family, London, 1832, vol. IV, p. 247, Laure Junot, Duchess of Abrantès, described the Duchess as possessing 'great charms of person, grace of manners, a cultivated mind and an excellent heart', adding that she was 'universally beloved and esteemed in Portugal'. Junot presents a less favourable portrait of the Duke, observing that although handsome in his youth, he had become absorbed by gambling and entrusted the management of his affairs to his wife.
For another pair see Christie's Geneva, 8 November 1977, lot 304.