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Lot Essay
Lots 7-9 present masterworks in hardstone, micro-mosaic and gilt-bronze acquired by a European princely family in the early 19th century. These works exemplify ‘grand tour’ collecting and bring to life the intellectual and artistic temperature of the period, when members of European royal families would commission works inspired by ancient Rome and Greece from the master craftsmen and designers of Italy. The depiction of canonical scenes from Greek mythology on micro-mosaic and the display of hundreds of specimens of rare marbles mined from every corner of the ancient world speak not only to the scholarly aspirations of Europe’s ruling elite but also to the enduring power of the political legacy of ancient Rome. These lots indicate the role of the decorative arts in diplomacy and the political and visual kinship between the royal families of Europe.
This important guéridon combines a Roman micromosaic top attributable to Antonio Aguatti (d. 1846) with an elaborate gilt-bronze base attributed to the St. Petersburg bronzier Alexandre Guerin (active 1805–1840). Bringing together two of the most accomplished decorative arts traditions of the early nineteenth century, the table reflects the close artistic and dynastic connections that linked Rome, Paris and St. Petersburg during the Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic periods.
The micromosaic top is centred by the mythological subject of the Rape of Europa and can be firmly attributed to Aguatti, one of the leading Roman mosaicists of his generation. The composition derives from a gouache by Michelangelo Maestri (d. 1812), whose highly influential designs drew upon antique frescoes and the decorative repertoire popularised by the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii. By the late eighteenth century, Rome had become a principal destination of the Grand Tour, and micromosaics emerged as some of the most sought-after souvenirs of the rediscovery of the ancient world. The bold palette and ornamental framework of the present top reflect this enduring fascination with Classical antiquity and archaeological discovery.
The central scene depicts the abduction of Europa by Jupiter in the guise of a bull and is based on one of Maestri's mythological compositions. Aguatti translated the design into mosaic with exceptional precision, making full use of the technical innovations for which he became known. A member of a distinguished family of mosaicists, Aguatti was instrumental in advancing the art of micromosaic through the development of shaped tesserae and increasingly sophisticated colour gradations, allowing for greater naturalism and a more painterly effect. These innovations are evident throughout the present work, particularly in the modelling of the figures, the treatment of drapery and the subtle tonal transitions of the composition.
The attribution is supported by a number of closely related works. A signed micromosaic tablet depicting a Cupid-driven chariot, later mounted in a Parisian gold snuff-box of circa 1810, displays comparable technique and execution, while a related signed table top remains in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg . A table with a virtually identical micromosaic top was sold at Christie's, London, 28 April 2017, lot 6, while another incorporating a closely related design centred by Fidelity's Triumph was sold at Christie's, London, 11 June 1998, lot 60. The fine red-line border surrounding the composition, a feature frequently associated with Aguatti's work, also appears on several comparable examples, including mosaics in the Gilbert Collection and the Hermitage Museum.
The popularity of micromosaics among the European elite was closely connected with the patronage of Napoleon Bonaparte and Empress Joséphine, both important collectors of the medium. During the French occupation of Rome, the Vatican mosaic workshops came under Imperial administration, and micromosaics were frequently commissioned as diplomatic and presentation gifts.
The gilt-bronze base is attributable to Alexandre Guerin, whose workshop was among the leading bronze manufactories in St. Petersburg during the first half of the nineteenth century. Together with Ivan Dinper and Andrei Schreiber, Guerin supplied works to the Imperial Court and the Russian aristocracy. The quality of the chasing and the sophistication of the design are characteristic of his production and compare closely with a guéridon formerly in the collection of the Stroganoff family, sold at Lepke, Berlin, 13 May 1931, lot 196. This gueridon was probably intended for the lapidarium of the Stroganoff Palace in St. Petersburg and fascinatingly is inlaid with a specimen marble top of similar quality and manufacture to the table tops forming lots 8 and 9 of this sale, also from the same princely collection. A further related gueridon in the collection of the Hermitage with a micromosaic top by Francesco Beloni (inv. no. EPR-552) was formerly in the collection of Maximilian von Leuchtenberg, son of Eugène de Beauharnais and suggests that, as in the case of the present lot, the wider de Beauharnais family were instrumental in spreading the Empire style throughout the courts of Europe.
THE PROVENANCE
This present table was likely conceived as a diplomatic or dynastic gift and may have passed through the Russian court. Family tradition holds that it was presented to Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden and Napoleon's adopted daughter, in whose descendants' collection it remained. The table therefore combines a micromosaic by one of Rome's most accomplished mosaicists with a mount by one of Russia's leading bronziers, while also embodying the network of artistic and familial connections that linked the principal courts of Europe in the early nineteenth century.
Stéphanie-Louise-Adrienne de Beauharnais (1789–1860) was a cousin of Alexandre de Beauharnais, the first husband of Empress Joséphine. She was particularly close to Joséphine and her husband and when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor she assumed a prominent position at the French imperial court. Stéphanie was adopted by Napoléon I in 1806 to facilitate a dynastic alliance with the House of Baden. Elevated to the rank of Princesse française with the style of Imperial Highness, she married Charles, Hereditary Prince of Baden, in Paris on 8 April 1806. On the occasion of this marriage the new Grand Duchess received many lavish presents including jewels and works of art. The Grand Ducal family of Baden had familial links to the court of Russia and Stéphanie’s sister-in-law was Elizabeth Alexeievna, Empress of Russia. While this table may well have been a gift to the Grand Duchess it is also conceivable that she commissioned it herself as she set out to emulate the French Empire style at the Baden court. Under her patronage, the architects Friedrich Weinbrenner (1766–1826) and Jakob Friedrich Dyckerhoff (1774–1845) refurbished the palaces of Karlsruhe and Mannheim, while furnishings and gilt-bronze objects were commissioned directly from Paris. Widowed in 1818, Stéphanie remained an influential cultural figure; her residence in Mannheim became an important intellectual and artistic salon. She died in Nice in 1860.
This important guéridon combines a Roman micromosaic top attributable to Antonio Aguatti (d. 1846) with an elaborate gilt-bronze base attributed to the St. Petersburg bronzier Alexandre Guerin (active 1805–1840). Bringing together two of the most accomplished decorative arts traditions of the early nineteenth century, the table reflects the close artistic and dynastic connections that linked Rome, Paris and St. Petersburg during the Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic periods.
The micromosaic top is centred by the mythological subject of the Rape of Europa and can be firmly attributed to Aguatti, one of the leading Roman mosaicists of his generation. The composition derives from a gouache by Michelangelo Maestri (d. 1812), whose highly influential designs drew upon antique frescoes and the decorative repertoire popularised by the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii. By the late eighteenth century, Rome had become a principal destination of the Grand Tour, and micromosaics emerged as some of the most sought-after souvenirs of the rediscovery of the ancient world. The bold palette and ornamental framework of the present top reflect this enduring fascination with Classical antiquity and archaeological discovery.
The central scene depicts the abduction of Europa by Jupiter in the guise of a bull and is based on one of Maestri's mythological compositions. Aguatti translated the design into mosaic with exceptional precision, making full use of the technical innovations for which he became known. A member of a distinguished family of mosaicists, Aguatti was instrumental in advancing the art of micromosaic through the development of shaped tesserae and increasingly sophisticated colour gradations, allowing for greater naturalism and a more painterly effect. These innovations are evident throughout the present work, particularly in the modelling of the figures, the treatment of drapery and the subtle tonal transitions of the composition.
The attribution is supported by a number of closely related works. A signed micromosaic tablet depicting a Cupid-driven chariot, later mounted in a Parisian gold snuff-box of circa 1810, displays comparable technique and execution, while a related signed table top remains in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg . A table with a virtually identical micromosaic top was sold at Christie's, London, 28 April 2017, lot 6, while another incorporating a closely related design centred by Fidelity's Triumph was sold at Christie's, London, 11 June 1998, lot 60. The fine red-line border surrounding the composition, a feature frequently associated with Aguatti's work, also appears on several comparable examples, including mosaics in the Gilbert Collection and the Hermitage Museum.
The popularity of micromosaics among the European elite was closely connected with the patronage of Napoleon Bonaparte and Empress Joséphine, both important collectors of the medium. During the French occupation of Rome, the Vatican mosaic workshops came under Imperial administration, and micromosaics were frequently commissioned as diplomatic and presentation gifts.
The gilt-bronze base is attributable to Alexandre Guerin, whose workshop was among the leading bronze manufactories in St. Petersburg during the first half of the nineteenth century. Together with Ivan Dinper and Andrei Schreiber, Guerin supplied works to the Imperial Court and the Russian aristocracy. The quality of the chasing and the sophistication of the design are characteristic of his production and compare closely with a guéridon formerly in the collection of the Stroganoff family, sold at Lepke, Berlin, 13 May 1931, lot 196. This gueridon was probably intended for the lapidarium of the Stroganoff Palace in St. Petersburg and fascinatingly is inlaid with a specimen marble top of similar quality and manufacture to the table tops forming lots 8 and 9 of this sale, also from the same princely collection. A further related gueridon in the collection of the Hermitage with a micromosaic top by Francesco Beloni (inv. no. EPR-552) was formerly in the collection of Maximilian von Leuchtenberg, son of Eugène de Beauharnais and suggests that, as in the case of the present lot, the wider de Beauharnais family were instrumental in spreading the Empire style throughout the courts of Europe.
THE PROVENANCE
This present table was likely conceived as a diplomatic or dynastic gift and may have passed through the Russian court. Family tradition holds that it was presented to Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden and Napoleon's adopted daughter, in whose descendants' collection it remained. The table therefore combines a micromosaic by one of Rome's most accomplished mosaicists with a mount by one of Russia's leading bronziers, while also embodying the network of artistic and familial connections that linked the principal courts of Europe in the early nineteenth century.
Stéphanie-Louise-Adrienne de Beauharnais (1789–1860) was a cousin of Alexandre de Beauharnais, the first husband of Empress Joséphine. She was particularly close to Joséphine and her husband and when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor she assumed a prominent position at the French imperial court. Stéphanie was adopted by Napoléon I in 1806 to facilitate a dynastic alliance with the House of Baden. Elevated to the rank of Princesse française with the style of Imperial Highness, she married Charles, Hereditary Prince of Baden, in Paris on 8 April 1806. On the occasion of this marriage the new Grand Duchess received many lavish presents including jewels and works of art. The Grand Ducal family of Baden had familial links to the court of Russia and Stéphanie’s sister-in-law was Elizabeth Alexeievna, Empress of Russia. While this table may well have been a gift to the Grand Duchess it is also conceivable that she commissioned it herself as she set out to emulate the French Empire style at the Baden court. Under her patronage, the architects Friedrich Weinbrenner (1766–1826) and Jakob Friedrich Dyckerhoff (1774–1845) refurbished the palaces of Karlsruhe and Mannheim, while furnishings and gilt-bronze objects were commissioned directly from Paris. Widowed in 1818, Stéphanie remained an influential cultural figure; her residence in Mannheim became an important intellectual and artistic salon. She died in Nice in 1860.