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Lot Essay
This extremely rare table-fountain illustrates the marchand-mercier's involvement in design through assembly, a practice discussed in depth by C. Sargentson in Merchants and Luxury Markets: The Marchands Merciers of Eighteenth-Century Paris, London, 1996. The delicate European porcelain flowerheads, old Chinese porcelain and contemporary gilt-bronze fixtures that form this table-fountain were undoubtedly assembled from disparate elements found in the mercer's stock. The privilege to keep such a range of material, not to mention the compounded right to assemble them in such a whimsical manner, was one of the luxuries granted to the mercers guild in their corporate statutes.
Thomas-Joachim Hbert, the celebrated marchand-mercier active in Paris during the first half of the 18th century, had two table- fountains in stock when his expanding business was inventoried in 1724: one, composed of a cylindrical red and green colored Chinese porcelain vase mounted in gilt-bronze, was valued at 120 livres; the other was a slightly smaller version of Japanese porcelain mounted in silver. A table fountain undoubtedly similar to the former is illustrated in C. Sargentson, ibid, color pl. 11. Another with related Chinese porcelain faceted vase and cover, flanked by swans to the base and without a trellis arbour, is reproduced above.
Table-fountains were originally conceived to dispense perfumed water, wine, coffee or tea. The basin incorporated in the Alexander fountain indicates that it was probably intended to collect the excess splash of perfumed water. Surrounded by a lavish bocage of porcelain flowers, this playful allusion to the natural scent of flowers would have had immense appeal to Parisian high-society's fascination with such novel imitations of nature. Such a conceit is also witnessed in the baskets filled with Vincennes and Meissen flowers made and sold by the marchands-merciers Duvaux and Poirier to Madame du Barry, among others.
Thomas-Joachim Hbert, the celebrated marchand-mercier active in Paris during the first half of the 18th century, had two table- fountains in stock when his expanding business was inventoried in 1724: one, composed of a cylindrical red and green colored Chinese porcelain vase mounted in gilt-bronze, was valued at 120 livres; the other was a slightly smaller version of Japanese porcelain mounted in silver. A table fountain undoubtedly similar to the former is illustrated in C. Sargentson, ibid, color pl. 11. Another with related Chinese porcelain faceted vase and cover, flanked by swans to the base and without a trellis arbour, is reproduced above.
Table-fountains were originally conceived to dispense perfumed water, wine, coffee or tea. The basin incorporated in the Alexander fountain indicates that it was probably intended to collect the excess splash of perfumed water. Surrounded by a lavish bocage of porcelain flowers, this playful allusion to the natural scent of flowers would have had immense appeal to Parisian high-society's fascination with such novel imitations of nature. Such a conceit is also witnessed in the baskets filled with Vincennes and Meissen flowers made and sold by the marchands-merciers Duvaux and Poirier to Madame du Barry, among others.