Page 94 - Pascal Izarn catalogue 2024
P. 94
A LOUIS XV GILT BRONZE-MOUNTED MEISSEN
PORCELAIN INKSTAND AND TWO-LIGHT
CANDELABRA – CIRCA 1740-1745
The hard paste Meissen porcelain boat 18th Century
Height: 37 cm. (14 ½ in.) Width: 32 cm. (12 ½ in.) Depth: 27.5 cm. (10 ¾ in.)
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
A similar Meissen inkstand illustrated in Drouot l’Art et les Enchères 1984-1985,
p. 163, was later sold De Baecque et Associés, Drouot, Paris, 13 October 2021,
lot 376.
THE ROLE OF THE MARCHANDS-MERCIERS IN THE CREATION OF MEISSEN
PORCELAIN OBJECTS
The refined sophistication of 18th century French interior decoration comes
about through the close collaboration between the marchands-merciers and a
veritable network of Parisian artisans with unparalleled savoir-faire.
Under Louis XV in Paris, the powerful corporation of marchands-merciers
constantly invented new luxurious objects for a wealthy clientele eager for
unique pieces and innovative taste. These rare objects adorned with Meissen
porcelain are magnificent testimonies to the boundless imagination of these
French merchants. Truly designers in the modern sense, they had the idea of
combining gilt bronze and Meissen porcelain which was particularly popular with
great amateurs in the early part of the reign of Louis XV.
The fashion for porcelain flowers soon prompted the marchands-merciers to
incorporate them as well in all sorts of forms: clocks, fountains, candelabras and
candlesticks, pot pourris, bird cages, chandeliers, lanterns and inkstands. Rapidly, a few reputable merchants specialised in these items adorned with
delicate porcelain flowers initially from Meissen itself or soon after from the recently established factory at Vincennes then Sèvres.
One of them, Michel-Joseph Lair (1732-1759), recorded at rue du Roule under the sign of Le Roy des Indes, was a “privileged merchant and ceramicist
(faïencier) to the King”. Many items of Meissen porcelain remained in his stock at the time of his death, including several clocks fitted with watch
movements, foliage and Meissen porcelain figures.
Edme Choudard-Desforges was another faïencier in the Meissen porcelain trade also located in the rue du Roule. The inventory of his store, drawn up in
December 1759, lists a quantity of porcelains from Saxony (as Meissen was known in the 18th century), some of which are richly mounted, as well as a
few clocks supported by various porcelain subjects. Based in the rue Saint-Honoré, Jacques-François Machart (active 1744-1763) enjoyed a prestigious
clientele and presented in his shop elegant objects of art in Meissen porcelain magnificently mounted in gilt bronze. Machart employed the best Parisian
workshops of bronziers and gilders.
Finally, there is Lazare Duvaux (ca. 1703-1758) – undoubtedly the most famous Parisian marchand-mercier – who was based in rue Saint-Honoré
under the sign of the Chagrin de Turquie. Duvaux counted among his clients Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, all the high aristocracy and the circle
of powerful financiers. His business was prosperous and the purchases of his many customers are known from the famous “livre-journal du marchand
bijoutier ordinaire du Roy”, which still survives.
Vincent Bastien, Doctor in History of Art
AN EARLY LOUIS XVI GILT AND PATINATED
BRONZE THREE-PART GARNITURE
COMPRISING A COVERED VASE AND A PAIR OF
EWERS – CIRCA 1775
Height of vase: 40 cm. (15 ¾ in.) Width: 20.5 cm. (8 in.)
Width and depth of base: 11.8 cm. (4 ½ in.)
Height of ewers: 33.5 cm. (13 ¼ in.) Width: 15.5 cm. (6 in.)
Diameter of base: 8.1 cm. (3 ¼ in.)
PROVENANCE
Christie’s London, 2 July 1987, lots 345 and 346
Galerie Michel Meyer, Paris, 1989
LITERATURE
D. Alcouffe, La Folie d’Artois, Paris : L’Objet d’Art, 1988, p. 202 (ill.) (the pair
of ewers).
80
PORCELAIN INKSTAND AND TWO-LIGHT
CANDELABRA – CIRCA 1740-1745
The hard paste Meissen porcelain boat 18th Century
Height: 37 cm. (14 ½ in.) Width: 32 cm. (12 ½ in.) Depth: 27.5 cm. (10 ¾ in.)
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
A similar Meissen inkstand illustrated in Drouot l’Art et les Enchères 1984-1985,
p. 163, was later sold De Baecque et Associés, Drouot, Paris, 13 October 2021,
lot 376.
THE ROLE OF THE MARCHANDS-MERCIERS IN THE CREATION OF MEISSEN
PORCELAIN OBJECTS
The refined sophistication of 18th century French interior decoration comes
about through the close collaboration between the marchands-merciers and a
veritable network of Parisian artisans with unparalleled savoir-faire.
Under Louis XV in Paris, the powerful corporation of marchands-merciers
constantly invented new luxurious objects for a wealthy clientele eager for
unique pieces and innovative taste. These rare objects adorned with Meissen
porcelain are magnificent testimonies to the boundless imagination of these
French merchants. Truly designers in the modern sense, they had the idea of
combining gilt bronze and Meissen porcelain which was particularly popular with
great amateurs in the early part of the reign of Louis XV.
The fashion for porcelain flowers soon prompted the marchands-merciers to
incorporate them as well in all sorts of forms: clocks, fountains, candelabras and
candlesticks, pot pourris, bird cages, chandeliers, lanterns and inkstands. Rapidly, a few reputable merchants specialised in these items adorned with
delicate porcelain flowers initially from Meissen itself or soon after from the recently established factory at Vincennes then Sèvres.
One of them, Michel-Joseph Lair (1732-1759), recorded at rue du Roule under the sign of Le Roy des Indes, was a “privileged merchant and ceramicist
(faïencier) to the King”. Many items of Meissen porcelain remained in his stock at the time of his death, including several clocks fitted with watch
movements, foliage and Meissen porcelain figures.
Edme Choudard-Desforges was another faïencier in the Meissen porcelain trade also located in the rue du Roule. The inventory of his store, drawn up in
December 1759, lists a quantity of porcelains from Saxony (as Meissen was known in the 18th century), some of which are richly mounted, as well as a
few clocks supported by various porcelain subjects. Based in the rue Saint-Honoré, Jacques-François Machart (active 1744-1763) enjoyed a prestigious
clientele and presented in his shop elegant objects of art in Meissen porcelain magnificently mounted in gilt bronze. Machart employed the best Parisian
workshops of bronziers and gilders.
Finally, there is Lazare Duvaux (ca. 1703-1758) – undoubtedly the most famous Parisian marchand-mercier – who was based in rue Saint-Honoré
under the sign of the Chagrin de Turquie. Duvaux counted among his clients Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, all the high aristocracy and the circle
of powerful financiers. His business was prosperous and the purchases of his many customers are known from the famous “livre-journal du marchand
bijoutier ordinaire du Roy”, which still survives.
Vincent Bastien, Doctor in History of Art
AN EARLY LOUIS XVI GILT AND PATINATED
BRONZE THREE-PART GARNITURE
COMPRISING A COVERED VASE AND A PAIR OF
EWERS – CIRCA 1775
Height of vase: 40 cm. (15 ¾ in.) Width: 20.5 cm. (8 in.)
Width and depth of base: 11.8 cm. (4 ½ in.)
Height of ewers: 33.5 cm. (13 ¼ in.) Width: 15.5 cm. (6 in.)
Diameter of base: 8.1 cm. (3 ¼ in.)
PROVENANCE
Christie’s London, 2 July 1987, lots 345 and 346
Galerie Michel Meyer, Paris, 1989
LITERATURE
D. Alcouffe, La Folie d’Artois, Paris : L’Objet d’Art, 1988, p. 202 (ill.) (the pair
of ewers).
80
