Page 103 - Pascal Izarn catalogue 2024
P. 103
A LATE LOUIS XV GILT BRONZE-MOUNTED
CHINESE FLAMBÉ GLAZED PORCELAIN VASE
– CIRCA 1765
The porcelain Qianlong Period (1736-1795)
Height: 31 cm. (12 ¼ in.) Width: 12.5 cm. (5 in.) Diameter of base: 8.5 cm. (3
¼ in.)
PROVENANCE
Probably collection of Sophie Arnould (1740-1802); her sale, Paris,
30-31 December 1778, lot 56
Acquired by Samuel Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Baron Masham of
Swinton (1815-1906), circa 1890 for Swinton Park, North Yorkshire
Thence by descent to his grand-daughter and heir Mary Constance
“Molly” Boynton (1890-1974), who married Philip Lloyd-Greame (who
took the name Cunliffe-Lister), later 1st Earl of Swinton, and by descent
to the Trustees of the Lord Swinton Will Trust
LITERATURE
Émile Dacier, ‘Le catalogue de la vente Sophie Arnould illustré par
Gabriel de Saint-Aubin’, Revue de l’art ancien et moderne, vol. 26, no. 152
(10 November 1909), pp. 353-360.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
A pair of larger-scale flambé bottle vases whose slightly later mounts
include the same distinctive Greek key banded lid are in the British Royal
Collections (inv. RCIN 2316; J. Ayers, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art
in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, London, 2016, pp. 585-586,
nos. 1389-1390).
This Chinese porcelain vase with a flambé red ground tinged with
purple presents over its entire surface a shiny and slightly cracked glaze
characteristic of Chinese production from the Qianlong Period (1736-1795). The bottle shape is formed by a circular body supporting a high, narrower
neck. At its base, the bottle rests on a gilt bronze mount whose circular pedestal is formed of an ogee
enriched with acanthus leaves on a granulated ground; separated by a ring, the upper part presents an
alternation of leaves of varying length which serves to hold the bottle. Also in gilt bronze and distributed
symmetrically along the neck, the two contoured handles formed by leafy scrolls are distinguished by
the presence of a drop of seeds in the upper part. The moulded neck of the bottle is punctuated with a
small square granulated pattern. The lid displays interlacing on a granulated ground and is finished with
a pinecone.
THE COLLECTION OF SOPHIE ARNOULD, OPERA SINGER Fig. 1 – Louis Carrogis de Carmontelle
(1717-1806)
Well known to the Parisian public for the quality of her acting and her voice, Sophie Arnould (1740-
1802) began a brilliant career as an actress and singer at the age of seventeen (fig. 1). She had many Portrait of Sophie Arnould in the opera
lovers including a long affair with Louis-Léon-Félicité de Brancas, 3rd Duc de Lauraguais (1733- Pyramus and Thisbe, 1760
1824), with whom she had four children. Close to the best painters and sculptors of her time, several
likenesses of Mademoiselle Arnould are known, including one by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805) Watercolour, gouache, ink and graphite
now in the Wallace Collection in London (inv. P413). on paper. Chantilly, musée Condé (inv.
Renowned for her grace and witticisms, Sophie Arnould had a true passion for paintings and luxurious Car 420)
art objects. She frequented the auction rooms, participating in the Gaignat sale in 1768, the Blondel
de Gagny sale in 1776 and the Randon de Boisset sale in 1777. She was also sketched during the
Lauraguais sale in March 1772 by the famous designer, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724-1780) (Paris,
musée du Louvre, inv. RF 52287). Arnould retired from the opera stage in 1778 and decided to part
with some of her collections. The catalogue for her sale, written by the expert Alexandre-Joseph Paillet
(1743-1814), was printed as a supplement to that of the painter Charles-Joseph Natoire (1700-1777).
The catalogue described Mademoiselle Arnould’s collection as :
« de plusieurs tableaux originaux, belles porcelaines anciennes, de la Chine, du Japon, de Saxe, garnies de
bronzes dorés d’or moulu, beaux meubles, coffres de laque, bibliothèques en bois d’acajou, et autres objets
curieux »
Continued overleaf »
89
CHINESE FLAMBÉ GLAZED PORCELAIN VASE
– CIRCA 1765
The porcelain Qianlong Period (1736-1795)
Height: 31 cm. (12 ¼ in.) Width: 12.5 cm. (5 in.) Diameter of base: 8.5 cm. (3
¼ in.)
PROVENANCE
Probably collection of Sophie Arnould (1740-1802); her sale, Paris,
30-31 December 1778, lot 56
Acquired by Samuel Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Baron Masham of
Swinton (1815-1906), circa 1890 for Swinton Park, North Yorkshire
Thence by descent to his grand-daughter and heir Mary Constance
“Molly” Boynton (1890-1974), who married Philip Lloyd-Greame (who
took the name Cunliffe-Lister), later 1st Earl of Swinton, and by descent
to the Trustees of the Lord Swinton Will Trust
LITERATURE
Émile Dacier, ‘Le catalogue de la vente Sophie Arnould illustré par
Gabriel de Saint-Aubin’, Revue de l’art ancien et moderne, vol. 26, no. 152
(10 November 1909), pp. 353-360.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
A pair of larger-scale flambé bottle vases whose slightly later mounts
include the same distinctive Greek key banded lid are in the British Royal
Collections (inv. RCIN 2316; J. Ayers, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art
in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, London, 2016, pp. 585-586,
nos. 1389-1390).
This Chinese porcelain vase with a flambé red ground tinged with
purple presents over its entire surface a shiny and slightly cracked glaze
characteristic of Chinese production from the Qianlong Period (1736-1795). The bottle shape is formed by a circular body supporting a high, narrower
neck. At its base, the bottle rests on a gilt bronze mount whose circular pedestal is formed of an ogee
enriched with acanthus leaves on a granulated ground; separated by a ring, the upper part presents an
alternation of leaves of varying length which serves to hold the bottle. Also in gilt bronze and distributed
symmetrically along the neck, the two contoured handles formed by leafy scrolls are distinguished by
the presence of a drop of seeds in the upper part. The moulded neck of the bottle is punctuated with a
small square granulated pattern. The lid displays interlacing on a granulated ground and is finished with
a pinecone.
THE COLLECTION OF SOPHIE ARNOULD, OPERA SINGER Fig. 1 – Louis Carrogis de Carmontelle
(1717-1806)
Well known to the Parisian public for the quality of her acting and her voice, Sophie Arnould (1740-
1802) began a brilliant career as an actress and singer at the age of seventeen (fig. 1). She had many Portrait of Sophie Arnould in the opera
lovers including a long affair with Louis-Léon-Félicité de Brancas, 3rd Duc de Lauraguais (1733- Pyramus and Thisbe, 1760
1824), with whom she had four children. Close to the best painters and sculptors of her time, several
likenesses of Mademoiselle Arnould are known, including one by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805) Watercolour, gouache, ink and graphite
now in the Wallace Collection in London (inv. P413). on paper. Chantilly, musée Condé (inv.
Renowned for her grace and witticisms, Sophie Arnould had a true passion for paintings and luxurious Car 420)
art objects. She frequented the auction rooms, participating in the Gaignat sale in 1768, the Blondel
de Gagny sale in 1776 and the Randon de Boisset sale in 1777. She was also sketched during the
Lauraguais sale in March 1772 by the famous designer, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724-1780) (Paris,
musée du Louvre, inv. RF 52287). Arnould retired from the opera stage in 1778 and decided to part
with some of her collections. The catalogue for her sale, written by the expert Alexandre-Joseph Paillet
(1743-1814), was printed as a supplement to that of the painter Charles-Joseph Natoire (1700-1777).
The catalogue described Mademoiselle Arnould’s collection as :
« de plusieurs tableaux originaux, belles porcelaines anciennes, de la Chine, du Japon, de Saxe, garnies de
bronzes dorés d’or moulu, beaux meubles, coffres de laque, bibliothèques en bois d’acajou, et autres objets
curieux »
Continued overleaf »
89
