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Lot Essay
MINIATURES AFTER WATTEAU: THE ART OF THE FÊTES GALANTES
The first work of art to be termed a “fête galante” was none other than Jean-Antoine Watteau’s Le Pèlerinage à l’île de Cythère presented in 1717 at the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. The title was subsequently replaced by “une feste galante.” (see A. de Montaiglon, Procès-verbaux de l’Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, 1684-1793, 10 vols. (Paris 1875-92), 4: 252). This expression had previously only been used in the context of theatre, opera and ballet or courtly entertainments. This change of title had a lasting impact for paintings as it came to define a style and period in the French 18th century art and Watteau as its forefather.
This new style of painting certainly brought Watteau fame and riches as collectors embraced the new genre. Their popularity was further enhanced by the publication of a Recueil d’estampes, compiled at the request of Jean de Julienne (1686-1766) who was Watteau’s patron and one of his most fervent collector. This worked gathered all of Julienne's collection and came to be known as the ‘Cabinet de Julienne’.
This receuil served as a catalogue raisonné of Watteau’s work and helped popularised his “fête galantes”. These were used by artists but also miniaturists to be mounted in boîte à cage or cagework box.
CAGEWORK BOXES TO DISPLAY MINIATURES
This new type of box which appeared around 1740s became hugely popular with 18th century collectors such as the Duc de Choiseul (1719-1785) and later on in the 19th century with the Rothschild family (see S. Grandjean, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Gold boxes and Miniatures of the Eigthteenth century, London, 1985).
Our box is adorned with ten miniatures all inspired by Watteau's paintings. The cover and the base are respectively after two of Watteau most well known “fêtes galantes”: Les Champs-Élysées and La Leçon d’Amour . The former was painted circa 1720-21 and is now at the Wallace Collection while the latter is dated 1716-1717 and is now in the collection of National Museum of Stockholm. Both works were engraved in the 1730s shortly after Watteau’s death by Charles Dupuis (1685-1742) et Nicolas Henri Tardieu (1718-1749) to be presented in Julienne's catalogue.
A CLASSIC PIERRE-FRANÇOIS DRAIS BOÎTE À MINIATURES
This box has previously been identified as with mark of Jean Ducrollay. However, a closer examination reveals that the mark is that of Pierre-Francois Drais. Drais’ mark is often misidentified as explained by Charles Truman in The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Gold Boxes, London, 2013 and by H. Nocq, Le Poincon de Paris, Paris, 1927. Indeed although his registered mark is described as 'PDF with a heart in between', known examples show generally a poorly punched mark and which resembles a P (that somehow also looks like a J) with a D beneath a crowned fleur-de-lys, two grains de remèdes and a heart and actually resembles that Jean Ducrollay's. (op. cit. Truman, p.339).
Drais was the son of Pierre Drais, a goldsmith. It is unclear where he completed his apprenticeship but in 1763 he entered his mark aged 37, sponsored by Jean Frémin. By then he was already living with his cousin Jean Ducrollay whom he described as his teacher according to his tradecard engraved in 1764 (illustrated in H. Zech, ‘Designs for Gold Boxes in the Album of the Workshop of Jean Ducrollay and his Successors’, in Going for Gold, 2014, p. 44). Nonetheless by then Jean Ducrollay and his brother had already transferred the business to Jean-Marie Tiron de Nanteuil since July 1761 to go into partnership with their nephew, the marchand-mercier Thomas Estienn. Drais took over his cousin’s workshop after Jean-Marie Tiron de Nanteuil and Louis Roucel.
Drais excelled in boîtes à cage including several decorated with miniatures. Many share the same design of cagework such as the one dated 1767 with miniatures ‘La Fête au Moulin’ signed and dated by Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe sold at Sotheby’s in London 8 July 2015, lot 34. Another this time oval dated 1774-1775 is also adorned with miniatures by Louis Nicolas van Blarenberghe depicting ‘fêtes champêtres’ and now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Acc. 17.190.1152).
The boîtes à miniatures were and still are highly collectable. The Rothschild family collected extensively this type of boxes across all generations and branches of the family and many now are in public collections such as the Louvre Museum in Paris or at Waddesdon Manor. Although the family focused on boxes with van Blarenberghe miniatures, many other artists were also represented in their collection. Indeed, they collected with the idea of presenting a full picture of 18th century France and what better way than through these miniatures depicting French life in all its grandeur and simplicity.
Comparative literature:
C. Truman, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Gold Boxes, Londres, 2013.
T. Murdoch et H. Zech, Going for Gold, Craftsmanship and Collecting of Gold Boxes, Sussex Academic Press, 2014.
H. Williams, The David & Mikhail Iakobachvili Collection, 18th Century Snuffboxes, Monaco, 2024.
H. Zeck, Gold Boxes: Masterpieces from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection, Londres, 2016.
A Kenneth Snowman, 18th century European Gold Boxes, London, 1966.
S. Grandjean, Les tabatières du musée du Louvre, Paris, 1981.
T. Schroeder, The Gilbert Collection of Gold and Silver, Londres, 1988.
The first work of art to be termed a “fête galante” was none other than Jean-Antoine Watteau’s Le Pèlerinage à l’île de Cythère presented in 1717 at the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. The title was subsequently replaced by “une feste galante.” (see A. de Montaiglon, Procès-verbaux de l’Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, 1684-1793, 10 vols. (Paris 1875-92), 4: 252). This expression had previously only been used in the context of theatre, opera and ballet or courtly entertainments. This change of title had a lasting impact for paintings as it came to define a style and period in the French 18th century art and Watteau as its forefather.
This new style of painting certainly brought Watteau fame and riches as collectors embraced the new genre. Their popularity was further enhanced by the publication of a Recueil d’estampes, compiled at the request of Jean de Julienne (1686-1766) who was Watteau’s patron and one of his most fervent collector. This worked gathered all of Julienne's collection and came to be known as the ‘Cabinet de Julienne’.
This receuil served as a catalogue raisonné of Watteau’s work and helped popularised his “fête galantes”. These were used by artists but also miniaturists to be mounted in boîte à cage or cagework box.
CAGEWORK BOXES TO DISPLAY MINIATURES
This new type of box which appeared around 1740s became hugely popular with 18th century collectors such as the Duc de Choiseul (1719-1785) and later on in the 19th century with the Rothschild family (see S. Grandjean, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Gold boxes and Miniatures of the Eigthteenth century, London, 1985).
Our box is adorned with ten miniatures all inspired by Watteau's paintings. The cover and the base are respectively after two of Watteau most well known “fêtes galantes”: Les Champs-Élysées and La Leçon d’Amour . The former was painted circa 1720-21 and is now at the Wallace Collection while the latter is dated 1716-1717 and is now in the collection of National Museum of Stockholm. Both works were engraved in the 1730s shortly after Watteau’s death by Charles Dupuis (1685-1742) et Nicolas Henri Tardieu (1718-1749) to be presented in Julienne's catalogue.
A CLASSIC PIERRE-FRANÇOIS DRAIS BOÎTE À MINIATURES
This box has previously been identified as with mark of Jean Ducrollay. However, a closer examination reveals that the mark is that of Pierre-Francois Drais. Drais’ mark is often misidentified as explained by Charles Truman in The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Gold Boxes, London, 2013 and by H. Nocq, Le Poincon de Paris, Paris, 1927. Indeed although his registered mark is described as 'PDF with a heart in between', known examples show generally a poorly punched mark and which resembles a P (that somehow also looks like a J) with a D beneath a crowned fleur-de-lys, two grains de remèdes and a heart and actually resembles that Jean Ducrollay's. (op. cit. Truman, p.339).
Drais was the son of Pierre Drais, a goldsmith. It is unclear where he completed his apprenticeship but in 1763 he entered his mark aged 37, sponsored by Jean Frémin. By then he was already living with his cousin Jean Ducrollay whom he described as his teacher according to his tradecard engraved in 1764 (illustrated in H. Zech, ‘Designs for Gold Boxes in the Album of the Workshop of Jean Ducrollay and his Successors’, in Going for Gold, 2014, p. 44). Nonetheless by then Jean Ducrollay and his brother had already transferred the business to Jean-Marie Tiron de Nanteuil since July 1761 to go into partnership with their nephew, the marchand-mercier Thomas Estienn. Drais took over his cousin’s workshop after Jean-Marie Tiron de Nanteuil and Louis Roucel.
Drais excelled in boîtes à cage including several decorated with miniatures. Many share the same design of cagework such as the one dated 1767 with miniatures ‘La Fête au Moulin’ signed and dated by Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe sold at Sotheby’s in London 8 July 2015, lot 34. Another this time oval dated 1774-1775 is also adorned with miniatures by Louis Nicolas van Blarenberghe depicting ‘fêtes champêtres’ and now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Acc. 17.190.1152).
The boîtes à miniatures were and still are highly collectable. The Rothschild family collected extensively this type of boxes across all generations and branches of the family and many now are in public collections such as the Louvre Museum in Paris or at Waddesdon Manor. Although the family focused on boxes with van Blarenberghe miniatures, many other artists were also represented in their collection. Indeed, they collected with the idea of presenting a full picture of 18th century France and what better way than through these miniatures depicting French life in all its grandeur and simplicity.
Comparative literature:
C. Truman, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Gold Boxes, Londres, 2013.
T. Murdoch et H. Zech, Going for Gold, Craftsmanship and Collecting of Gold Boxes, Sussex Academic Press, 2014.
H. Williams, The David & Mikhail Iakobachvili Collection, 18th Century Snuffboxes, Monaco, 2024.
H. Zeck, Gold Boxes: Masterpieces from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection, Londres, 2016.
A Kenneth Snowman, 18th century European Gold Boxes, London, 1966.
S. Grandjean, Les tabatières du musée du Louvre, Paris, 1981.
T. Schroeder, The Gilbert Collection of Gold and Silver, Londres, 1988.