Page 98 - Pascal Izarn catalogue 2024
P. 98
ER KNOWN MODELS
Several great 18th Century collections included this rare model of vase,
although with certain variations in the dimensions and the gilt bronze mounts.
The first pair was in the collection of the painter François Boucher (1703-
1770), and is listed under lot 807 in the sale catalogue of the sale held after
his death on 18 February 1771:
« deux vases de la Chine, à bouquets bleu & blanc, montés chacun sur un pied
composé de branchages de laurier entrelacé sur quatre tortues ; un Triton à
chaque côté du haut, portant le revers de la gorge & soutenant une guirlande
de laurier, le tout de bronze doré »
(two Chinese vases, with blue & white bouquets, each mounted on a foot
composed of laurel branches intertwined on four turtles; a Triton on either
side at the top supporting the underside of the neck and laurel wreaths,
all in gilt bronze)
These two vases sold for 360 livres 5 sols to the expert Pierre Remy, which
was the highest price paid in the sale for oriental porcelain.5
During the French Revolution, two other identical pairs were described under
lots 193 and 194 in an anonymous sale on 9 April 1793:
[lot 193] « deux vases fond vert clair, à branchages de fleurs blanches & Fig. 3 – Pair of gilt bronze mounted Chinese Qianlong
bleues à relief, richement montés en or moulu, & figures d’enfants à queues de celadon porcelain vases, circa 1770. H 35 cm
poissons, guirlandes, tortues & socles. Hauteur 13 pouces [35,191 cm] » [lot Formerly Rothschild collections. Sold in July 2012
194] « deux vases absolument semblables aux précédents, portant aussi 13 for £577,250. London, Al Thani collection
pouces »6
([lot 193] two vases with a light green ground, with branches of blue and
white flowers in relief, richly mounted with gilt bronze figures of children
with fish tails, garlands, turtles & pedestals. Height 13 inches [35.191 cm].
[lot 194] two vases absolutely similar to the previous ones, also 13 inches)
A final pair was in the cabinet of the late Citizen Baudouin, dispersed on 4
May 1797, and described under lot 106:
« deux vases céladon, à bouquets & branchages colorés, garnis d’enfants à queues de poisson, & placés sur tortue & socles à mosaïque, le tout en bronze :
hauteur totale, 11 pouces 6 lignes [31,13 cm] »7
(two celadon vases, with bouquets & colored branches, garnished with children with fishtails, & placed on turtle & mosaic bases, all in bronze. Total
height, 11 inches 6 lignes [31.13 cm])
Two pairs of vases aux enfants triton, also with four turtles but with square bases decorated with a guilloche frieze are in the London collections of Prince
Al Thani. One pair comes from the English branch of the Rothschild family (fig. 4).8 The other two vases were collected separately by the late Djahanguir
Riahi before entering the Al Thani collection in 2012.9
This category of celadon porcelain vases was obviously highly prized by the great Parisian marchands-merciers, because others were given much less
elaborate mounts without the four turtles on the base, with handles formed of small satyrs, or with sober neoclassical moldings in gilded bronze.
Vincent Bastien, Doctor in History of Art
1 This collection is cited by Antoine-Joseph Dézallier d’Argenville, L’Histoire naturelle éclaircie dans une de ses parties principales, la conchyliologie, qui traite des coquilles de mer, de
rivières et de terres […], Paris : De Bure, 1757.
2 Luc-Vincent Thiéry, Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageant à Paris, ou description raisonnée de cette ville et de tout ce qu’elle contient de remarquable, Paris : Hardouin &
Gattery, 1787, pp. 681 à 684.
3 Gaillard, Dumontiez, Alexandre-Joseph Paillet, Catalogue des différents cabinets qui forment et composent la riche collection de M. ci-devant duc de Chaulnes, 20 September
1790, Paris.
4 A.N., M.C., ET/LXXV/881. Inventaire dressé par maître Lherbette à partir du 23 juillet 1792, après le décès de Marie-Anne Lambert épouse de Marie-Joseph-Louis d’Albert d’Ailly.
5 Pierre Remy, Catalogue raisonné […] qui composent le cabinet de feu M. Boucher, Premier peintre du Roi, cette vente se fera au Vieux Louvre, dans l’appartement du défunt Sieur
Boucher, 18 February 1771, Paris : Musier père.
6 Alexandre-Joseph Paillet, Catalogue d’une précieuse collection […] provenant des cabinets réunis de M. M*** [marquis de Ségur et René Mesnard de Clesle], 9 April 1793, Paris :
Imprimerie du Journal de Paris.
7 François-Léandre Regnault-Delalande, François-Guillaume Vincent-Saint-Hilaire, Catalogue d’une collection […] provenant du cabinet de feu le C. de Baudouin, 4 May 1797,
Paris : De Quillau.
8 Formerly in the collection of baron Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879), 148 Piccadilly, London, and by descent. Collection of Léopold de Rothschild (1845-1917), 5 Hamilton
Place, London, and by descent. Collection of Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942), Exbury House, Hampshire, and by descent. Collection of Edmund de Rothschild (1916-2009),
Exbury House, Hampshire. Sold Sotheby’s London, 4 July 2012, lot 26 for £577,250.
9 One of the vases was formerly in the collection of the comtesse de Crisenoy de Lyonne, sold Ader Picard, Paris, hôtel Drouot, salles 10 et 11, 19 May 1971, lot 31. The other
vase was formerly in the collection of Édouard Chappey, sold Chevalier & Lair-Dubreuil, Paris, galerie Georges Petit, 27-31 May 1907, lot 1391, and later in the collection of
baron Erich von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, sold Habsburg Feldman, Geneva, hôtel Noga Hilton, 10 May 1988, lot 83, and then in the collection of Maurice Ségoura, Paris. Both
were formerly in the collection of Djahanguir Riahi (1914-2014), sold Christie’s London, 6 December 2012, lot 14 for £769,250.
84
Several great 18th Century collections included this rare model of vase,
although with certain variations in the dimensions and the gilt bronze mounts.
The first pair was in the collection of the painter François Boucher (1703-
1770), and is listed under lot 807 in the sale catalogue of the sale held after
his death on 18 February 1771:
« deux vases de la Chine, à bouquets bleu & blanc, montés chacun sur un pied
composé de branchages de laurier entrelacé sur quatre tortues ; un Triton à
chaque côté du haut, portant le revers de la gorge & soutenant une guirlande
de laurier, le tout de bronze doré »
(two Chinese vases, with blue & white bouquets, each mounted on a foot
composed of laurel branches intertwined on four turtles; a Triton on either
side at the top supporting the underside of the neck and laurel wreaths,
all in gilt bronze)
These two vases sold for 360 livres 5 sols to the expert Pierre Remy, which
was the highest price paid in the sale for oriental porcelain.5
During the French Revolution, two other identical pairs were described under
lots 193 and 194 in an anonymous sale on 9 April 1793:
[lot 193] « deux vases fond vert clair, à branchages de fleurs blanches & Fig. 3 – Pair of gilt bronze mounted Chinese Qianlong
bleues à relief, richement montés en or moulu, & figures d’enfants à queues de celadon porcelain vases, circa 1770. H 35 cm
poissons, guirlandes, tortues & socles. Hauteur 13 pouces [35,191 cm] » [lot Formerly Rothschild collections. Sold in July 2012
194] « deux vases absolument semblables aux précédents, portant aussi 13 for £577,250. London, Al Thani collection
pouces »6
([lot 193] two vases with a light green ground, with branches of blue and
white flowers in relief, richly mounted with gilt bronze figures of children
with fish tails, garlands, turtles & pedestals. Height 13 inches [35.191 cm].
[lot 194] two vases absolutely similar to the previous ones, also 13 inches)
A final pair was in the cabinet of the late Citizen Baudouin, dispersed on 4
May 1797, and described under lot 106:
« deux vases céladon, à bouquets & branchages colorés, garnis d’enfants à queues de poisson, & placés sur tortue & socles à mosaïque, le tout en bronze :
hauteur totale, 11 pouces 6 lignes [31,13 cm] »7
(two celadon vases, with bouquets & colored branches, garnished with children with fishtails, & placed on turtle & mosaic bases, all in bronze. Total
height, 11 inches 6 lignes [31.13 cm])
Two pairs of vases aux enfants triton, also with four turtles but with square bases decorated with a guilloche frieze are in the London collections of Prince
Al Thani. One pair comes from the English branch of the Rothschild family (fig. 4).8 The other two vases were collected separately by the late Djahanguir
Riahi before entering the Al Thani collection in 2012.9
This category of celadon porcelain vases was obviously highly prized by the great Parisian marchands-merciers, because others were given much less
elaborate mounts without the four turtles on the base, with handles formed of small satyrs, or with sober neoclassical moldings in gilded bronze.
Vincent Bastien, Doctor in History of Art
1 This collection is cited by Antoine-Joseph Dézallier d’Argenville, L’Histoire naturelle éclaircie dans une de ses parties principales, la conchyliologie, qui traite des coquilles de mer, de
rivières et de terres […], Paris : De Bure, 1757.
2 Luc-Vincent Thiéry, Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageant à Paris, ou description raisonnée de cette ville et de tout ce qu’elle contient de remarquable, Paris : Hardouin &
Gattery, 1787, pp. 681 à 684.
3 Gaillard, Dumontiez, Alexandre-Joseph Paillet, Catalogue des différents cabinets qui forment et composent la riche collection de M. ci-devant duc de Chaulnes, 20 September
1790, Paris.
4 A.N., M.C., ET/LXXV/881. Inventaire dressé par maître Lherbette à partir du 23 juillet 1792, après le décès de Marie-Anne Lambert épouse de Marie-Joseph-Louis d’Albert d’Ailly.
5 Pierre Remy, Catalogue raisonné […] qui composent le cabinet de feu M. Boucher, Premier peintre du Roi, cette vente se fera au Vieux Louvre, dans l’appartement du défunt Sieur
Boucher, 18 February 1771, Paris : Musier père.
6 Alexandre-Joseph Paillet, Catalogue d’une précieuse collection […] provenant des cabinets réunis de M. M*** [marquis de Ségur et René Mesnard de Clesle], 9 April 1793, Paris :
Imprimerie du Journal de Paris.
7 François-Léandre Regnault-Delalande, François-Guillaume Vincent-Saint-Hilaire, Catalogue d’une collection […] provenant du cabinet de feu le C. de Baudouin, 4 May 1797,
Paris : De Quillau.
8 Formerly in the collection of baron Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879), 148 Piccadilly, London, and by descent. Collection of Léopold de Rothschild (1845-1917), 5 Hamilton
Place, London, and by descent. Collection of Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942), Exbury House, Hampshire, and by descent. Collection of Edmund de Rothschild (1916-2009),
Exbury House, Hampshire. Sold Sotheby’s London, 4 July 2012, lot 26 for £577,250.
9 One of the vases was formerly in the collection of the comtesse de Crisenoy de Lyonne, sold Ader Picard, Paris, hôtel Drouot, salles 10 et 11, 19 May 1971, lot 31. The other
vase was formerly in the collection of Édouard Chappey, sold Chevalier & Lair-Dubreuil, Paris, galerie Georges Petit, 27-31 May 1907, lot 1391, and later in the collection of
baron Erich von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, sold Habsburg Feldman, Geneva, hôtel Noga Hilton, 10 May 1988, lot 83, and then in the collection of Maurice Ségoura, Paris. Both
were formerly in the collection of Djahanguir Riahi (1914-2014), sold Christie’s London, 6 December 2012, lot 14 for £769,250.
84
