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Lot Essay
As with so many Limoges enamels of the 16th Century, these two figures are derived from print sources. The figure of Jupiter is taken from a print attributed to Marcantonio Raimondi. It appears in different settings and scales on a number of Limoges works including the reverse of an oval dish, and a candlestick by Jean de Court, both in the Frick Collection, New York (Verdier, et al, op. cit., pp. 157 and 210). The figure of Venus - confusingly shown with the attributes of both Venus and Diana - is taken from an engraving of Juno by Etienne Delaune (illustrated in Caroselli, op. cit., p. 132, fig. 30).
Jean de Court was a member of an enamelling dynasty which was unusual in that it included a woman, Suzanne de Court. The family was active in the second half of the 16th Century, and were noted for their distinctive palette, which included a large number of greens and turquoise blues. Although on a different scale, the present figure of Jupiter recalls the painting style of the figure of Moses on a tazza by Jean de Court in the Frick Collection (Verdier, et.al. op. cit, p. 195).
The present pair of enamels once formed part of the collection of Baron Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911), a member of the Paris branch of the celebrated banking family. Although the enamels have not been traced, a large part of his collection was eventually inherited by his grand-daughter, Sybil Sassoon, through whom it passed, on her marriage to Lord Rocksavage, into the collection at Houghton Hall, Norfolk.
Jean de Court was a member of an enamelling dynasty which was unusual in that it included a woman, Suzanne de Court. The family was active in the second half of the 16th Century, and were noted for their distinctive palette, which included a large number of greens and turquoise blues. Although on a different scale, the present figure of Jupiter recalls the painting style of the figure of Moses on a tazza by Jean de Court in the Frick Collection (Verdier, et.al. op. cit, p. 195).
The present pair of enamels once formed part of the collection of Baron Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911), a member of the Paris branch of the celebrated banking family. Although the enamels have not been traced, a large part of his collection was eventually inherited by his grand-daughter, Sybil Sassoon, through whom it passed, on her marriage to Lord Rocksavage, into the collection at Houghton Hall, Norfolk.