A PAIR OF FRENCH PATINATED-BRONZE EWERS

FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY, AFTER SIGISBERT-FRANCOIS MICHEL (1728-1811)

Details

A PAIR OF FRENCH PATINATED-BRONZE EWERS
FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY, AFTER SIGISBERT-FRANCOIS MICHEL (1728-1811)
One surmounted by a triton and decorated with a dolphin mask and rushes, the other surmounted by a satyr and decorated with a goat mask and grape vines
16 ¾ in. (42.5 cm.) high

Provenance

Park West, The Property of a Private Collector; sold Christie's, London, 22 May 2003, lot 39.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE;
London, Royal Academy of Arts, John Flaxman, R.A., 26 Oct.-9 Dec. 1979, David Bindman ed., nos.19a and b.

Brought to you by

Alexandra Cruden

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Lot Essay

In 1774 Sigisbert Francois Michel exhibited a pair of plaster ewers surmounted by a triton and a satyr in the Académie de Saint-Luc, Paris. This prototype was later the basis for a number of subsequent ewers in malachite (a pair of which can be seen in the Wallace Collection, London), biscuit porcelain (with a pair in the Musée d'Orléans) and bronze (with a pair in the Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris).

Wedgwood versions in basalt and jasperware could also be found in England after 1775 when John Flaxman Sr. presented Josiah Wedgwood with a plaster model based on Michel's original model - the former version of which can be seen in the Wedgwood Museum, Barlaston.

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