Page 82 - Pascal Izarn catalogue 2022
P. 82
ATE LOUIS XV GOÛT GREC GILT BRONZE- accession of Louis
MOUNTED CHINESE FAMILLE VERTE XVI to the throne, the
PORCELAIN VASE – CIRCA 1765-1770 Comte de Vergennes
(1719-1787) became
The porcelain Kangxi (1662-1722) Secretary of State of
Foreign affairs. He
Height: 51 cm. (20 in.) Width: 44 cm. (17 ½ in.) surrounded himself with
competent colleagues to
PROVENANCE develop the diplomatic
Claude-Pierre-Maximilien Radix de Sainte-Foy (1736-1810); his sale, Paris, 22 corps including Radix
April 1782, lot 134 (sold 490 livres to Langlier) de Sainte-Foy, who was
Jacques Langlier (1730-1814); his sale, Paris, 24 April 1786, lot 192 (sold initially then sent to the
400 livres to Dulac) court of the Duke of
Antoine-Charles Dulac (1729-1811) Zweibrücken in present-
The Collection of Giuseppe Rossi day Rhineland.
LITERATURE However, Radix de
S. Vriz, ‘Quelques porcelaines d’Extrême-Orient d’un amateur éclairé : Radix Sainte-Foy quickly
de Sainte-Foy (1736-1810)’, Sèvres, no. 30 (2021), p. 101, ill. 12. returned to finance,
and became from 1776
Of especially large size, this superb vase is a rare example of the use of famille Surintendant des finances
verte porcelain in the repertoire of objets montés promoted so fashionably by for the Comte d’Artois (1757-1836). Thanks to his various responsibilities
the marchands-merciers. It is also remarkable for being documented in not and to his connection to Vergennes, Sainte-Foy rapidly built a considerable
one but two late 18th century Parisian sales, giving us a rare insight into the personal fortune, with which he purchased the Château de Neuilly as well
dynamic trade in works of art at that time. as a hôtel particulier on the rue Basse-du-Rempart in Paris, for which he
commissioned Jean-François Chalgrin (1736-1811) to complete the interior
The vase is first recorded in the sale catalogue of the collection of Claude- decoration.
Pierre-Maximilien Radix de Sainte-Foy, held on 22 April 1782 in Paris. It is
notable that this catalogue was written under the direction of Jean-Baptiste- Radix de Sainte-Foy’s rapid rise in fortune and close connection to the Comte
Pierre Le Brun (1748-1813), the picture dealer, celebrated expert and d’Artois gained him a great deal of enmity. Louis Petit de Bachaumont wrote,
husband of the painter Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun. “this financer is impertinent in his luxury”. Accused of embezzlement by Necker
(1732-1804), directeur général des Finances from 1777, he was forced to flee
The present vase is included in the section of the catalogue dedicated to to London in 1782 and to sell a large part of his collection. He was eventually
“Coloured Chinese porcelains” as lot 134 and is described as follows: able to make amends and played an important role in the counter-Revolution,
becoming chef du cabinet secret des Tuileries when Louis XVI was detained
‘Un vase forme d’urne ouverte fond blanc, à dessins de plantes et de papillons there. Though incarcerated during the Revolution, he was subsequently
coloriés, enrichi de gorge à cannelure, de têtes de lions portant anneaux, de culots, liberated, and in 1798 purchased the former Abbaye d’Ourscamp, which had
panneaux brettés et piedouche à feuilles de soleil sur son socle quarré Hauteur 19 become national property. Radix de Sainte-Foy died in 1810.
pouces [51.4 cm] largeur 15 pouces [40.6 cm]‘
The hôtel particulier on the rue Basse-du-Rempart was constructed by
Every detail on the present vase is described, including the flowers and Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart (1739-1813) for Bouret de Vézelay and was
butterflies on the porcelain, the lion masks holding rings and the fluted collar; exceptionally luxurious. Its collections included furniture in Boulle marquetry
it also significantly described the vase as ‘ouverte’ i.e. conceived without a but also numerous Chinese and Japanese porcelains. Other vases from Radix
lid. The slight discrepancy in width can be explained by the fact that the de Sainte-Foy’s collection are today in the British Royal Collection including
cataloguer in 1782 did not include the lion masks when measuring the width. a pair of Chinese turquoise porcelain vases with fish scale decoration (RCIN
478.1-2) and a garniture of three vases in Sèvres blue-ground porcelain
Numerous lots in the catalogue are accompanied by annotations and decorated with soldiers (RCIN 2289.1, 2289.2 and 2290). He would have
designs illustrating the objects by Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin (1721- met all the most fashionable artisans and marchands-merciers of Paris through
1786), including the present vase, reproduced next to its lot number. In his his mistress, the Duchesse de Mazarin, a noted patron of the celebrated
annotations, Saint-Aubin also noted the hammer price of 490 livres, as well as bronzier Pierre Gouthière and the architect François-Joseph Bélanger.
the purchaser of the vase, Langlier.
JACQUES LANGLIER
The Sainte-Foy vase belongs to a distinct group of vases with similar bold à la Jacques Langlier (circa 1730-1814), who acquired the vase in the Sainte-
Grecque mounts and unusual choices of highly coloured Chinese porcelain in Foy sale of 1782, was a hat merchant, but was better known as a dealer in
contrast to those usually employed by the marchands-merciers, which tended paintings and objects of curiosity. Installed in the quai de la Mégisserie, he
to be largely either powder blue or celadon wares. Other vases in the group moved to the rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie and became known in 1786
include: as a marchand-mercier and a picture dealer. Following financial difficulties,
Langlier was forced to sell a considerable part of his collection on 24 April
• a turquoise-glazed Ming dynasty Chinese garden stool with fluted collar, 1786, including pictures, furniture and seventeen lots of Asian porcelain.
lion’s masks and leaf-cast socle virtually identical to the Sainte-Foy vase. Among these lots, the present vase can be identified as lot 192 where it was
This vase, now in the Château de Versailles, was acquired by Louis XVI at sold to Antoine-Charles Dulac for 400 livres.
the sale of the Duc d’Aumont’s collection in 1782
ANTOINE-CHARLES DULAC
• a second one without a collar, but with the same handles, lion masks and Antoine-Charles Dulac (1729-1811) was a painter and member of the
socle as the Versailles/Duc d’Aumont vase, sold Christie’s London, 13-14 Académie de Saint-Luc from 1758 and was very active in public sales up to
November 1984, lot 671 the end of his life, purchasing paintings in 1803 from the auction of François-
Louis-Joseph de Laborde-Méréville. His father Antoine was a marchand and
• a third one with richer mounts and even larger in scale, but nevertheless must have been related to the celebrated Jean Dulac, ‘marchand-gantier-
clearly related to this group, sold Sotheby’s Paris, 15 December 2010, lot parfumeur et bijoutier’, based on the rue Saint Honoré and creator of the
93 (€960,750) famous ‘vases Dulac.’
RADIX DE SAINTE-FOY
Claude-Pierre-Maximilien Radix de Sainte-Foy (1736-1810) began his
diplomatic career as the attaché of the Embassy in Vienna and was then
promoted to the more lucrative post of Treasurer of the Navy. Upon the
70
MOUNTED CHINESE FAMILLE VERTE XVI to the throne, the
PORCELAIN VASE – CIRCA 1765-1770 Comte de Vergennes
(1719-1787) became
The porcelain Kangxi (1662-1722) Secretary of State of
Foreign affairs. He
Height: 51 cm. (20 in.) Width: 44 cm. (17 ½ in.) surrounded himself with
competent colleagues to
PROVENANCE develop the diplomatic
Claude-Pierre-Maximilien Radix de Sainte-Foy (1736-1810); his sale, Paris, 22 corps including Radix
April 1782, lot 134 (sold 490 livres to Langlier) de Sainte-Foy, who was
Jacques Langlier (1730-1814); his sale, Paris, 24 April 1786, lot 192 (sold initially then sent to the
400 livres to Dulac) court of the Duke of
Antoine-Charles Dulac (1729-1811) Zweibrücken in present-
The Collection of Giuseppe Rossi day Rhineland.
LITERATURE However, Radix de
S. Vriz, ‘Quelques porcelaines d’Extrême-Orient d’un amateur éclairé : Radix Sainte-Foy quickly
de Sainte-Foy (1736-1810)’, Sèvres, no. 30 (2021), p. 101, ill. 12. returned to finance,
and became from 1776
Of especially large size, this superb vase is a rare example of the use of famille Surintendant des finances
verte porcelain in the repertoire of objets montés promoted so fashionably by for the Comte d’Artois (1757-1836). Thanks to his various responsibilities
the marchands-merciers. It is also remarkable for being documented in not and to his connection to Vergennes, Sainte-Foy rapidly built a considerable
one but two late 18th century Parisian sales, giving us a rare insight into the personal fortune, with which he purchased the Château de Neuilly as well
dynamic trade in works of art at that time. as a hôtel particulier on the rue Basse-du-Rempart in Paris, for which he
commissioned Jean-François Chalgrin (1736-1811) to complete the interior
The vase is first recorded in the sale catalogue of the collection of Claude- decoration.
Pierre-Maximilien Radix de Sainte-Foy, held on 22 April 1782 in Paris. It is
notable that this catalogue was written under the direction of Jean-Baptiste- Radix de Sainte-Foy’s rapid rise in fortune and close connection to the Comte
Pierre Le Brun (1748-1813), the picture dealer, celebrated expert and d’Artois gained him a great deal of enmity. Louis Petit de Bachaumont wrote,
husband of the painter Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun. “this financer is impertinent in his luxury”. Accused of embezzlement by Necker
(1732-1804), directeur général des Finances from 1777, he was forced to flee
The present vase is included in the section of the catalogue dedicated to to London in 1782 and to sell a large part of his collection. He was eventually
“Coloured Chinese porcelains” as lot 134 and is described as follows: able to make amends and played an important role in the counter-Revolution,
becoming chef du cabinet secret des Tuileries when Louis XVI was detained
‘Un vase forme d’urne ouverte fond blanc, à dessins de plantes et de papillons there. Though incarcerated during the Revolution, he was subsequently
coloriés, enrichi de gorge à cannelure, de têtes de lions portant anneaux, de culots, liberated, and in 1798 purchased the former Abbaye d’Ourscamp, which had
panneaux brettés et piedouche à feuilles de soleil sur son socle quarré Hauteur 19 become national property. Radix de Sainte-Foy died in 1810.
pouces [51.4 cm] largeur 15 pouces [40.6 cm]‘
The hôtel particulier on the rue Basse-du-Rempart was constructed by
Every detail on the present vase is described, including the flowers and Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart (1739-1813) for Bouret de Vézelay and was
butterflies on the porcelain, the lion masks holding rings and the fluted collar; exceptionally luxurious. Its collections included furniture in Boulle marquetry
it also significantly described the vase as ‘ouverte’ i.e. conceived without a but also numerous Chinese and Japanese porcelains. Other vases from Radix
lid. The slight discrepancy in width can be explained by the fact that the de Sainte-Foy’s collection are today in the British Royal Collection including
cataloguer in 1782 did not include the lion masks when measuring the width. a pair of Chinese turquoise porcelain vases with fish scale decoration (RCIN
478.1-2) and a garniture of three vases in Sèvres blue-ground porcelain
Numerous lots in the catalogue are accompanied by annotations and decorated with soldiers (RCIN 2289.1, 2289.2 and 2290). He would have
designs illustrating the objects by Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin (1721- met all the most fashionable artisans and marchands-merciers of Paris through
1786), including the present vase, reproduced next to its lot number. In his his mistress, the Duchesse de Mazarin, a noted patron of the celebrated
annotations, Saint-Aubin also noted the hammer price of 490 livres, as well as bronzier Pierre Gouthière and the architect François-Joseph Bélanger.
the purchaser of the vase, Langlier.
JACQUES LANGLIER
The Sainte-Foy vase belongs to a distinct group of vases with similar bold à la Jacques Langlier (circa 1730-1814), who acquired the vase in the Sainte-
Grecque mounts and unusual choices of highly coloured Chinese porcelain in Foy sale of 1782, was a hat merchant, but was better known as a dealer in
contrast to those usually employed by the marchands-merciers, which tended paintings and objects of curiosity. Installed in the quai de la Mégisserie, he
to be largely either powder blue or celadon wares. Other vases in the group moved to the rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie and became known in 1786
include: as a marchand-mercier and a picture dealer. Following financial difficulties,
Langlier was forced to sell a considerable part of his collection on 24 April
• a turquoise-glazed Ming dynasty Chinese garden stool with fluted collar, 1786, including pictures, furniture and seventeen lots of Asian porcelain.
lion’s masks and leaf-cast socle virtually identical to the Sainte-Foy vase. Among these lots, the present vase can be identified as lot 192 where it was
This vase, now in the Château de Versailles, was acquired by Louis XVI at sold to Antoine-Charles Dulac for 400 livres.
the sale of the Duc d’Aumont’s collection in 1782
ANTOINE-CHARLES DULAC
• a second one without a collar, but with the same handles, lion masks and Antoine-Charles Dulac (1729-1811) was a painter and member of the
socle as the Versailles/Duc d’Aumont vase, sold Christie’s London, 13-14 Académie de Saint-Luc from 1758 and was very active in public sales up to
November 1984, lot 671 the end of his life, purchasing paintings in 1803 from the auction of François-
Louis-Joseph de Laborde-Méréville. His father Antoine was a marchand and
• a third one with richer mounts and even larger in scale, but nevertheless must have been related to the celebrated Jean Dulac, ‘marchand-gantier-
clearly related to this group, sold Sotheby’s Paris, 15 December 2010, lot parfumeur et bijoutier’, based on the rue Saint Honoré and creator of the
93 (€960,750) famous ‘vases Dulac.’
RADIX DE SAINTE-FOY
Claude-Pierre-Maximilien Radix de Sainte-Foy (1736-1810) began his
diplomatic career as the attaché of the Embassy in Vienna and was then
promoted to the more lucrative post of Treasurer of the Navy. Upon the
70
