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Lot Essay
There are many references to piqu work in advertisements and sale catalogues of the 18th Century. In his catalogue of The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor: Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, Fribourg, 1974, vol. II, p. 838, Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue refers to the collection of 'picay' work formed by Queen Charlotte, consort to King George III: this included an inkstand and two snuff-boxes that were later sold in these Rooms, 18 May 1819, lot 30, 25 May 1819, lot 67 and 26 May 1819, lot 17. Similarly, Robert Adam is recorded as having bought three 'very handsome snuff-boxes of yellow and black tortoiseshell studded with gold...' on a visit to Naples in 1755 (J. Flemming, Robert Adam and his Circle, London, 1962, p.157).
An elaborate piqu dish with ewer, depicting chinoiserie scenes and numerous vignettes, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (A. Gonzlez-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Milan, 1984, vol. II, p. 234, fig. 536), while a slightly larger piqu dish depicting Cephalus, Cupid and Aurora was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 2 December 1998, lot 6. A piqu inkstand attributed to Gennaro Sarao of Naples from the collection of the Marquess of Cholmondeley was sold in these Rooms, Works of Art from Houghton, 8 December 1994, lot 87. Another tray from The Alexander Collection was sold at Christie's New York, 30 April 1999, lot 55.
An elaborate piqu dish with ewer, depicting chinoiserie scenes and numerous vignettes, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (A. Gonzlez-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Milan, 1984, vol. II, p. 234, fig. 536), while a slightly larger piqu dish depicting Cephalus, Cupid and Aurora was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 2 December 1998, lot 6. A piqu inkstand attributed to Gennaro Sarao of Naples from the collection of the Marquess of Cholmondeley was sold in these Rooms, Works of Art from Houghton, 8 December 1994, lot 87. Another tray from The Alexander Collection was sold at Christie's New York, 30 April 1999, lot 55.