Lot Essay
Gold domestic objects made in 18th century France are of utmost rarity today, as they indeed were at the time. They were obviously reserved to amateurs of the highest social ranking. The leading retailer of the time, Lazare Duvaux, records in his books for the years 1748 to 1759 five gold coffee-pots and all of them were sold either to King Louis XV himself or to Madame de Pompadour.
The only surviving group of such gold vessels is the "déjeuner en or" commissioned by King José of Portugal in 1764 from the leading Paris silversmith, François-Thomas Germain. It is housed today in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antigua, Lisbon; ten objects have survived, amongst them a salt cellar, an egg-cup and a covered goblet whose faceted body presents a definite similarity to our coffee-pot.
Our coffee-pot does, indeed, present all characteristics of François- Thomas Germain's oeuvre. Not only does it have features in common with the Lisbon goblet, but it also adopts typical Germain designs such as the spout made of coffee-leaves, and the handle socket also made of swirling leaves: both are Germain inventions, to be found on the celebrated coffee-pots made by Germain from 1755 onwards, notably for the Portuguese King. Moreover, the refinement of its design, its faultless plasticity, and its extreme technical quality, point unmistakably to Germain's hand.
The presence of Regnard's mark instead of Germain's is explained by history. Following Germain's bankruptcy in 1765, several suits were brought against him which led first to an inventory of the workshop, and then to the seizure and disposal of all pieces present in the workshop: all to be carried out, precisely by Regnard, according to the definitive judgement of 6 May 1769.
It is therefore not surprising that pieces from the workshop be found bearing both Germain's and Regnard's marks (cf. a pair of cruets, 1766 and 1769, illustrated in Perrin's book on François-Thomas Germain, page 123) or Regnard's mark only, associated with dates around 1769.
Such pieces cannot be confused with Regnard's own production which, even when influenced by Germain, nevertheless presents a vast difference of quality and creativity: cf. a coffee-pot, made in 1770, now in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, illustrated in the catalogue, no. 183.
The only surviving group of such gold vessels is the "déjeuner en or" commissioned by King José of Portugal in 1764 from the leading Paris silversmith, François-Thomas Germain. It is housed today in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antigua, Lisbon; ten objects have survived, amongst them a salt cellar, an egg-cup and a covered goblet whose faceted body presents a definite similarity to our coffee-pot.
Our coffee-pot does, indeed, present all characteristics of François- Thomas Germain's oeuvre. Not only does it have features in common with the Lisbon goblet, but it also adopts typical Germain designs such as the spout made of coffee-leaves, and the handle socket also made of swirling leaves: both are Germain inventions, to be found on the celebrated coffee-pots made by Germain from 1755 onwards, notably for the Portuguese King. Moreover, the refinement of its design, its faultless plasticity, and its extreme technical quality, point unmistakably to Germain's hand.
The presence of Regnard's mark instead of Germain's is explained by history. Following Germain's bankruptcy in 1765, several suits were brought against him which led first to an inventory of the workshop, and then to the seizure and disposal of all pieces present in the workshop: all to be carried out, precisely by Regnard, according to the definitive judgement of 6 May 1769.
It is therefore not surprising that pieces from the workshop be found bearing both Germain's and Regnard's marks (cf. a pair of cruets, 1766 and 1769, illustrated in Perrin's book on François-Thomas Germain, page 123) or Regnard's mark only, associated with dates around 1769.
Such pieces cannot be confused with Regnard's own production which, even when influenced by Germain, nevertheless presents a vast difference of quality and creativity: cf. a coffee-pot, made in 1770, now in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, illustrated in the catalogue, no. 183.