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Lot Essay
With their finely-chased foliate surround, contrasting two-tone gilding and prominent repoussé figures of cherubs, these remarkable wall-lights relate to the oeuvre of the celebrated ciseleur-doreur Pierre Gouthière (1732-c.1813). The presence of portrait medallions of Queen Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI under closed crowns indicate they were almost certainly delivered for one of the French Royal residences.
A REMARKABLE DECORATIVE REPERTOIRE
The backplates of the present wall-lights are centred by classically-draped winged putti, each modelled with one arm raised above his head, the other holding the drapery. They echo a remarkable design by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) featuring a related figure holding aloft a wreathed clock case, above a chimneypiece. This 'Etruscan' design was produced in Rome in 1769 for a chimney piece executed for John Hope (reproduced in J. Wilton-Ely, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the Complete Etchings, vol. II, San Francisco, 1994, p. 896, fig. 823).
The naturalistic lily branches issuing from the figural plaques relate closely to those on plaster models of candelabra exhibited by Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791), director of the sculpture studio at Sèvres from 1759 to 1766, at the Salon du Louvre in 1761. Intended to be cast in silver, the plaster models were based on an earlier drawing depicting draped nymphs by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (ill. H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel, et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 254, fig. 4.7.1).
PIERRE GOUTHIERE'S TECHNICAL PROWESS
Several of the techniques employed to execute the present wall-lights demonstrate Pierre Gouthière's training as a silversmith. The winged putti were worked in repoussé, which allowed for greater precision and freedom in modelling. Furthermore, silver soldering was used, again indicating the training of a silversmith for whom this would have been common practice.
Very characteristic and specific to the oeuvre of Gouthière is the technique and finish known as the dorure au mat. 'The process involves coating the gilt bronze with a mixture of salts, called 'le mat' and heating it continuously above a fire. [...] The coating is thus removed from the gilt bronze pieces and, after being plunged in cold water, these appear matte. One can then burnish certain areas using brunissoirs' (Jacques Robiquet, Gouthière, sa vie - son oeuvre, Paris, 1912, p. 87).
The extremely refined and precise modelling of the floral garlands could be seen as another indication of Gouthiere’s involvement. They relate closely to mounts he produced for a chimneypiece commissioned for the salon of Madame du Barry at Fontainebleau in 1772 which was subsequently moved to the King’s library at Versailles in 1774 (illustrated in C. Vignon and C. Baulez, Pierre Gouthière, ciseleur-doreur du roi, 2017, cat. 28, fig. 64, p. 124).
They are also strongly reminiscent of the mounts used to enrich mahogany pieces of furniture by Jean-Henri Riesener, delivered to Queen Marie Antoinette at Versailles. Although recent studies show that these are more likely to have been made by his contemporary François Rémond (see H. Jacobsen, ‘La postérité de Gouthière: les collectionneurs anglaise au XIXe siècle’, op.cit, 2017, p.144).
RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THIS MODEL
Of this rare Royal model, only eight examples are known to exist. Some retain the portraits of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI (such as the present pair) confirming them as Royal commissions. These are:
- A pair in the Samuel H. Kress Collection (C.C. Dauterman, et.al, Decorative Art from the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Aylesbury, 1964, pp. 277-9, cat. no. 69a-b, figs. 235-6). The latter pair is possibly that exhibited in Three French Reigns, Louis XIV, XV and XVI, Loan Exhibition in aid of the Royal Northern Hospital at 25 Park Lane [residence of Sir Philip Sassoon], 21 February - 5 April 1933, no. 540, where described as 'Two Appliques in Ormolu, Gouthière, Lent by Lord Duveen' (Princesse Bibesco, 'Trois Règnes, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI', in La Renaissance, vol. 16, no. 6, June 1933, p. 121).
- A further pair, formerly in the collection of the Baronne Edouard de Rothschild, Paris, is illustrated in F. Morton, 'The House of Rothschild' in Holiday, vol. 30, no. 3, September 1961, p. 37.
- A further set of four was sold from the Collection of the Late Robert Goelet, Champ Soleil, Newport, Rhode Island, Parke Bernet Galleries, New York, 13-15 October 1966, lot 390. It is unclear which other two wall-lights were sold as part of this set and whether they included any of the above recorded examples or constitute a further, unrecorded, pair. Given that the 1966 catalogue does not note the existence of portrait medallions on the unillustrated wall-lights, the other pair could well be that sold by the Linskys at Sotheby's, New York, 21 May 1985, lot 161. A pair pobably part of this set was subsequently in the collection of Djahanguir Riahi at Christie's, London, 6 December 2012, lot 4 (133,250 GBP). All four examples show redundant holes to the frieze, which indicate that they were originally fitted with the medallions, most probably removed during the Revolution.
A REMARKABLE DECORATIVE REPERTOIRE
The backplates of the present wall-lights are centred by classically-draped winged putti, each modelled with one arm raised above his head, the other holding the drapery. They echo a remarkable design by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) featuring a related figure holding aloft a wreathed clock case, above a chimneypiece. This 'Etruscan' design was produced in Rome in 1769 for a chimney piece executed for John Hope (reproduced in J. Wilton-Ely, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the Complete Etchings, vol. II, San Francisco, 1994, p. 896, fig. 823).
The naturalistic lily branches issuing from the figural plaques relate closely to those on plaster models of candelabra exhibited by Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791), director of the sculpture studio at Sèvres from 1759 to 1766, at the Salon du Louvre in 1761. Intended to be cast in silver, the plaster models were based on an earlier drawing depicting draped nymphs by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (ill. H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel, et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 254, fig. 4.7.1).
PIERRE GOUTHIERE'S TECHNICAL PROWESS
Several of the techniques employed to execute the present wall-lights demonstrate Pierre Gouthière's training as a silversmith. The winged putti were worked in repoussé, which allowed for greater precision and freedom in modelling. Furthermore, silver soldering was used, again indicating the training of a silversmith for whom this would have been common practice.
Very characteristic and specific to the oeuvre of Gouthière is the technique and finish known as the dorure au mat. 'The process involves coating the gilt bronze with a mixture of salts, called 'le mat' and heating it continuously above a fire. [...] The coating is thus removed from the gilt bronze pieces and, after being plunged in cold water, these appear matte. One can then burnish certain areas using brunissoirs' (Jacques Robiquet, Gouthière, sa vie - son oeuvre, Paris, 1912, p. 87).
The extremely refined and precise modelling of the floral garlands could be seen as another indication of Gouthiere’s involvement. They relate closely to mounts he produced for a chimneypiece commissioned for the salon of Madame du Barry at Fontainebleau in 1772 which was subsequently moved to the King’s library at Versailles in 1774 (illustrated in C. Vignon and C. Baulez, Pierre Gouthière, ciseleur-doreur du roi, 2017, cat. 28, fig. 64, p. 124).
They are also strongly reminiscent of the mounts used to enrich mahogany pieces of furniture by Jean-Henri Riesener, delivered to Queen Marie Antoinette at Versailles. Although recent studies show that these are more likely to have been made by his contemporary François Rémond (see H. Jacobsen, ‘La postérité de Gouthière: les collectionneurs anglaise au XIXe siècle’, op.cit, 2017, p.144).
RECORDED EXAMPLES OF THIS MODEL
Of this rare Royal model, only eight examples are known to exist. Some retain the portraits of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI (such as the present pair) confirming them as Royal commissions. These are:
- A pair in the Samuel H. Kress Collection (C.C. Dauterman, et.al, Decorative Art from the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Aylesbury, 1964, pp. 277-9, cat. no. 69a-b, figs. 235-6). The latter pair is possibly that exhibited in Three French Reigns, Louis XIV, XV and XVI, Loan Exhibition in aid of the Royal Northern Hospital at 25 Park Lane [residence of Sir Philip Sassoon], 21 February - 5 April 1933, no. 540, where described as 'Two Appliques in Ormolu, Gouthière, Lent by Lord Duveen' (Princesse Bibesco, 'Trois Règnes, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI', in La Renaissance, vol. 16, no. 6, June 1933, p. 121).
- A further pair, formerly in the collection of the Baronne Edouard de Rothschild, Paris, is illustrated in F. Morton, 'The House of Rothschild' in Holiday, vol. 30, no. 3, September 1961, p. 37.
- A further set of four was sold from the Collection of the Late Robert Goelet, Champ Soleil, Newport, Rhode Island, Parke Bernet Galleries, New York, 13-15 October 1966, lot 390. It is unclear which other two wall-lights were sold as part of this set and whether they included any of the above recorded examples or constitute a further, unrecorded, pair. Given that the 1966 catalogue does not note the existence of portrait medallions on the unillustrated wall-lights, the other pair could well be that sold by the Linskys at Sotheby's, New York, 21 May 1985, lot 161. A pair pobably part of this set was subsequently in the collection of Djahanguir Riahi at Christie's, London, 6 December 2012, lot 4 (133,250 GBP). All four examples show redundant holes to the frieze, which indicate that they were originally fitted with the medallions, most probably removed during the Revolution.