.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This model of chenet is attributed by J.D. Augarde to Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain in his article Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain (1719-1791) Bronzearbeiten zwischen Rocaille und Klassizismus included in H. Ottomeyer/P. Pröschel, et. al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. II, pp. 534-535. A pair of chenets of this model but mounted with a quiver and burning torch is in the château de Fontainebleau - ibid p. 535, fig. 19).
Saint-Germain obviously produced variants of this model as illustrated by a pair of chenets in Louis XVI's Library at Versailles which incorporates the base of this model with the vase finial of another of his models (ibid p. 568, fig. 6).
Elected as a mâitre-fondeur on 15 July 1748, Saint-Germain enjoyed the privilege of an ouvrier libre - enabling him to act both as an ébéniste and bronzier. He frequently supplied cases cast with animal forms and allegorical figures to the leading clockmakers of Paris, including the le Roy workshops, Etienne Lenoir and Jean-Philippe Gosselin. The quality of chasing and modelling in Saint-Germain's animal and foliate decorated cases also suggests close study of the natural world. A man of his times, Saint-Germain probably received rudimentary education in rhetoric, the Classics and calculus in addition to a formal study of sculpture and draughtsmanship, reflecting the social and economic status of his family. Evidence for this early education is seen in the substantial library and finely organized cabinet of curiosities he amassed. This collection, in turn, sheds light upon his interests in the natural sciences, particularly botany and mineralogy, and the quality of his bronze casts (J.D. Augarde, 'Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain: Bronzier (1719-1791),' L'Estampille/l'Objet d'Art, December, 1996, pp. 63-82)
Another pair of this model was sold from the collection of the Prince de P., Sotheby's Monaco, 15 June 1996, lot 163. A further pair is in the Wrightsman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Acquired in 1972 just after the publication of F.J.B. Watson's definitive catalogue of the Wrightsman Collection, they came from the collection of Albert and Clara Blum.
Saint-Germain obviously produced variants of this model as illustrated by a pair of chenets in Louis XVI's Library at Versailles which incorporates the base of this model with the vase finial of another of his models (ibid p. 568, fig. 6).
Elected as a mâitre-fondeur on 15 July 1748, Saint-Germain enjoyed the privilege of an ouvrier libre - enabling him to act both as an ébéniste and bronzier. He frequently supplied cases cast with animal forms and allegorical figures to the leading clockmakers of Paris, including the le Roy workshops, Etienne Lenoir and Jean-Philippe Gosselin. The quality of chasing and modelling in Saint-Germain's animal and foliate decorated cases also suggests close study of the natural world. A man of his times, Saint-Germain probably received rudimentary education in rhetoric, the Classics and calculus in addition to a formal study of sculpture and draughtsmanship, reflecting the social and economic status of his family. Evidence for this early education is seen in the substantial library and finely organized cabinet of curiosities he amassed. This collection, in turn, sheds light upon his interests in the natural sciences, particularly botany and mineralogy, and the quality of his bronze casts (J.D. Augarde, 'Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain: Bronzier (1719-1791),' L'Estampille/l'Objet d'Art, December, 1996, pp. 63-82)
Another pair of this model was sold from the collection of the Prince de P., Sotheby's Monaco, 15 June 1996, lot 163. A further pair is in the Wrightsman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Acquired in 1972 just after the publication of F.J.B. Watson's definitive catalogue of the Wrightsman Collection, they came from the collection of Albert and Clara Blum.