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Lot Essay
THE RABEN-LEVETZAU TUREEN
The presence of this tureen in a Danish collection, not to mention a number of Danish examples made later in the 1750s in Copenhagen, has been the subject of much discussion. It was suggested when this tureen was sold in 1996 that the tureen might have entered the collection at Aalholm Castle through the marriage of the Landgrave Adam Gottlob Moltke (1710-1792) and a member of the Raben-Levetzau family. Moltke was one of the most important Danish political figures of the second half of the 18th century, acting as Lord Chancellor of Denmark as well as being a friend and mentor to King Frederick V (r.1746-1766). He built one of the four Amalienborg Palaces, which later became the Royal palace, and was known to have ordered a number of tureens of a similar pattern to the present example from Danish silversmiths, including Andreas Jacob Rudolph and Christopher Jonsen, two of the leading silversmiths working in Denmark in the mid-18th century.
It is perhaps more likely that the Riahi tureen, designed in the latest Parisian fashion, was brought back to Denmark by Count Otto Ludwig Raben-Levetzau (1729-1791), thus making it the model from which the various other Danish tureens were copied. This suggestion is given credence by the fact that Raben-Levetzau was in Paris between 1750 and 1754, studying under the flute virtuoso Michel Blavet. As the Riahi tureen was marked between 11 July 1753 and 20 July 1754, and bears the décharge for export, it is very possible that he ordered it specifically to be brought back to Denmark on his return.
Count Otto inherited his family's estates in Denmark following the death of his brother Christian in 1750. He went on to marry Anna Catharina Henningia von Buchwald. On his death in 1791, he was succeeded by his son Frederik Christian (1770-1838).
JACQUES ROETTIERS (1707-1784)
Jacques Roettiers was not only one of the most celebrated silversmiths working in Paris during the middle of the 18th century but was also a noted engraver, working both in England and France. He was born near Paris, in the town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye into a family with a long tradition of working with precious metals, including medallists, engravers and goldsmiths. Roettiers studied drawing and sculpture at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, and though he was given a chance to become pensionnaire du Roi at the French Academy in Rome, he chose to stay in Paris, later going to London to work as an engraver at the Royal Mint. He studied under the goldsmiths Nicolas Besnier and François Thomas Germain, returning to Paris by 1733, when he married Besnier's daughter. He joined Besnier's workshop and shared his charge of 'ordinary silversmith to the king'. His first contribution to the Royal household dates from 1742 and in 1749, he famously worked on Louis XV's goldware, making the gold necessaire given by the king to Madame Infante. In 1765, Roettier's son Jacques-Nicolas joined his workshop and subsequently continued the workshop after his retirement in 1772. In 1781, Jacques-Nicolas moved out of Paris, having made his fortune by selling the business to Robert-Joseph Auguste.
The presence of this tureen in a Danish collection, not to mention a number of Danish examples made later in the 1750s in Copenhagen, has been the subject of much discussion. It was suggested when this tureen was sold in 1996 that the tureen might have entered the collection at Aalholm Castle through the marriage of the Landgrave Adam Gottlob Moltke (1710-1792) and a member of the Raben-Levetzau family. Moltke was one of the most important Danish political figures of the second half of the 18th century, acting as Lord Chancellor of Denmark as well as being a friend and mentor to King Frederick V (r.1746-1766). He built one of the four Amalienborg Palaces, which later became the Royal palace, and was known to have ordered a number of tureens of a similar pattern to the present example from Danish silversmiths, including Andreas Jacob Rudolph and Christopher Jonsen, two of the leading silversmiths working in Denmark in the mid-18th century.
It is perhaps more likely that the Riahi tureen, designed in the latest Parisian fashion, was brought back to Denmark by Count Otto Ludwig Raben-Levetzau (1729-1791), thus making it the model from which the various other Danish tureens were copied. This suggestion is given credence by the fact that Raben-Levetzau was in Paris between 1750 and 1754, studying under the flute virtuoso Michel Blavet. As the Riahi tureen was marked between 11 July 1753 and 20 July 1754, and bears the décharge for export, it is very possible that he ordered it specifically to be brought back to Denmark on his return.
Count Otto inherited his family's estates in Denmark following the death of his brother Christian in 1750. He went on to marry Anna Catharina Henningia von Buchwald. On his death in 1791, he was succeeded by his son Frederik Christian (1770-1838).
JACQUES ROETTIERS (1707-1784)
Jacques Roettiers was not only one of the most celebrated silversmiths working in Paris during the middle of the 18th century but was also a noted engraver, working both in England and France. He was born near Paris, in the town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye into a family with a long tradition of working with precious metals, including medallists, engravers and goldsmiths. Roettiers studied drawing and sculpture at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, and though he was given a chance to become pensionnaire du Roi at the French Academy in Rome, he chose to stay in Paris, later going to London to work as an engraver at the Royal Mint. He studied under the goldsmiths Nicolas Besnier and François Thomas Germain, returning to Paris by 1733, when he married Besnier's daughter. He joined Besnier's workshop and shared his charge of 'ordinary silversmith to the king'. His first contribution to the Royal household dates from 1742 and in 1749, he famously worked on Louis XV's goldware, making the gold necessaire given by the king to Madame Infante. In 1765, Roettier's son Jacques-Nicolas joined his workshop and subsequently continued the workshop after his retirement in 1772. In 1781, Jacques-Nicolas moved out of Paris, having made his fortune by selling the business to Robert-Joseph Auguste.