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Lot Essay
The d’Aligre family was a prominent French aristocratic lineage that produced numerous chancellors and presidents of Parliament during the Ancien Régime. Étienne Jean François d’Aligre (1770–1847) amassed a colossal fortune, primarily in land, and owned vast estates, including the Domaine des Vaux in Eure-et-Loir near Chartres, which he purchased in 1804. By royal ordinance in 1825, his titles and peerage were passed on to the second son of his only daughter, Étiennette Marie Catherine Charlotte de Pomereu d’Aligre. As heir to his maternal grandfather, Étienne Marie Charles de Pomereu d’Aligre, along with his wife Marie-Amélie Louise Charlotte, daughter of the 8th Marquis de Préaulx, undertook major renovations at the Domaine de Vaux. They rebuilt and significantly enlarged the château. The combined 10,000 hectares allowed the estate to host one of the most renowned hunting parties of the second half of the 19th century.
In addition to numerous commissions for furnishing the interiors, the Marquis d’Aligre also called upon the Val d’Osne foundries, which delivered groups inspired by 17th-century Versailles originals. These included hunting-themed works, such as the imposing Cerf d'Amérique (American Stag) in bronze after Pierre Louis Robillard and Le Piqueur à cheval (The Huntsman on Horseback) by Le Nordez, both still preserved in situ. A monumental vase after Rouillard, with ram’s-head handles and a body featuring deer in relief, also remains visible in front of the castle’s main courtyard. It is entirely possible that the vase by Frémiet, due to its craftsmanship and the depictions of deer herds on both sides, was also placed at Vaux—either outdoors or indoors because of its quality.
Emmanuel Frémiet became recognized in the second half of the 19th century and frequently received medals at the Universal Exhibitions. The nephew of sculptor François Rude, through his aunt’s marriage to Rude, Frémiet was introduced to drawing by her. Although not formally trained at the Académie, he began exhibiting works at the Salon as early as 1843, particularly animal subjects, and received official commissions during the Second Empire. He cast his own bronzes up until 1872 (Chevillot, 1986), which could be the case for this vase, dated 1866 and signed "Frémiet."
While Frémiet’s focus on animal subjects is well known, his creation of a monumental vase is unusual. Though he did produce decorative objects such as furniture elements, lamps, bowls, pipe holders, and sculptural pieces for the Tuileries riding school and lions for the rooftops of the Louvre’s Carrousel entrance, no other bronze casting of this scale is known. Everything suggests that this piece was a special commission by the Marquis d’Aligre.
The vase’s design elegantly combines classical references from the reign of Louis XIV—evoking the silver furnishings and the decorative works of Versailles’ south parterre after designs by Claude Ballin—with the naturalism and anatomical precision favored by 19th-century animal sculptors.
Only one similar casting is known, featuring the same hunting scenes and Louis XIV-style decoration, albeit in a smaller format. This 117 cm high vase was cast by the Graux-Marly foundry, which likely took over production after the creation of our example (Christie’s, London, 7 September 1998, lot 170). This smaller vase may be the one seen in the Graux-Marly workshop at 8 rue du Parc-Royal in Paris in 1880, described in the Salon’s illustrated catalogue as “a large decorative vase with bas-reliefs by Frémiet” (Dumas, p. 186).
In addition to numerous commissions for furnishing the interiors, the Marquis d’Aligre also called upon the Val d’Osne foundries, which delivered groups inspired by 17th-century Versailles originals. These included hunting-themed works, such as the imposing Cerf d'Amérique (American Stag) in bronze after Pierre Louis Robillard and Le Piqueur à cheval (The Huntsman on Horseback) by Le Nordez, both still preserved in situ. A monumental vase after Rouillard, with ram’s-head handles and a body featuring deer in relief, also remains visible in front of the castle’s main courtyard. It is entirely possible that the vase by Frémiet, due to its craftsmanship and the depictions of deer herds on both sides, was also placed at Vaux—either outdoors or indoors because of its quality.
Emmanuel Frémiet became recognized in the second half of the 19th century and frequently received medals at the Universal Exhibitions. The nephew of sculptor François Rude, through his aunt’s marriage to Rude, Frémiet was introduced to drawing by her. Although not formally trained at the Académie, he began exhibiting works at the Salon as early as 1843, particularly animal subjects, and received official commissions during the Second Empire. He cast his own bronzes up until 1872 (Chevillot, 1986), which could be the case for this vase, dated 1866 and signed "Frémiet."
While Frémiet’s focus on animal subjects is well known, his creation of a monumental vase is unusual. Though he did produce decorative objects such as furniture elements, lamps, bowls, pipe holders, and sculptural pieces for the Tuileries riding school and lions for the rooftops of the Louvre’s Carrousel entrance, no other bronze casting of this scale is known. Everything suggests that this piece was a special commission by the Marquis d’Aligre.
The vase’s design elegantly combines classical references from the reign of Louis XIV—evoking the silver furnishings and the decorative works of Versailles’ south parterre after designs by Claude Ballin—with the naturalism and anatomical precision favored by 19th-century animal sculptors.
Only one similar casting is known, featuring the same hunting scenes and Louis XIV-style decoration, albeit in a smaller format. This 117 cm high vase was cast by the Graux-Marly foundry, which likely took over production after the creation of our example (Christie’s, London, 7 September 1998, lot 170). This smaller vase may be the one seen in the Graux-Marly workshop at 8 rue du Parc-Royal in Paris in 1880, described in the Salon’s illustrated catalogue as “a large decorative vase with bas-reliefs by Frémiet” (Dumas, p. 186).