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Lot Essay
Following the 1860 French imperial campagne de Chine, immense caches of enamels from the Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan), Beijing, were placed on public display at the Tuileries, after which a personal selection made by Empress Eugénie was re-housed in thematically remodelled rooms at Fontainebleau. Subsequently, furnishings in the Chinese fashion were supplied by French makers to house, complement, and even repurpose the collection to suit Western tastes. Chief among these artisans were the firms of Ferdinand Barbedienne, Maison Marnyhac and L’Escalier de Cristal who championed the theme, specifically adapting the designs of Edouard Lièvre, often considered the ‘grand maître’ of Japonisme and Chinoiserie during the Second Empire. Though bearing a presently unidentified foundry stamp, the quality, design and execution of the mounts on the present pair are certainly a derivative of his original franco-chinoise creations and one with possible attribution to one of these pre-eminent firms.
Clear parallels can be seen in the form, including the elephant headed supports, often associated with Lièvre’s distinctive oeuvre. Similar elements are apparent on a superb garniture de cheminée conceived in 1875 and an aquarium of the same date (Connaissance des Arts, no. 228, 'Edouard Lièvre', Paris, 2004, pp. 28, 31 and 34). A related marble-topped stand was executed by the fondeur Maison Marnyhac, a contemporary of Barbedienne, for the haut-luxe retailer L'Escalier de Cristal (op.cit., pp. 6 and 26). A similarly-mounted pair of monumental Chinese cloisonne jardinières, formerly in the Collection of Count Burnay, Palácio da Junqueira, Lisbon (circa 1933), was sold Christie’s, New York, 13 April 2017, lot 225 ($391,500).
Furthermore, the hanging shou roundels are reminiscent a Qianlong incense burner and an Kangxi vase (both spoils from the Summer Palace) which Barbedienne adapted to create a three-metre high chandelier of lantern-form with swirling ormolu candlearms (extant at Fontainebleau, inv. F. 1324 C). Additional correlation made be made to Barbedienne’s vast output when examining his design for a chandelier, circa 1880, executed in two sizes, whose tiers are linked by pierced stylized characters similar to those on the present pair. An example of the smaller design was sold at Christie’s, London, 15 July 2020, lot 292.
Clear parallels can be seen in the form, including the elephant headed supports, often associated with Lièvre’s distinctive oeuvre. Similar elements are apparent on a superb garniture de cheminée conceived in 1875 and an aquarium of the same date (Connaissance des Arts, no. 228, 'Edouard Lièvre', Paris, 2004, pp. 28, 31 and 34). A related marble-topped stand was executed by the fondeur Maison Marnyhac, a contemporary of Barbedienne, for the haut-luxe retailer L'Escalier de Cristal (op.cit., pp. 6 and 26). A similarly-mounted pair of monumental Chinese cloisonne jardinières, formerly in the Collection of Count Burnay, Palácio da Junqueira, Lisbon (circa 1933), was sold Christie’s, New York, 13 April 2017, lot 225 ($391,500).
Furthermore, the hanging shou roundels are reminiscent a Qianlong incense burner and an Kangxi vase (both spoils from the Summer Palace) which Barbedienne adapted to create a three-metre high chandelier of lantern-form with swirling ormolu candlearms (extant at Fontainebleau, inv. F. 1324 C). Additional correlation made be made to Barbedienne’s vast output when examining his design for a chandelier, circa 1880, executed in two sizes, whose tiers are linked by pierced stylized characters similar to those on the present pair. An example of the smaller design was sold at Christie’s, London, 15 July 2020, lot 292.