AFTER THE MODEL BY PIERRE GOUTHIÈRE, LAST QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

The present lot is modelled after a celebrated perfume-burner, now preserved at the Wallace Collection, London (cat. no. F275). Mounted by Pierre Gouthière (d. 1813), it was first noted in the 1782 inventory of the Hôtel d'Aumont, and was subsequently purchased for Marie-Antoinette by Le Brun. The design, attributed to François-Joseph Bellanger (d. 1818) is inspired by 'Antique' bronze tripods discovered in archaeological expeditions of the mid-18th Century. See P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Furniture, London, 1996, vol. III, pp. 1340-1345, for illustrations and additional commentary.