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Lot Essay
With its combination of Chinese celadon porcelain and rich French ormolu, this pair of jardinières continues the centuries-old European tradition of decorating Asian porcelain with lavish gilt metal mounts. Its pinnacle came with the innovative, fantastical creations of the eighteenth-century French marchands-merciers who assembled objects de luxe such as inkwells, candelabra, brûle parfums and potpourri vases utilizing Asian porcelain set within elaborate ormolu mounts. Veritable “diffuseurs” of the best taste, the marchands-merciers became the only ones who possessed the ability to mount and sell these precious objects, most notably celadon porcelains, which was invented in China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-960). It is characterized by a glaze that evokes the most beautiful of Chinese jades.
THE BARONS BURTON
The title of Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore was created in 1897 for Michael Arthur Bass (1837-1909), who had been a baronet since 1882. The Bass family had been known in the United Kingdom for their philanthropy and their wealth from their large breweries established in the late eighteenth century. Bass and his wife, Harriett Georgina Thornewill (1841-1931), had one daughter Nellie Lisa, the 2nd Baroness Burton, born in 1873. Baroness Burton first married James Evan Bruce Baillie in 1894 and later William Eugene Melles in 1932. Lady Burton was a leading English collector or porcelain and French furniture and resided in Chesterfield House, a superb Rococo palace built from 1746 by 1st Lord Chesterfield according to the designs of Isaac Ware. A series of photographs of the palace’s famous interiors were taken by Bedford Lemere circa 1910 showing the rooms overflowing with Lady Burton’s collection. Chesterfield House was demolished in 1937 and Lady Burton died childless twenty-five years later. Upon her death, the title of Baron Burton was passed down to Michael Baillie, 3rd Baron Burton.
THE BARONS BURTON
The title of Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore was created in 1897 for Michael Arthur Bass (1837-1909), who had been a baronet since 1882. The Bass family had been known in the United Kingdom for their philanthropy and their wealth from their large breweries established in the late eighteenth century. Bass and his wife, Harriett Georgina Thornewill (1841-1931), had one daughter Nellie Lisa, the 2nd Baroness Burton, born in 1873. Baroness Burton first married James Evan Bruce Baillie in 1894 and later William Eugene Melles in 1932. Lady Burton was a leading English collector or porcelain and French furniture and resided in Chesterfield House, a superb Rococo palace built from 1746 by 1st Lord Chesterfield according to the designs of Isaac Ware. A series of photographs of the palace’s famous interiors were taken by Bedford Lemere circa 1910 showing the rooms overflowing with Lady Burton’s collection. Chesterfield House was demolished in 1937 and Lady Burton died childless twenty-five years later. Upon her death, the title of Baron Burton was passed down to Michael Baillie, 3rd Baron Burton.