SECOND QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

LE GÔUT ROTHSCHILD - MENTMORE

These imposing and magnificent figural torchères were formerly in the collection of the Rothschild family at Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, built between 1852 and 1854 by Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (d. 1874). The fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, Baron Mayer founded N. M. Rothschild & Sons, the English branch of the renowned Rothschild banking empire. The plans for the mansion, which imitated Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire, were drawn up by the architect, Joseph Paxton (d.1865), creator of the Crystal Palace completed a year earlier. The opulent interiors were the impetus of the celebrated dealer and collector, Alexander Barker (d. 1873) whose work began in earnest in 1852. In keeping with the renown and regal aesthetic of ‘le goût Rothschild' Barker outfitted the rooms in a harmonious mélange of styles, incorporating extraordinary works of art in every field (J. Fleming, 'Art Dealing in the Risorgimento II', The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 121, No. 917, August 1979, p. 505). Ferdinand de Rothschild, the Baron's nephew, referred to Barker and his significiant contribution to the furnishing of Mentmore as 'having purveyed most of the fine works of art' in his autobiographical account ('Bric-a-Brac, a Rothschild's Memoir of Collecting', Apollo, July & August 2007, p. 60) and it is possible that the present pair, originally a set of four, were acquired by Barker for Mentmore. Knowing Baron Mayer's refinement and French taste, it was Barker who set to lining the walls of the Dining Room with Régence boiseries taken from the Hôtel de Conti in Paris as well as with the four torchères. One of the four is illustrated in situ in the dining room circa 1884. The companion pair were sold Christie's, London, 15 March 2020, lot 100 (£115,250).

KING LOUIS-PHILIPPE - CHÂTEAU DE NEUILLY

The 1884 catalogue of the contents of Mentmore describes a set of four marble figures from the château de Neuilly, of which the present pair was part. One of the four figures was illustrated in situ in the dining-room of Mentmore which was was decorated with superb boiserie panels from the prince de Conti's hôtel in Paris. The château de Neuilly, referenced in the 1884 Mentmore catalogue, was the preferred residence of Louis-Philippe (d. 1850), from 1830 to 1848; the château was ransacked and burnt in 1848, with nearly two thirds of the furnishings destroyed. Those furnishings which survived were subsequently sold in 1850. Certainly Barker was purchasing decorative art from the preeminent collections of France and many of his acquisitions were made following the European revolutions of 1848. In an undated letter sent to Baron Mayer, Barker writes that 'The fine collection of precious objects you have, have been obtained in consequence of the disasters of the royal family of France and the misfortunes of other connected with them and if not purchased at the time they could never have been obtained’ (J. Fleming, 'Art Dealing in the Risorgimento II', p. 505, footnote 78). Alternatively, the four torchères may have been acquired by the 5th Earl and Countess of Rosebery for Mentmore. On the Baron's death in 1874, he left Mentmore and a fortune of some £2,000,000 to his daughter, Hannah de Rothschild (d. 1890). Four years later Hannah married Archibald Philip, Earl of Rosebery, who added considerably to the collections assembled by his father-in-law (M. Hall, 'The English Rothschilds as Collectors', Ed. G. Heuberger, The Rothschilds: Essays on the History of a European Family, Woodbridge, 1995, p. 272). Barker having remained on friendly terms with this branch of the family was a regular and welcome visitor both during the time of Baron Mayer and the Roseberys, and it is equally feasible that Barker supplied the present pair to the latter during a later period. The four figures remained at Mentmore until the dispersal of the contents in 1977.

THE MODEL

These figural torchères were possibly inspired by the one sculpted in 1773 by Royal sculptor to Louis XV, Augustin Pajou (d. 1809), who created 'a figure in white marble four feet two inches in height, depicting a young girl holding a horn of plenty, which was meant to carry lights' for Madame Du Barry for her new pavilion at Louveciennes (J. Draper & G. Scherf, Augustin Pajou Royal Sculptor 1730-1809, New York, 1997, p. 237). The lamp was commended when it appeared at the Salon of the same year, and Pajou received ten thousand livres for the sculpture in July 1774.