An Italian ormolu-mounted, specimen hardston, tortoiseshell and ebony cabinet-on-stand. circa 1700, probably Florence

An Italian  ormolu-mounted, specimen hardston, tortoiseshell and ebony cabinet-on-stand. circa 1700, probably Florence, embellished circa 1860 when the stand was constructed. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2011

Pewter-strung throughout, the pediment with central female figure flanked by putti above an architectural facade, with eight drawers and three concealed internal drawers, inlaid with specimen stones including diaspri di Sicilia, jaspé du Mont Blanc, rouge griotte, alabastro fiorito, flame agate and lapiz lazuli, the stand with central frieze drawer on turned faceted tapering legs joined by an X-stretcher, the drawers to the cabinet numbered in pencil, restorations
The cabinet: 34½ in. (88 cm.) high; 40 in. (102 cm.) wide; 16 in. (41 cm.) deep
The stand: 33 in. (84 cm.) high; 44 in. (112 cm.) wide; 21¼ in. (54 cm.) deep
Estimate  £25,000 - £40,000 ($39,875 - $63,800)

Provenance: The Marquesses of Bute, by repute.

Notes: Florence became a centre for the production of hardstone-mounted cabinets following the foundation of the Opificio delle pietre dure, in 1588 by Grand Duke Ferdinand I de Medici. By the mid-17th century there was a significant demand for the production of splendid and elaborate cabinets such as the present lot. These often adopted an architectural form, the ebony frame providing the perfect foil for the expensive specimen hardstones and ormolu mounts favoured by a growing population of wealthy patrons. This cabinet was restored and embellished in the 19th Century when such objects were once again highly sought-after and were often purchased by wealthy noblemen on the Grand Tour.

Whilst there is nothing more substantive than tradition to link this cabinet to the Bute collections, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, is known to have had a passion for marbles; he often incorporated interesting and diverse specimens into his various substantial building projects, including the staircase at Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute. In 1887 he instructed his agent P.E. Rainford Esq., the British Vice-Consul in Messina, Sicily, to purchase on his behalf a substantial and elaborate specimen stone and ormolu tabernacle and to arrange for its shipping back to England (Works of Art from the Bute Collection, sold Christie's London, 3 July 1996, lot 8). It is therefore reasonable to presume that Rainford may have purchased other items such as the present cabinet on the Marquess' behalf to furnish the great houses he was building at Cardiff and Mount Stuart.

Christie's. From the distinguished decorator's houses in Madrid and Trujillo, Spain,, 20 - 21 July 2011, London, South Kensington www..christies.com

A pair of Spanish ormolu-mounted tortoiseshell, ebony and ebonished cabinets-on-stands

A pair of Spanish ormolu-mounted tortoiseshell, ebony and ebonished cabinets-on-stands. The cabinets late 17th century-early 18th century, yje stands late 19th century. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2011

Each with galleried pediment above ten drawers about a central hinged niche flanked by Solomonic columns, enclosing a fitted compartment with central architectural panel flanked by mirrors, on claw-and-ball feet, one marked to the reverse 'Galart' in ink, the pediments, feet and some mounts 19th century additions; the stands each with three faux-drawers on six spirally-turned legs joined by conforming stretchers
The cabinets: 41½ in. (105.5 cm.) high; 56¼ in. (143 cm.) wide; 17½ in. (44.5 cm.) deep
The stands: 34¾ in. (88 cm.) high; 63¾ (162 cm.) wide; 21¼ in. (54 cm.) deep (2)
Estimate £30,000 - £50,000 ($47,850 - $79,750)

Notes: The cabinet on stand, with all its many variations became fashionable throughout Europe from the early 16th century, until falling from favor during the middle decades of the 18th century; there were many regional variations, such as the related ebony cabinets with their bas-relief panels being produced in Paris or the examples being produced at Florence with exuberant pietra dure panels from the Medici workshops, however the design of the present lot with its rich ormolu mounts and tortoiseshell veneers set in a ebony ripple-moulded frame is typical of the work being produced not only in Spain but elsewhere in the Spanish empire at Naples and Antwerp during the 17th Century. This design of cabinet came to favor in Spain in the mid-17th century with the steady flow of fashions and émigré craftsmen from Germany and the low countries, and gradually superseded the earlier and more specifically Spanish form of cabinet on stand the vargueño.
A related Spanish cabinet on stand is illustrated and discussed, Helena Hayward ed., World Furniture, Feltham, 1965, p.103, fig. 358, a further related cabinet was sold, European Noble and Private collections, Christie's Amsterdam, 14-16 February 2006, lot 23.

Christie's. From the distinguished decorator's houses in Madrid and Trujillo, Spain,, 20 - 21 July 2011, London, South Kensington www..christies.com

The Givenchy Royal Hanover Chandelier.

The Givenchy Royal Hanover Chandelier. A German silver eight-light chandelier by Balthasar Friedrich Behrens, Hanover, delivered 13 september 1736, designed by the King's Architect William Kent. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2011

With fluted and acanthus-clad ring handle headed by an acanthus baluster knop, rising to an everted openwork acanthus calyx forming the cul-de-lamp and a central fluted vase-shaped standard with ovolo border at the shoulder flanked by four addorsed and acanthus-wrapped sphinx floating on acanthus, each on two acanthus and lion's paw curved supports and applied with 'cupid-torch' cornucopia, each with two scroll acanthus-clad and beaded branches with fluted vase-shaped wax pans and part-fluted spool-shaped sockets, the central 'krater'-shaped standard applied above with massive floral garlands descending from lion masks, rising to a central orb applied twice with the prancing horse of Hanover and with two clambering naked putti rising from rushes, the whole surmounted by the Royal crown with orb and cross and silvered ring above, with central iron rod, drilled for electricity, most components with assay scrapes, each numbered and lettered B, struck only with later French control marks. Estimate £2,600,000 - £3,600,000 ($4,165,200 - $5,767,200). Price Realized £5,753,250 ($9,182,187)

Provenance: Commissioned by King George II of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover (r.1727-1760) for his palace in Hanover, and then by descent to his son
King George III, King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover until 1814 and then King of Hanover (r.1760-1820), and then by descent to his son
King George IV of Great Britain and Hanover (r.1820-1830) and then by descent to his brother
King William IV of Great Britain and Hanover (r.1830-1837) and then by descent to his brother
Prince Ernst Augustus of Great Britain, 1st Duke of Cumberland and King of Hanover (r.1837-1851) and then by descent to his son
King George V of Hanover, 2nd Duke of Cumberland (r.1851-1866, d. 1878) and then by descent to his son
Crown Prince Ernst Augustus of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland (1845-1923) and then by descent to his son
Prince Ernst Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1887-1953), sold privately in 1924.
Hubert de Givenchy, the Salon Vert, hôtel d'Orrouer, Paris
Exceptionnel Mobilier Français, Objets d'Art et Orfèvrerie appartenant à M. Hubert de Givenchy; Christie's, Monaco, 4 December 1993, lot 95.

Literature: John Vardy, ed., Some Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. William Kent, 1744, plate 'Chandelier for the King'
British Library Mss. ADD. 42227, The Inventory of Silver of the Royal and Electoral Court, Hanover, 1747 entitled 'Complete Inventory of the Court Silver, comprising all his Royal Majesty our most gracious lords utensils of Gold and Silver, at present in the Royal and Electoral Silver-Chamber at Hanover From the Inventory of 1728, the Additional Inventory of 1730 and the Inventory of the year 1739, Brought together and made with the additions and alterations to Midsummer 1747, by the Grand Court Commissary Friedrich August Bartels, Hanover', p. 65, pp. 217-234
'Their Majesties Fete at Windsor Castle', The Gentleman's Magazine, 1805, vol. 1, pp. 262-264
W. H. Pyne, History of the Royal Residences, 1816-1819, vol. I, aquatint plates from watercolours by C. Wild, the five chandeliers
W. W. Watts, 'Silver Chandeliers made for George II,' he Connoisseur,' vol. 100, November, 1937, pp. 232-234 (two of the set)
C. Oman, 'Silver Designs by William Kent', Ipollo, 1972, pp. 22-23 D. Watkin, The Royal Interiors of Regency England, 1984, pp. 18, 22-23, the Wild watercolours reproduced
M. I. Wilson, William Kent: Architect, Designer, Painter, Gardener, 1685-1748, London, 1984, p. 236, pl. 97
J. Larmouth, 'Le Grand Manner of le Grand Hubert', Town and Country, December, 1991, pp. 164-5
L. B. Podos, A Reflection of Taste: the Silver Chandelier executed for George II at Herrenhausen after a design by William Kent, unpublished thesis, 1992, plate 82 and passim.
E. M. Alcorn, 'The Hanover Chandelier,' Christie's International Magazine, October/November, 1993, pp. 24-27
E. M. Alcorn, 'A Chandelier for the King', William Kent, George II, and Hanover', The Burlington Magazine, January 1997, no. 1126, vol. 139, pp.
J. Cornforth, Early Georgian Interiors, New Haven and London, 2004, p. 137
J. Roberts ed., George III & Queen Charlotte, Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste, London, p. 142
C. Arminjon ed., Quand Versailles était meublé d'argent, Versailles-Paris, 2008, pp. 166-167, figs. 163 and 164.

Exhibited: Versailles, The Chateau of Versailles, Quand Versailles était meublé d'argent, 2008, cat. no. 61.

Notes.

William Kent (Bap. 1686-1748)

William Kent, or Cant as he was baptized, was the son of William Cant of Bridlington, Yorkshire, a joiner of some standing and wealth. It is thought that he probably attended the local grammar school. John Harris, in Kent's entry in The Dictionary of National Biography, question's the traditional story suggested by George Vertue that Kent was apprenticed to a local coach painter. However, it was during his early years in Bridlington that he met and was taken up by his two earliest patrons, Sir William Wentworth of Bretton Park and Sir Richard Osbaldeston of Hunmanby Hall. It was almost certainly through their connections that Kent, as he now called himself, sailed at the age of twenty-five to Italy in the company of the young antiquary and art collector William Talman (1677-1726) and virtuoso Daniel Lock in 1709. Kent was to remain in Italy for the next ten years traveling from Leghorn to Pisa, Florence, Lucca and then Rome. Kent entered the studio Guiseppe Chiari (1654-1727) in order to study to be a painter. He would have copied many works of the great masters such as Raphael, Reni and others. He achieved some success and was awarded a silver medal by the Pope in 1713 for his drawing of the miracle of St. Andrea Avellino.

It was while studying in Rome that Kent was to meet the young aristocrat and patron of the arts Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694-1753). It was Burlington's friendship and his promotion of Kent as a painter, architect and designer that was to establish him firmly at the centre of the latest fashion, both at Court and amongst the aristocracy. They returned to England in November 1719 and by January of the next year Kent was well established in the household of Lord Burlington.

Kent was renowned for his easy manner and apolitical views. People held his friendly demeanor and un-sycophantic opinions in high regards. He had a witty side which was often realised in amusing touches to his works. Even the acerbic poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) was softened by his charms as evidenced by the lighthearted manner in which he would tease him in the letters they exchanged.

Kent and the Royal Court

Kent's work for his patron at Burlington House in the early 1720s drew the attention of the King and it was Kent, rather than the King's painter Sir James Thornhill (1675/6-1734) who was given the commission to decorate the newly created rooms at Kensington. He started with a bold architectural scheme in the Cupola Room and later completed a number of further apartments between 1722 and 1727. Other commissions followed at Houghton for Sir Robert Walpole, at Raynham Hall, Norfolk and at Stowe, Buckinghamshire. He also worked extensively for Burlington at Chiswick Villa. It would be inevitable that Burlington's passion for architecture would influence Kent and his patrons request that he edit The Designs of Inigo Jones with some Additional Designs in 1724 was to be the catalyst that would propel Kent into a wider field of architecture and design. It was published in 1727. He had drawn up some designs for the arrangement of furniture of pictures and furniture at Houghton in 1725. He had been appointed master carpenter in 1726 and surveyor and inspector of paintings in the royal palaces in 1728. He later also became master mason and deputy surveyor of the King's works. In 1732 he designed the Prince of Wales's State Barge and a masquerade from the prince in the previous year. In 1734 he created the decorations for the celebration of the marriage of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, daughter of the King. His knowledge of the arts, both painting and architecture was well established. His reputation at court was almost unassailable.

Several of his silver designs were realised and a number of the pieces still survive. Perhaps closest in date to the chandelier is the Pelham gold cup, the design for which is reproduced here. Its entry in the silversmith George Wickes' Gentleman's Ledger shows that it was made for Colonel Pelham (J. Hayward 'The Pelham Gold Cup', The Connoisseur, July 1969, p. 163). Later pieces include the horse-head handled tureens conceived for Lord Montford also by Wickes and dated 1745 (E. Barr, George Wickes Royal Goldsmith 1698-1761, London, 1980, p. 97, pl. 56); a centrepiece made for Frederick, Prince of Wales in the same year, which remains in the Royal Collection and a further piece made by Wickes in 1745 - a mug made for Charles Hanbury-Williams (E. Barr, op. cit., p. 96, pl. 55). There are also a number of candlesticks marked for the London silversmiths Paul Crespin and Augustine Le Sage among others which draw their inspiration from the Kent drawings for candlesticks. These two designs were later adapted and sent to Hanover for the set of girandoles also created by Behrens for the Hanoverian court and first delivered in 1737 (see below).
Behrens' chandelier closely follows the Kent design. He made some necessary charges to give strength to the form, most significantly the central baluster shaft which extends the height of the chandelier and provides support for the branches and all the decorative elements. This was not the only change. Charles Oman (C. Oman, Apollo, 'Silver Designs by William Kent', 1972, pp. 22-23) was unaware of the existence of the chandeliers as he comments "We may be sure that the Chandelier for the King would not have been carried out unaltered.The engraving shows a seven branch chandelier with a shield charged with a galloping horse and surmounted by a royal crown. George II was not all at art-conscious, but would not have overlooked a rendering of the arms of Hanover in which the white horse was shown galloping in the wrong direction and the shield was surmounted by a crown instead of an electoral bonnet!". The direction of the galloping Horse of Hanover was not surprisingly corrected by Behrens, assuming the error was not an engravers mistake at the time of publication. The use of the British royal crown is interesting, especially as the chandeliers were intended for the Electorate of Hanover. It is possible that the combination of the Royal Crown of Great Britain held aloft above the White Horse of Hanover represent the dominions of the King in order of precedence, with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland above the Electorate of Hanover as recorded in the style used by King George II as "King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Elector of Hanover, Defender of the Faith". They signified the authority of the king in his absence from the electorate.

The design vocabulary used by Kent draws on his study of Palladio and classical forms. The cornucopia, sphinxes, lion's masks, acanthus foliage and shells are all decorative motifs employed by Kent in his work at Kensington Place in the early 1720s. There is a certain Italian baroque exuberance present in the design for the chandelier which no doubt was the product of Kent's time in Rome. It has been suggested by Michael Wilson, op. cit, p.236 that he may have been influenced by the Sicilian architect and stage designer Filippo Juvarra (1678-1736) who came from a family of silversmiths. Kent may well have met him and admired his works while in Rome. Juvarra's Antamoro Chapel in the Church of San Girolamo della Carritá was completed by 1710. Also his designs for heraldic shields had been published in 1711 as Raccolta di varie targhe fatte da professori primarii di Roma. A number of his designs for silver are preserved in the collection of the Museo Civico, Turin. Interestingly Juvarra was in London after working on the King of Portugal's palace at Mafra in 1720. Indeed Juvarra dedicated an album to Lord Burlington in 1729 which is now in the collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects (exhibited Nottingham University Gallery, Apollo of the Arts: Lord Burlington and his Circle, 1973, no. 17). John Cornforth, op. cit., 2004, p. 139 also proposed the designs of the Italian silversmith Giovanni Giardini as a possibly influence, engravings of his drawings having been published in Designi Diversi inventati e delineati da Givanni Giardini in 1714.

Many of the motifs employed by Kent in the chandelier design are present in his works at Kensington Palace completed for the king's father King George I and also in the engraved vignettes he created for Alexander Pope's translation of Homer's Odyssey published in 1725. The use of a sphinx emerging from acanthus foliage is used by Kent in the frames of the subsidiary panels on the ceiling of the King's Gallery in Kensington Palace and as a support for the "Venus" throne in Pope's Odyssey, perhaps in a similar manner to the "Four large sphynx stands for tables" that Gumley and Moore delivered to Kensington Palace for Kent's Cupola Room in 1723 (J. Cornforth, op. cit., 2004, p. 148. Putti similar to those beneath the Royal crown on the chandelier also feature of the King's Gallery ceiling. They reach up to support cartouches and panels. Cornucopiae adorn the spandrels. In 1728 cornucopiae appear once more in the frieze of the Marble Parlour at Houghton Hall, Horfolk, Kent's great commission from the Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole. Notably they are twinned with representations of Italian silver vessels. Kent almost certainly takes inspiration from Charles de Moelder's 1694 publication Ornaments which promote the antique style of Jean Berain.

Balthasar Friedrich Behrens (1701-1760) and the Commission

Behrens served as munzguardin to the Royal Mint on Hanover a post previously held by Conrad Hermann Mundt, whose widow Behrens married in 1728. Mundt had worked for King George I although much of the more elaborate plate was produced in London, an exception was the magnificent wine fountain and cistern made by Lewin Dedeke of Celle, circa 1710 (Christie's, New York, 23 October 2000, lot 486). Behrens' name appears in the Hanover Inventory, op. cit, p.201-202 in December 1735 for repairing damaged silver and the Ahlden chandelier. The contract for the chandelier commission was signed by Behrens on 20 January 1736 at a rate of six mariengroschen per loth. As security for the silver he was to receive from the Jewel House Behrens offered all his worldly possessions. The contract stated that the chandeliers were to be made 'after the carved wooden model provided' and that they were to the finish 'before the feast of St. John'. The silver sent to Behrens was made up of plate taken from the Royal vault which was either worn out from use or broken. Records list a salver, a wine fountain and cistern, pastry dishes, a night lamp and stand, one hundred and twenty plates and dishes, a spittoon, further plates and dishes, tea kettles, a chamber pot, a standish (inkstand), five keys and a warming stand (E. Alcorn, op. cit., 1993, p. 26). The Court Marshall was exceedingly cautious and wanted to prevent any of the worn out article being sold, therefore the keepers of the royal silver and the court commissary personally supervised the melting in the royal bake house. During the melting a sample was taken, assayed and the test then locked in the Royal Silver Chamber. The purity of the silver used for the chandeliers was recorded as "a few grains purer than 18 carats" and "the leaf work twisted round the branches is 22½ carat silver as being more ductile", Hanover Inventory, op. cit., p. 54. Behrens delivered the chandeliers, listed in the later Hanover inventories as A and B on 13 September 1736, when they were weighed and checked, a mere eight months after the signing of the contact. The account of payment was settled on 21 September. The silver was tested for purity against the sample taken from the old silver melted in the Bake House.

The King had been in Hanover since May of 1736 so he would have been able to seen the completed chandeliers in person. They obviously pleased him for within three weeks Behrens was commissioned to provide a further three for which he was given 364 pounds of silver. The completed chandeliers were delivered on the 6, 16 and 27 of November 1737. Behrens subsequently complained to the Office of the Grand Marshall that he has been forced to supply 127 thalers of silver himself, the silver sent by the Oberhofmarschall von Reden having been of insufficient quantity. The claim was dismissed following the assaying and weighing all five of the chandeliers. The tests listed in the Hanover Inventory were very detailed and account for the numerous assay scrapes found on the lot. The samples "as much as he need for the cupel test" were divided into four, one given to the Behrens for his record and three sent to the Master of the Royal Mint. The disagreement did not prevent von Reden commissioning further girandoles, a pair having been ordered in February of that year, to "the design sent from England" by Baron von Hattorf (c.1675-1737), the Hanoverian Privy Councillor at St. James's. It would appear the design was a combination of the two drawing for candlesticks published by Vardy after Kent 1744 as mentioned above. Two of the girandoles were offered at Christie's Geneva, 14 May 1996, lot 191. The base of the stems are formed by four adorsed mermaids or mer-nymphs, first used by Kent in his design for a "Venus Fountain" in Pope's Odyssey. The stems, which are taller than those in the designs, follow the faceted baluster form of one and have similar branches. The central finial is formed from a flaming cornucopia reminiscent of those supported by the sphinxes on the chandeliers. In all twelve were made. Behrens went on to supply the court with a set of twelve double lipped sauceboats, and twenty-four candlesticks "of the new English style", examples of both are now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The History of the Chandeliers

The chandeliers were commissioned by King George II at a time when his interest in the Electorate of Hanover was on the rise. On his visit in 1735 he had met and fallen for Amalie (1704-1765), the wife of Gottlieb Adam von Wallmoden (d. 1752), Oberhauptmann of Calenberg. She became the king's mistress and, following the death of the Queen in 1737, came to England in June 1738. She was divorced from her husband in 1740 and was created Countess of Yarmouth by the King in the same year. It was perhaps more than just a coincidence that the king commissioned new silver for his Hanoverian palaces, anticipating more frequent visits to the electorate. The chandeliers have historically thought to have been designed for the palace of Herrenhausen. It had begun life as the summer residence of the Dukes of Brunswick-Luneberg and its famous garden survives to this day. Some remodeling had been under taken by the Dowager Electress Sophie (1630-1714) and it was essentially a building of her creation. However, Eleanor Alcorn in her Burlington Magazine, op. cit., pp. 42-43 suggests the Rittersaal of the Leineschloss in Hanover was more likely as the intended location for the chandeliers. She cites a contemporary description of the celebrations associated with the marriage by proxy of Princess Louisa (1724-1751), youngest daughter of King George II to Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark (1723-1766) which were held in Hanover in November 1743. The account, published in E. F. von Malortie 'Die Vermählung der Prinzessin Louise von Grossbritannien und Hanover mit dem Kronprinzen von Denmark am 10 November 1743', Beiträge zur Geschichte des Braunschweig-Lüneburgisschen hausses und hofes, 1860, vol. 1, p. 41, described how 'The Rittersaal was set up as a banquet room, with a dais in front of the chimney flanked by silver gueridons bearing silver girandoles. Above, the five silver chandeliers were lit. Under the canopy stood an armchair for the King, to the right a side chair for the Duke of Cumberland, and to the left, two side chairs for Princess Louise and Princess Marie of Hesse.' There were nine other chandeliers in the Hanover inventory, however the Kent set are the only matching set of five. Moreover much of the Leineschloss had been destroyed by fire in 1741 and the silver chandeliers are amongst the contents of eight crates of furnishings removed from the Rittersaal after the fire. An 1866 photograph of the Rittersaal shows five chains hanging from the five ceiling vaults.

Having survived the Leineschloss fire the possibility that Napoleon might loot the Royal Plate of Hanover led King George III to send much of the silver and silver-gilt to London. It was sent by way of St Petersburg and eventually much was displayed in Windsor Castle where the chandeliers were painted in situ in the Queen's Drawing Room and the Ballroom by C. Wild and published by William Henry Pyne (1769-1843) in his three volume work The History of the Royal Residences, first printed in 1819. The Hanoverian plate together with the British Royal silver was the centerpiece of 'Their Majestie's Grand Fete at Windsor Castle', as described in The Gentleman's Magazine for 1805.
'This evening their Majesties gave a most magnificent entertainment at Windsor Castle. It has been in contemplation since they first went to reside in the Castle: when his Majesty was determined to have what is generally termed among good old English customs, a house warming; and, to give it in the grandeur of a King, we assert that the expenditure cannot have coast less than 50,000l. It may truly be said that it was his Majesties fête; for, everything was done by the direction, and under the superintendance [sic.], of his Majesty.' ". The assembled guests admired the new works and the wealth of riches brought from Hanover. Much comment was made of silver on show throughout the castle. "The whole service of plate displayed this night was supposed to be the most magnificent in Europe. Messrs Hancock and Shepherd have been employed for a considerable time past hanging the silver chandeliers from Hanover". The chandeliers returned to Hanover once the threat posed by Napoleon's forces had passed.

On the death of King William IV in 1836 the thrones of Great Britain and Hanover were separated after almost 123 years. Under the German Salic law of succession the throne of Hanover could only be held by a male monarch. Therefore Queen Victoria, the daughter of King William IV's brother, the Duke of Kent, was barred from the throne of Hanover. The throne went instead to her eldest surviving uncle Prince Ernst Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and King of Hanover (r.1837-1851). His son King George V of Hanover (r.1851-1866, d.1878) succeeded him but was deposed during the Seven Weeks War in 1866. Although Hanover was sacked by Prussian troops the royal plate survived in a bricked up vault hidden by piles of lime rubble. The King and his family fled to Austria. King George V's son revived the title of Duke of Cumberland and, deprived of the throne of Hanover, he lived in exile at Gmunden in Austria where he built a country house. Towards the end of his life he was negotiating the sale of much of the Royal Hanoverian silver, including the chandeliers. A report in The Times on 21 June 1923 entitled 'The Cumberland Silver' comments that 'Nothing has been settled about the Cumberland silver. The Duke has apparently asked for tenders, and several groups of dealers are negotiating on the subject, each of them as quietly as possible, for even part of the collection would be regarded as a great prize. The duke died on 14 November of the same year and on the 20 November Crichton Brothers opened their exhibition of The Cumberland Silver. The chandeliers were bought after the Duke's death from his son who was styled Duke of Brunswick-Lüneberg on 25 September 1924. They do not appear to have been part of the silver purchased by Gluckselig or Crichton Brothers and are thought to have seen sold privately to Elkan Silberman on 25 September 1924. Two of the chandeliers appeared in an article in the Connoisseur in 1937, W. W. Watts, op. cit., vol. 100, November, 1937, pp. 232-234, and these are probably the pair which were bought by Lord Fairhaven and now hang at his house Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire, now owned by the National Trust. A third chandelier now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston was perhaps owned by the dealer Duveen and entered an American private collection. It was bought from the Parisian dealer Kraemer et Cie in 1985. The present chandelier was purchased by Hubert de Givenchy from Kraemer for the Salon Vert in the hôtel d'Orrouer and it has been in a private collection since its sale in 1994. The fifth chandelier's location is currently not known.

Chtristie's. The Exceptional Sale 2011, 7 July 2011, London, King Street www.christies.com

Paire de fauteuils en bois doré. Estampille de J.B. Boulard. Époque Louis XVI.

Paire de fauteuils en bois doré. Estampille de J.B. Boulard. Époque Louis XVI. photo Delorme & Collin du Bocage

présentant une assise légèrement évasée mon-trant une ceinture convexe sculptée à motifs de frises d'entrelacs et de rosaces et moulurée, seulement interrompue aux angles par des ?dés' à rosaces amatis, surmontant chacun un pied torsadé et fuselé, rehaussé d'une bague sculptée et terminé d'un sabot à bulbe. Dossiers et pieds postérieurs sont légèrement incli-nés. Les dossiers «à la reine», sont rehaussés d'encadrement à frises d'entrelacs et de rosaces similaires à celles de la ceinture, montrent deux montants desquels s'élancent des accotoirs courbes, munis de manchettes, et terminés chacun par un enroulement. Ils reposent tous deux sur des supports d'accotoirs en console, moulurés, et enrichis là aussi à motifs de cannelures rudentées et de frises d'en-trelacs ponctuées de rosaces, et placés dans l'axe des pieds antérieurs.

Haut.: 88 cm - Larg.: 59 cm - Prof.: 62 cm - Estimation : 50 000 - 60 000 €

Jean-Baptiste Boulard, reçu Maître le 17 avril 1755.

Delorme & Collin du Bocage. Mardi 02 août à 19h00. HOTEL MAJESTIC BARRIÈRE 10 La Croisette, 06407 Cannes - Salon Croisette et le Salon Dinard. EMail : info@parisencheres.com - Tél. : 01 58 18 39 05

Paire de marquises en bois laqué blanc. Époque Louis XVI

Paire de marquises en bois laqué blanc.  Époque Louis XVI. photo Delorme & Collin du Bocage

présentant une large et confortable assise soulignée d'une ceinture droite ornée d'asperges. Les dés de raccordement sont sculptés d'une rosace et sup-portent les consoles d'accotoir fortement galbées, décorées de torsades. Une feuille d'acanthe orne l'enroulement de chaque console d'accotoir. Le dossier rectangulaire plat, dit «à la reine», est lui aussi large et confortable. Il est sculpté d'une frise d'entrelacs qui court tout le long des montants. Quatre pieds fuselés, cannelés et rudentés suppor-tent l'ensemble.

Haut.: 94 cm - Larg.: 81 cm - Prof.: 68 cm - Estimation : 60 000 - 70 000 €

Caractéristique du style Louis XVI, ce type de décor se retrouve sur des modèles réalisés par Georges Jacob (1739-1814, maître en 1765).

Delorme & Collin du Bocage. Mardi 02 août à 19h00. HOTEL MAJESTIC BARRIÈRE 10 La Croisette, 06407 Cannes - Salon Croisette et le Salon Dinard. EMail : info@parisencheres.com - Tél. : 01 58 18 39 05

Paire de fauteuils chantournés à dossiers plats ?à la reine' en bois mouluré, sculpté et doré. Estampille de Tilliard. Paris

Paire de fauteuils chantournés à dossiers plats ?à la reine' en bois mouluré, sculpté et doré. Estampille de Tilliard. Paris, époque Louis XV. photo Delorme & Collin du Bocage

à décor de feuillages et d'agrafes.  Haut.: 95.5 cm - Larg.: 70 cm - Prof.: 73 cm - Estimation : 90 000 - 100 000 €

Jean-Baptiste Tilliard, reçu Maître en 1717.

Delorme & Collin du Bocage. Mardi 02 août à 19h00. HOTEL MAJESTIC BARRIÈRE 10 La Croisette, 06407 Cannes - Salon Croisette et le Salon Dinard. EMail : info@parisencheres.com - Tél. : 01 58 18 39 05

Suite de quatre portes en bois mouluré de trois réserves dorées sur fond argent. Venise, XVIIIe siècle.

Suite de quatre portes en bois mouluré de trois réserves dorées sur fond argent. Venise, XVIIIe siècle. photo Delorme & Collin du Boca

Elles présentent au centre un décor de personnages en pied et en polychromie dans des réserves des bouquets de fleurs dans des vases. Une guirlande de feuillages fleuris finement peinte entoure les réserves. Petites écaillures. Haut.: 253 cm - Larg.: 66 cm - Estimation : 10 000 - 15 000 €

Delorme & Collin du Bocage. Mardi 02 août à 19h00. HOTEL MAJESTIC BARRIÈRE 10 La Croisette, 06407 Cannes - Salon Croisette et le Salon Dinard. EMail : info@parisencheres.com - Tél. : 01 58 18 39 05

Table de milieu en bois doré, France, époque Louis XIV, vers 1690-1700.

Table de milieu en bois doré, France, époque Louis XIV, vers 1690-1700. photo Delorme & Collin du Bocage

de forme rectangulaire, reposant sur quatre pieds richement sculptés, structurés dans leur partie basse en forme de gaines évasées et ajourées, au dessin très architecturé, ornées de feuilles d'acanthe, de rosaces et de chutes de fleurons traitées de manière naturaliste. Particulièrement spectaculaire, leur partie haute associe à un chapiteau concave souligné de motifs de campanes, deux putti ailés sculptés en ronde bosse, et émergeant de deux volutes feuillagées en forme de "C' affrontés. Une entretoise en X composée de consoles "enveloppées" de feuilles d'acanthe relie les quatre pieds, enserrant au centre un petit piédestal rond et cannelé, terminé d'un culot à graines. La ceinture, parfaitement rec-tiligne, présente aux angles de légers ressauts sculptés en aplat de motifs feuillagés, et s'orne sur ses deux faces principales d'un imposant cartouche à décor symétrique et luxuriant de volutes à enroulements et de feuillages. Des cartouches plus petits soulignent les petits côtés. Un plateau de marbre rouge couronne l'ensemble. Haut.: 85,5 cm - Larg.: 122 cm - Prof.: 61 cm - Estimation : 150 000 - 180 000 €

Provenance: ancienne collection Keck

Notre table est caractéristique des répertoires de formes et ornementaux exploités en France sous le règne de Louis XIV, dans les années 1690-1700, et puise l'essentiel de ses sources d'inspiration dans les modèles gravés de l'ornemaniste Pierre Lepautre (1648-1716). On retrouve en effet des tables rectangulaires dotées de pieds en gaine, d'entretoises feuillagées en X, et de cartouches de façade, dans son recueil intitulé Livre de Tables qui sont dans les appartemens du Roy sur lesquels sont posés les bijoux du cabinet des médailles, publié vers 1700.

Delorme & Collin du Bocage. Mardi 02 août à 19h00. HOTEL MAJESTIC BARRIÈRE 10 La Croisette, 06407 Cannes - Salon Croisette et le Salon Dinard. EMail : info@parisencheres.com - Tél. : 01 58 18 39 05

Sotheby's London Sells a Lost Royal Masterpiece Setting a Record at Auction

LONDON.- Tonight Sotheby’s London Evening Sale of Treasures: Princely Taste was led by the sale of a magnificent pair of Italian carved giltwood settees created for one of the most sumptuous Rococo interiors in Italy - the Gilded Gallery of Palazzo Carrega Cataldi. Setting a record at auction for Italian seating furniture when they sold, to a round of applause, for £1,721,250/$2,763,639/¤1,923,495, the settees sold for over three times the pre-sale high estimate of £300,000 -£500,000*. 

A pair of Italian carved giltwood settees from the Galleria Dorata Palazzo Carrega-Cataldi, Genoese, circa 1740-1744. Photo: Sotheby's

each with a shaped padded back within a reeded ribbon-tied frame, the cresting carved with a stylised scallopshell, guilloche and foliage, the top-rail carved with scrolls and bellflowers, with a mermaid on each side-rail with downscrolled arms, on stylised dolphin supports, the seat-rail centred by an espagnolette mask within a foliate cartouche flanked by lion masks, the side-rails carved with drapery swags, flowers and foliage, on cabriole legs terminating in scroll and paw feet; extended; gilding refreshed in parts; each approx: 123cm high, 282cm. wide, 62cm. deep; 4ft. ½ in., 9ft.3in., 2ft. ½ in. Estimate: £300,000-£500,000. Lot Sold: 1,721,250 GBP

NOTE: In considering the present pair of magnificent settees, one has to place them in the original context for which they were made, which was one of the most important, homogeneous and sumptuous rococo interiors ever conceived in Italy.

The decoration of the famous Gilded Gallery of Palazzo Carrega Cataldi with its exuberant gilded stuccoes typifying the froth and excess of the luxuriant rococo style was conceived, possibly together with the rest of the panelling including the mirrors and the consoles and the seat-furniture, by Lorenzo De Ferrari (1680-1744), between 1743 and 1744 in the characteristic Genoese rococo style (see the 1769 century chronicles by Ratti, mentioned by A.G.P. op. cit., 2). In particular, the aquatic theme typified by mermaids, scallopshells and dolphins, which is present elsewhere in the room and so typical of the Genoese decorative repertoire and the rococo style in general, is profusely present on these settees. Lorenzo De Ferrari intended with this room to rival the French interiors of the time but his exuberance has been tempered and resulted in a stiffer interpretation of the rococo style, echoing the earlier Régence style or rather anticipating the later neo-classical style of the late 18th century. Lorenzo De Ferrari was almost certainly assisted by others in his work, by perhaps Diego Carlone for the stucco work and other unknown craftsmen for the furniture.  

A.G.P. (op. cit., page 376, 2), also suggests the name of Domenico Parodi (1668-1740) as the possible designer for some of the furniture in the gallery. The present settees originally stood below the four large mirrors on the two long walls and have been today replaced by simpler Genoese giltwood rococo examples. The mirrored doors and the consoles present today in the Galleria Dorata are copies based on the original ones.The doors are presently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by A.G.P. op. cit., p.160, fig.189-190. The console tables (already ill. by Morazzoni, op. cit., tavv. XU and XUII) are in the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, U.S.A (see ill.). The location of the eighteen chairs, has now come to light, as they were originally also acquired by Stanford White at the same time as he acquired the present settees, at the end of the 19th century from Palazzo Carrega-Cataldi and were in the collection of William Collins Whitney. At the end of the 1930's they were in the Patino collection and sold recently from the collection of the late Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, Christie's Paris, 25th February 2009, lot 710 (961,000 euros).

It is intriguing to learn from a description of the interior written by the English architect Sir Robert Smirke during his visit to Genoa in 1802, that the chairs and therefore presumably the present settees were covered in green silk (the manuscript is at the Royal Society of British Architects, London, and partly translated by A.G.P., op. cit., 2).

The Carrega-Cataldi Palace. The Palazzo Carrega-Cataldi has a distinguished history and belonged at one time to one of the wealthiest Genoese Renaissance families, the Pallavicino's.The Palazzo was built by Tobia Pallavicino overlooking the renowned beautiful Strada Nuova (today Via Garibaldi), the main thoroughfare in Genoa which was built under the direction of Giambattista Castello (1509-1569) during the years 1558 to 1561. It is worthwhile noting that the lay-out of this Renaissance Palazzo has been accurately illustrated by Rubens in his Genoese Palace series. On February 1704, the Palazzo was purchased by Filippo Carrega and it is to him and his son that the credit for the considerable renovations to the Palazzo is due, as the interior decoration of the new wing was undertaken by the Carrega family between 1727 and 1746, including the Galleria Dorata, for which the present settee were made. In 1830, the Carrega family sold the Palazzo to another noble family, the Cataldi family. In 1922, the entire building was taken over by the Genoese Chamber of Commerce and the Gilded Gallery which was seriously damaged during the bombardments of November 1942, was repaired and renovated during the following decades.

Stanford White (1853-1906): This American architect travelled extensively throughout Europe buying architectural elements for his rich patrons to furnish the houses he decorated. It was during one of these trips during the late 19th century that he acquired directly from Palazzo Carrega-Cataldi, the entire contents of the Galleria Dorata; the four settees, the four pairs of doors, the pair of console tables and he sold all these items except the two pairs of doors, which he kept for himself, to William Collins Whitney whose mansion at 871 5th Avenue he transformed into a palace from 1896-1902. The latter spent over $4,000,000 converting it into a palace and created on the second floor what was then, the largest private ballroom in New York where the furnishings of the Galleria Dorata were installed, see a photograph circa 1942 showing the settees and furniture in situ in the ballroom, where the settees had already at this time been lengthened probably by White, as this ballroom was so much larger than the Galleria Dorata.

William Collins Whitney (1841-1904): He was educated at Yale and Harvard Law School and moved to New York to practice corporate law. He was also a leading light in the Democratic Party and served under the Secretary of the Navy under President Cleveland. He was also a leader in high society and amassed a substantial fortune.

Harry Payne Whitney (1872-1930): He was the son of the above and inherited two Standard Oil Fortunes and followed his father into business.

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942): She was the daughter of the financier and art patron Cornelius Vanderbilt (1843-99) and in 1896, married Harry Payne Whitney. She was a renowned sculptress and patron of the arts.

Count Volpi di Misurata and Palazzo Volpi : Palazzo Volpi situated at 21 via del Quirinale in Rome, was built in the 17th century by the architect Alessandro Specchi, whose designs included the celebrated Spanish Steps in Rome. The late Count Volpi di Misurata was a diplomat, politician and Italy's leading industrialist and lived in great splendour in this and his other residences on the Grand Canal in Venice and a house on the Giudecca, the Ca'Leone and a Palladian summer house on the beach at Saubadia an hour outside Rome. His wife Countess Nathalie Volpi in 1951 set about renovating the Palace and was known for her sense of style. When the suite of seat furniture was sold in these Rooms in 1998, the collection largely from the Roman Palazzo had been in storage and unseen for twenty-five years.

LITERATURE: A chair and a settee (unextended) from the same suite are published by:

1. Alvar González-Palacios, II Mobile in Liguria,Genova, 1996, p. 219-220, plates 263 and 264, pages 186-190 and page 229.

2. Alvar González-Palacios, II Tempio del Gusto, La Toscana el" Italia Settentrionale, Milan, 1986, Vol. I, La galleria dorata dei Carrega, p. 375-376, Vol. II, fig. 835 and 836.

3. Orlando Grosso, Decorazione e mobilia di palazzi genovei nel Seicento-e nel Settecento, in Dedalo, Year 11, 1921, Vol. I, pag. 62 (not checked).

4. Giuseppe Morazzoni, II Mobile Genovese, Milano, 1949, refers to this group of seat furniture on page 101. As the author notes, the suite was already abroad by the time of publication.

A further highlight of the sale was a recently rediscovered masterpiece - an exquisitely carved chalcedony cover which is the lost partner of a magnificent cup in the collection of the Louvre. Expertly crafted by Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni - the greatest of all Renaissance hardstone engravers – the exquisite cover sold for £1,497,150/$2,403,985/¤1,673,175 (est. £800,000-£1,200,000) following a bidding battle among three clients. The sale’s outstanding selection of rare and important decorative art with links to some of the greatest collectors in European history achieved a within-estimate total of £10,832,600/$17,392,823/¤12,105,418 (pre-sale estimate £9.4-14.6 million). The sale was 76.9% sold by value.

Sotheby’s Deputy Chairman, Europe, Mario Tavella said: “Tonight’s sale was carefully curated following the tremendous reception that last year’s inaugural Treasures sale received. Again, we were able to offer a number of works not only of museum quality, but that were fresh to the market, and the enthusiastic buying in the saleroom this evening demonstrates the hunger – across a very international market - for works of such rarity and remarkable provenance.”

Attributed to Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni (1551-1616), Italian, Milan , Late 16th Century Chalcedony cover carved with Venus and Cupid sleeping in a shell, with silver gilt mount in the form of Jupiter as a Swan.  Photo: Sotheby's

Chalcedony (known as Calcedonio di Grigioni - chalcedony from Graubünden inﾠSwitzerland), the silver mount struck twice withpost 1893 French control marksﾠfor items of unknown origin. Chalcedony (agate) from Graubünden (Switzerland), the silver mount marked twice with French control marks of a swan (used for items traded after 1893), 9 by 20.5 by 14.1cm., 3½ by 8 1/8 by 5½in.overall weight: 983.8gr., silver gilt mount alone 659.4gr. Estimate: £800,000-£1,200,000. Lot Sold: 1,497,250 GBP

Introduction. This masterpiece chalcedony carving of Venus and Cupid sleeping in a shell is the most important work attributed to Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni to have appeared at auction. This seminal example of the art of hardstone carving is likely to have been owned by Rudolph II, the Holy Roman Emperor and Queen Christina of Sweden, before being securely identified for the first time in the legendary collection of Cardinal Jules Mazarin. From Francois Lesçot's valuation of Mazarin's collection we know that the group of 100 colour hardstones belonging to the cardinal had a combined value of 47,790 livres, compared to his entire paintings collection which was valued at 36,560 livres. Of these 100 hardstones only three were valued over 2000 livres. These three star pieces are the jasper nef by Ottavio Miseroni with the monogram of Rudolf II, the byzantine sardonyx vase with 16th century mounts, both now in the Louvre (MR 143 and OA 8 respectively) and the chalcedony cup with the present lid carved with Venus and Cupid (the cup alone was bought back by the Louvre in 1968, OA 10305 figs. 2, 3 & 5). Once acquired by Louis XIV,the Venus and Cupid cup and cover must have stood out as one of the highlights of his great collection in Versailles. Its importance is evidenced by its valuation when it was sold by the Directoire in 1796. Of the 145 hardstone objects purchased by Jacques de Chapeaurouge, the Venus and Cupid cup and cover was the second most expensive item. The reappearance of this marvel of glyptic art presents a very special opportunity to acquire a work of royal magnificence with a superb provenance.

We are grateful to Diana Scarisbrick for her assistance in cataloguing this lot and to Dr. Victoria Avery for allowing us to quote from the translation of Dr. Rudolph Distelberger's essay on the Venus and Cupid cover, 'An unknown masterpiece from the Miseroni workshop', in the catalogue for the forthcoming exhibition Splendour & Power: Imperial Treasures from Vienna, which opens at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge on 16 August 2011 until 12 January 2012.

Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni and the art of hardstone carving This chalcedony cameo of Venus and Cupid cradled together within a scallop shell can be attributed to Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni (1551-1616), the greatest of all the hardstone engravers of the Renaissance period (see Rainer, op. cit., we are greatly indebted to this study). He belongs to the school of artists who emerged in the second half of the sixteenth century in Milan as masters of the art of cutting hardstone - jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, rock crystal – vases, jugs and dishes into exotic and unusual shapes decorated with motifs from nature and classical mythology.

Some of the most talented - Annibale Fontana (1540-1587), the Saracchi, Alessandro Masnago (1560-1620) - won international fame. However, even their great achievements were surpassed by members of the dynasty founded by Gasparo (1518-73) and Girolamo Miseroni (1522-1600), descendants of a long line of Milanese goldsmiths. As his eldest son, Giovanni Ambrogio succeeded Girolamo as head of Girolamo's workshop in 1600, while his brothers, Ottavio (1567-1624), Aurelio and Alessandro founded the school of hardstone cutting in Prague under the atronage of the Habsburg Emperor Rudolph II. All four, in Milan and in Prague, were engaged in supplying the Emperor and other art loving rulers such as the Electors of Saxony and Bavaria and the Grand Duke of Tuscany with these highly sought after vessels designed to express princely magnificence and power. They were prized because the stones, valued for their rarity, colour and texture were so resistant that they could only be cut with diamond dust, a process requiring patience, time and a high level of technical skill as well as artistry. In the hands of the best masters, like the Miseroni, the unyielding material was transformed into objets d'art, combining sculptural and pictorial qualities in the grand manner.

Here, the different tones of yellow, red and grey, provided by Nature have been utilised so as to create the nude figure of the goddess of Love and her little son, her garment, the shell, her blonde hair and cap and his attributes as well as the fluted shell itself. The patron, in this case most probably the Emperor Rudolph II, would have appreciated the huge difficulties which had to be overcome in order to complete this perfect interaction between nature and art. As Miseroni drilled the surface of the stone he could never be sure whether the vein of colour from which he was developing his form would abruptly crack, disappear or continue; and the larger the stone the greater the risk. It is a measure of Miseroni's genius that the figures, attributes and shell seem to emerge from a stone of this large size as if they had been waiting for him to release them from it.

We can but marvel, as Distelberger has commented, at 'the difficulties the master took upon himself when he decided use this stone for his carving. The stone has no distinct layers, and the colours seem to melt into each other like clouds. On the back of the shell, near the hinge, we can see how the stone cutter has restricted the space in which the group of figures lies. He succeeded in carving the whole of Venus' body from the light part of the stone. The thin strip of blonde hair, with a lock protruding between her left arm and the cloth, is particularly skilful. The drapery serves to veil the darker areas on the foot and ankle of Venus' right leg and her left arm. Cupid's back and head lie as if in shadow, and his unusual position near Venus' lower body is equally dictated by the nature of the stone. The triangular piece of drapery under her right elbow and the elongated pleats between the two figures are noticeably less detailed in comparison to the clearly delineated folds in front and the group is clearly intended to be viewed from a particular angle, i. e. at a slant from the front'.

The iconography and attribution of the Venus and Cupid cover While the scallop shell with polished ribs between the matt concave flutes radiating towards the indented edges imitates nature, so too do the figures, which demonstrate Miseroni's command of anatomy. Inspired by classical art, Venus's nude body is a model of feminine beauty and contrasts with the soft chubby limbs of the infant Cupid. The bond between the mother and her son is emphasised by the way she presses him close to her with one arm and stretches out the other to hold his hand. As befits the all powerful goddess of Love, Venus has finely chiselled regal features, enhanced by long wavy blonde locks, crowned by a small cap. She and Cupid are enclosed, as if in a bed, by her garment which is draped into decorative folds around her feet. In addition to the classical character of the scallop shell alluding to her maritime origin, and of Cupid's attributes, the bow and quiver, there is the silver gilt long necked swan perched over them which could be Jupiter, in that guise so as to seduce Leda, but is also a bird sacred to Venus.

The swan and the silver gilt curvilinear border have been attributed to the Augsburg silversmith Anton Schweinberger (d.1603) by Distelberger. He compares it to the maritime ornament created by Schweinberger for a ewer made of half a Seychelles nut (Kunsthistorisches Museum, inv. no. 6872). Schweinberger was employed from 1587 by Rudolph II whose courtly commissions, being independent of guild regulations bear neither the maker's mark nor the stamp of the city.

However, Daniel Alcouffe argued that the silver mounts on both the cup and cover are mid-17th century. The swan mount is not described in the 1661 inventory of the Mazarin collection and is only specifically identified in the 1729 inventory of Louis XIV.

As is well known, the study of Renaissance glyptics is handicapped by the absence of signatures and archival documentation, however, the attribution of this example to Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni is fully supported by comparative examples. Closest in style, technique and material is another important Venus and Cupid group in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (Inv.-Nr. KK 1730). There are many similarities: the anatomically correct reclining figures have been cut from the milky white layer of the stone, contrasting with the extraordinary reddish brown tint of the hair, and with the greyish blue garment which is spread out in full and elaborate folds, while the features of Venus are also classically beautiful and she holds her son close to her. The noble shape of the wine jar with acanthus leaf decoration which is placed beside them provides another classical element in the strong sculptural composition determined by the different colours of the stone, which is the same 'calcedonio di Grigioni' as the Venus and Cupid cover. In realising the potential of a single block of stone with such apparent ease the artist has proved his total mastery of his exacting medium. Secondly, there is the similarly shaped head of the kneeling figure of the Penitent Magdalena arms crossed in prayer, attributed to Ottavio Miseroni, the younger brother of Giovanni Ambrogio, and thirdly, an earlier work attributed to Giovanni Ambrogio, a lapis lazuli salver centred on a chalcedony cameo of Leda enthroned seduced by Jupiter in the guise of a swan, anticipating that surmounting the present Venus in the shell. These two last examples are also in the Kunsthistoriches Museum. All these comparisons are fully discussed by Distelberger (op. cit.).

Rudolph II and art in Prague around 1600. As the finest maker of the Milanese school Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni was well known to Rudolph II, the greatest art patron of his time. In the 30 years that followed the establishment of Rudolph II's court in Prague in 1583, it became a magnet for many of the greatest artists in Europe including the painters Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Bartholomaus Spranger, Hans von Aachen and Roelandt Savery, the sculptor Adrien de Vries and goldsmiths Paulus van Vianen and Wenzel Jamnitzer. Rudolph's passion for the most luxurious objects was so great that two of the leading families of craftsmen from Italy, the Castrucci from Florence and Miseroni from Milan relocated to Prague. Giovanni Ambrogio was, therefore, well placed to supply Rudolph with objets d'art which might distract him during his frequent melancholy moods. These virtuoso creations appealed to the Emperor on account of the rare and exotic materials, their astral and talismanic powers and the artistry they inspired. However, the genre did not advance after his death in 1612 and during the Thirty Years War objects from the Imperial Kunstkammer were plundered. As Distelberger has observed 'The Swedes could have taken it, for instance, when they sacked Prague Castle in 1648, at the end of the Thirty Year's War. Like so many other precious objects taken from Prague at that time, the Venus shell could have found its way to Rome with Queen Christina of Sweden, when she moved there, and, through her, eventually to Cardinal Marazin'. Although there is no documentary evidence to confirm that the Venus and Cupid Shell cup and cover were possessed by the Habsburg Emperor, or Queen Christina, its subsequent history is well known.

From Cardinal Mazarin to Louis XIV. In 1661 the Venus and Cupid cup and cover was clearly described in the posthumous inventory of the gallery of the Roman born Cardinal Mazarin (fig. 6), who brought the taste for Italian art to Paris: 'Une grande tasse d'une seulle agathe d'Allmagne en coquilles, portée par un dauphin d'argent vermeil doré pose sur une coquille aussy d'argent vermeil doré, avecq son couvercle d'une autre grande coquille d'Allemagne, aussy en coquilles, sur laquelle est entaillé une Venus tout nue couchée sur un drap et un petit amour auprés entourée d'un bord d'argent vermeil doré.....'. (Alcouffe, op.cit. p.21). Chantelou told Lorenzo Bernini during his visit to Paris in 1665, the Cardinal cultivated the taste for these 'propretés de cabinets et de cristaux...... pour entretenir et divertir le Roi' (Chantelou, op. cit. p.159).

Louis XIV (fig. 1) had obviously been impressed as that same year he purchased the cup and cover, with the seventy five other important hardstone vases from the Cardinal's estate for display at Versailles. Following the example of the ancient Roman Emperors, the Medici and the Habsburgs he recognised that these hardstone vases, more effectively than any other art, would express the prestige of his reign. He explained this concept to his son, the dauphin: 'Il n'y a rien qui marque d'avantage la magnificence des grands Princes que leurs superbes palais et les meubles précieux dont ils sont ornez'. As he also grasped that to serve this political purpose the vases had to be displayed in quantity, so he went on acquiring them. At first placed in cabinets, from 1682 they were shown in the Cabinet des Médailles entered through the Salon d'Abondance with its ceiling painted by René- Antoine Houasse which depicts some of the most famous examples in the collection. (Castelluccio, op. cit. p.111). The effect of the display of so many superb objects, placed high on the cornice, in pentagonal niches at the corners, grouped on consoles between pilasters on the walls, on the chimney piece, and reflected many times by mirrors must have been as magnificent as the king intended. (idem. fig. 154) In 1683 the Abbé Bourdelot recorded his impression 'que je vis de sortes de pierres précieuses mises en oeuvre: des éliotropes, sardoines, onix, agates des cornalines,toutes orientales. Il y en a de grosses de figures heureuse, et d'autres bizarres, qu'on avait bien pratiquée pour les mettre en oeuvre , don't on avait tire des formes agréables. Quelquefois, la variété des pierres qui s'étaient trouvées dans le bloc y avait servy, comme dans l'agateonix ou les divers polis yet couleurs donnaient un oeil et des graces différents. Quelle diversité capable de satisfaire les esprits les plus curieux'. (idem. p.115).

Jacques de Chapeaurouge and the Directoire sales. Shortly after the revolution of 1789 valuations of all Crown property were made, including the hardstone vases. In 1796, deeply in debt, the Directoire decided to relinquish a quarter of this collection to a creditor, the Swiss Jacques de Chapeaurouge (1744-1805) (fig. 7) who was then active in Hamburg. Among the objects thus dispersed was the shell cup with Venus and Cupid lid which, marked no.376, disappeared until 1968. The cup, then without the cover, was offered for sale at the hôtel Drouot and acquired by the Louvre (figs. 2, 3 & 5) Alcouffe, op. cit. no. 91, pp.221-223). As for the cover, also marked 376, that has now reappeared from a Swiss private collection, looking just as splendid today as when it left the workshop of the celebrated Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni around 1600.

The rediscovery of the Venus and Cupid cover adds a seminal work to the prized oeuvre of Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni. To hold in your hand the crowning glory of one of the masterpieces of Renaissance hardstone carving, that has remained unidentified for centuries, is a moment to cherish and prolong.

LITERATURE: R. Distelberger, 'An unknown masterpiece from the Miseroni workshop', Splendour & Power: Imperial Treasures from Vienna, exhib. cat. P. Rainer (ed.), Cambridge, 2011, pp. 60-67

D. Alcouffe, Les Gemmes de la Couronne, Paris, 2001, pp.221-223

P. Michel, 'Mazarin, prince des collectionneurs : les collections et l'ameublement du cardinal Mazarin (1602 – 1661)', Histoire et Analyse, Paris, 1999, pp.482-484

D. Alcouffe, 'The collection of Cardinal Mazarin's Gems', The Burlington Magazine, vol. 116, no.858 (Sep., 1974), pp. 514-526, fig. 21

P. Verlet, 'Chapeaurouge et les collections royales françaises', Festschrift für Erich Meyer, Hamburg, 1957, pp.286-294

RELATED LITERATURE: P. Chantelou, Journal du Voyage du Cavalier Bernin en France, Paris, 2001

S. Castelluccio, Les Collections Royales d' Objets d' Art, Paris, 2002

Many remarkable prices were achieved in this evening’s sale. Most notably:

• A magnificent pair of gilt-bronze mounted Chinese crackle glaze, celadon pot pourri vases circa 1745-49 raised £881,250/$1,414,935/¤984,796, (est. £800,000-£1,200,000). The vases featured in the private collections of master couturier Nicolay and most recently, that of Dimitri Mavrommatis.

A pair of gilt-bronze-mounted Chinese crackle glaze celadon pot-pourri vases, the mounts Louis XV, mid 18th century, the porcelain 18th century. Photo: Sotheby's.

each formed from two bowls with crackle glaze of light blue colour, the lid with a finial cast in the form of a stalk, the gilt-bronze pierced rim cast with acanthus below gadroons, centred by flowerheads and foliage, the scrolled handles cast with leaves, supported on a gilt-bronze base cast with rinceaux, flowers and rocailles; one stamped with the Crownﾠ'c' poinçon;ﾠrestorations to the porcelain, both lids with slightlyﾠdifferent crackle glazeﾠ(2) Total height: 40cm., diameter 41cm. (including handles); 1ft. 3¾in., 1ft. 4in. Estimate £800,000-£1,200,000. Lot Sold: 881,250 GBP

Comparative Literature: Lunsingh Scheurleer, Chinesisches und Japanisches Porzellan in Europäischen Fassungen, Würzburg, 1980, pages 267, 322-3

Pierre Verlet, 'Les Bronzes Dores Francais du XVIIIe siecle', Paris, 1987, page 127

F. J. B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, Vol. II, Greenwich, 1966, pages 436-7

F.J.B. Watson, Gillian Wilson, Mounted Oriental Porcelain in the J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 1999, pages 66-71

Geoffrey de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddeson Manor: Furniture, Clocks, and Gilt Bronzes, Vol. II, London, 1974, pages 752-753

This magnificent and sumptuous pair of vases belong to a group of related pots-pourri which exist with the same gilt-bronze mounts, (some with different finials-see post) usually bearing the Crown 'c' poinçon mark (which was a tax mark in use between 1745-49 on any alloy containing copper), and which would date some of the related models to this period. Several mounted celadon vases appear in the inventory of the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux (who specialised in the sale of luxury goods), but their entries are too vague to be able to recognize any of them (see A. Pradere's note to lot 68, Sotheby's, Monaco, 14th December 1996). Nor is it possible to prove that any of these bronzes were made by the great bronziers of the time such as Thomas Germain, Caffieri or Saint-Germain.

There are a number of related pots-pourris known, (see following list) some of different form (globular instead of dome shaped) and various types of porcelain.

1. Formerly in the George Byng collection, Wrotham Park, Hertfordshire, sold Christie's, London, 10th December 1992, lot 213. A pair of pots-pourris (h. 42cm, diam. 38cm) struck with the Crown 'c' poinçon five times on one and four on the other.

2. Collection of Colonel and Madame Jacque Balsan, Christie's, London, 30th May 1968, lot 27, sold for 14.000 Gns.; then Galerie Aveline, Paris, 1984; sold Sotheby's, Paris, 9th April 2008, lot 98, for 1,426,973 EUR (see Fig.2)

3. Chester Beatty collection, then Partridge, London, (see L. Scheurleer, (op.cit.) p.322, fig. 301. A pair of pot-porris (h. 27cm).

4-5-6. L. Scheurleer, (op. cit.), p.323, fig. 304, a celadon pot-pourri (h. 30.7cm) and p.267, fig. 186, a polychrome enamelled vase and cover in the California Palace of the Legion of Honour, California. Also see The Wallace Collection, London for a pair of pot-pourris, illustrated by L. Scheurleer, (op. cit.), p.267, fig. 185.

7. A pair of Japanese lacquer bowls reputedly from the collection of Madame du Pompadour at the Château de Bellevue and now in the Louvre, illustrated by P. Verlet, (op. cit.), p.127, fig. 165, (Louvre cat. C.Dr. no 412).

8. A pot-pourri in the Wrightsman Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, F.J.B. Watson, (op. cit.), pp.436-7, no. 246

9. Christie's, London, 9th June 1994, lot 34. A single pot-pourri in red and turquoise flambé glaze from the collection of Sir Julius Wernher Bt., Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire ( 44.5cm) struck once with the crown 'c' poinçon.

10. F.J.B. Watson, Mounted Oriental Porcelain, Exhibition Catalogue, Washington, 1986, p.72-73, no. 22 , a pair of lidded jars in the Frick Collection, New York City (15.8.41; 15.8.42).

12. A single celadon pot-pourri, illustrated by F.J.B. Watson & G. Wilson, (op. cit.), pp.66-71, no. 13. It is of similar form to the present pair, with identical central pierced band, the finial is in the form of a spray of leaves and flowers. The Getty pot-porri's mounts have the crown 'c'.

13. A pair of pots-pourris (h. 37cm, diam., 38cm ) in grey-green porcelain with crackled glaze and the Crown 'c' poinçon struck in six places on one, and five places on the other. They have an identical rim mount on the vase and the base mount is very similar (see G. de Bellaigue, (op. cit.), pp.752-753, no. 196)

14. A pair of crackled glaze pots-pourris, with Crown 'c' poinçon, sold from the collection of the late A.C.J. Wall, Christie's, London, 26th November 1970, lot 12.

15. A pair of similar gilt-bronze mounted Chinese celadon pots-pourris vases, sold Sotheby's, Paris, The Léon Lévy Collection, 2nd October 2008, lot 21, for 1,016,750 EUR

It is not inconceivable that all the above mentioned vases have been mounted by the same Parisian bronziers at the end of the 1740's. The fact that certain vases do not bear the Crown 'c' (since all must have been marked) leads one to conclude that they must have been completed after 1749 after the repeal of the tax), but using certain earlier bronzes already marked made within the period of the tax. 

• “The Empress Clock”, a spectacular automaton singing bird vase clock, possibly made for the Empress Josephine circa 1805, sold for £825,250/$1,325,021/¤922,216 (est.£700,000-£1,000,000).

"The Empress Clock", An ormolu-mounted tôle peint automaton singing bird vase clock, attributed to DeBelle, Paris, circa 1805; Bronze, painted brass, steel, glass, stained peacock feathers; 82.5cm. 32½in. high. Paris. Estimate: .£700,000-£1,000,000. Photo: Sotheby's 

• A rare purple, gilt-bronze-mounted Sèvres porcelain vase, circa 1768, from the bedroom of King Alfonso XII of Spain raised a strong total of £109,250/$175,412/¤122,087 (est. £50,000-£80,000). When the vase came to be offered for sale, Sotheby's discovered a letter hidden inside, revealing the vase was taken from the Spanish King’s bedroom following his death, by his valet.

Royal Gilt-Bronze-Mounted Sèvres Fond Violet Porcelain Vase Ovoïde, the bronzes attributed to Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis, Louis XVI, c.1768. Photo: Sotheby's.

made of soft paste porcelain, of ovoid form, with vine leaves and grape garlands suspended between handles terminating in ram's heads, raised on a stepped plinth base; this vase is accompanied by a signed letter dated 1909 stating its provenance; 42cm. high; 1ft. 4¾in. Estimate: £50,000 - £80,000. Lot Sold: 109,250 GBP

Comparative Literature: - Deborah Gage, The Chatsworth Vases, a gift from Louis XV in 1768 to Henri Léonard Jean-Baptiste Bertin, Burlington Magazine, July 2010.

- Marcelle Brunet and Tamara Préaud, Sèvres, des origines à nos jours, Fribourg, 1978, page 171, pl. 140.

- Theodore Dell, Furniture in the Frick Collection, New York, 1992, page 310.

The extraordinary aspects of this vase are the unusual and brilliant purple or violet ground colour, its shape and rich gilt-bronze ornaments.

The colour: The Sèvres Factory excelled in the novelty of their designs and extraordinary challenges. To this day, Sèvres is celebrated for its quality and unequal ground colours together with its technical excellence allied to a particular flamboyance. The Sèvres vases always caught the public eye and received the most publicity and thus became the benchmark for establishing the latest style in fashion. 1762 saw the introduction of the first vases at Sèvres which were unequivocally classical, the vase ferré being one of the earliest. With the evolution of Neo-classicism, vase shapes were constantly simplified based upon Antique models.

The Vincennes factory appears to have produced an earlier purple colour copying Meissen, but this colour was very grey, such as the pair of pot-pourri vases in the Musée Céramique at Sèvres.

The colour of the vases under discussion is a different purple based upon a formula produced by the painter and chef de couleurs et chimie Jean-Jacques Bailly and mentioned in his Manuscrit de Bailly, 17...-1785, under the heading Violet No.1 du septembre 1767. This colour was very largely experimental, due to the enormous difficulty involved in its production, resulting from the fact that the formula contained alkaline. The drawback with alkaline is that because it contains oxide which liquifies when subjected to heat, it causes the colour to run or bleed, and becomes washed out when fired. Alternatively, the ground might turn black if applied too thickly. Furthermore, this ground had a tendency to craze. It would appear that this fond violet was so troublesome to produce that it soon became obsolete. This explains why, apart from the following examples, no other Sèvres wares boasting this amazing ground colour appear to have been produced or survived.

- there are two garnitures of three gilt-bronze mounted vases ordered by Louis XV in 1768 as gifts for the Controller General of Finance, Henry Leonard Jean-Baptiste Bertin (1720-1792) and the distinguished statesman and financier Jean-Baptiste Machault d'Arnouville (1701-1794), listed in the Sèvres sales inventories for December that year. This violet colour seems to have particularly pleased the King and the sales inventories clearly refer to the Bertin and Machault d'Arnouville garnitures of vases fonds violets as being specially commissioned by Louis XV - 'Livres pour Presenter'. The garniture presented to Bertin is now in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth, Derbyshire. The Machault d'Arnouville garniture, which has mounts attributed to Jean-Claude Duplessis, was formerly with Maurice Segoura, Paris.

- another vase, a Louis XVI vase-oeuf, but of different design, with the same rare and exotic fond violet ground was sold, Sotheby's New York, 20 May 1989, lot 171.

- a pair of vases-oeuf fond violet, circa 1768, in a private collection and illustrated at Deborah Gage, Burlington Magazine, op. cit. page 461, fig. 18.

- a pair of cylindrically shaped vases, circa 1768, at the Musée National de Céramique, Sèvres.

- a garniture, comprising a pot-pourri and a pair of vases formerly in the collection of the Dukes of Rohan-Chabot, sold Sotheby's, The Rossi Collection, London, 12th March 1999, lot 1346.

The shape : Another highly distinctive feature is the very unusual and rare shape of the present vase, which is not traceable in the archives or amongst the models of the Sèvres factory.

The only other recorded example is a Sèvres vase ovoïde, dated 1767 in The Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore

The bronzes: Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis (1699-1774)

Apart from the deep and pulsating colour of the fond violet and the striking and eye-catching shape, the vase is further enhanced and offset by gilt-bronze mounts of exemplary quality. The exceptional aesthetic unity of the present porcelain and its mounts suggests that the bronzes were designed specifically for this vase and as such, can be attributed to Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis.

The multi-talented Duplessis was already an important sculptor, designer, goldsmith, and bronze worker in Italy, before he moved to Paris in about 1740. In France, he continued working as a goldsmith and gilt-bronze founder and was appointed orfèvre du roi in 1758.

From about 1748, Duplessis expanded his range of activities and served as artistic director of the Vincennes porcelain manufactory and its successor at Sèvres from 1748 to his death in 1774. He also supervised the work of the throwers and moulders, advised on ground colours, and supplied gilt bronze stands and mounts for the porcelain products. He created the wax models for giltbronze mounts for furniture and especially for porcelain objects, in which capacity he appears repeatedly in the day-book of the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux. Amongst Duvaux's clients, he collaborated most closely with work for the comte d'Argenson and the duc de Chaulnes.

A Royal vase.

The present vase is accompanied by a letter in Spanish: (see Fig. 4) 'Esta faseo lo recogiá del tocador de Su Majestad el Rey Don Alfonso XII su ayuda de cámara, Ceferino,cuando aquel murió. Guardado por mi ese recuerdo durante muchos años, he tenido la honra de entregárselo al Excelentísimo Señor Duque de Tamames, buen amigo de acquel Rey nunca bastante llorado. 19 de Marzo, 909, Antonio J. Espila, Hijo político de Ceferino' / 'This vase was taken from the boudoir of his majesty the King Alfonso XII by his valet, Ceferino, when the King died. Having kept this for many years as a souvenir I was honoured to give it to the Duke of Tamames, a dear friend of the late king never enough mourned for. Dated 19th March 1909, signed Antonio J. Espila, son in law of Ceferino.'

King Alfonso XII of Spain (1857-1885)

King Alfonso XII was king of Spain, reigning from 1874 to 1885, after a coup d'état restored the monarchy and ended the unstable First Spanish Republic (see Fig. 5). In 1878 he married his cousin, Princess Maria de las Mercedes, daughter of Antoine, Duke of Montpensier, but she died within six months of the marriage. In 1879, he remarried a much more distant relative, Maria Christina of Austria, daughter of Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria. Alfonso died of tuberculosis in November 1885, just short of his 28th birthday. During his short reign, peace was established both at home and abroad, finances were well regulated, and the various administrative services were placed on a solid basis.

It is not known how this vase initially found its way into the Royal Spanish collection. However, in view of the fond violet porcelain gifts by Louis XV for Bertin and Machault d'Arnouville, it is tempting to conjecture that the present vase might have been a Royal gift to the cousins ruling in Spain at that time.

• A pair of magnificent late Baroque Venetian marquetry tables, with exuberant inlay and engravings executed by Lucio and Antonio De Lucci, fetched £713,250/$1,145,194/¤797,056. (est. £600,000 - £1,000,000)

A pair of Italian ivory, stained horn and pewter-inlaid ebony, rosewood, walnut, fruitwood and marquetry console tables, the tops signed by Lucio de Lucci, the stained boxwood bases attributed to Andrea Brustolon (1662-1732), Venetian, circa 1686. Photo: Sotheby's.

each with a rectangular top inlaid with a central c-scroll cartouche depictingﾠcolonnaded buildings with balustrades and fruit tree filled urns, with two figures in the foreground and a landscape in the background, the other depicting a harbour scene with a galleon engaged in a sea battle with a building in the foregroundﾠwithin strapwork borders flanked by further cartouches to either side each depicting battle scenes with mounted soldiers centered to the top with a crowned strapwork cartouche laterﾠinset with an ivory coat-of-armsﾠfor the 5th Duke of Buccleuch,ﾠwith a further hunting scene below, the reserves inlaid with profusely scrolled foliage and decorated with birds, insects and putti, the front corners depictingﾠ figures in courtly dress, the rear corners depicting exotic figures seated on cushions, each with a banner inscribed LVCIO D' LVCCI FECE, with moulded edge above an elaborately carved pierced frieze, with scrolling acanthus and leaf-wrapped military trophies, the sides with ribbon-bound foliage, aboveﾠc-and s-scroll supports carved with acanthus leaves, headed by mask-decorated helmets with plume finials and decorated with flowerheads and fruit joined by similarly carved X-form stretchers issuing flowerheads and carved to the centre with entwined serpents, on volute scrolled feet carved with grotesque maskﾠ;one stand bearing an inventory number T.I/1 and T.I in red ink; the frieze supported with later metal brackets; each 90cm. high, 171.5cm. wide, 87cm. deep; 2ft. 11½in., 5ft. 7½in., 2ft. 9¾in. Estimate £600,000 - £1,000,000. Lot Sold: 713,250 GBP

Comparative Literature: - Andrew Hopkins, King of carving, Apollo, 23rd June 2009.

- Anna Maria Spiazzi, Andrea Brustolon 1662-1732 `Il Michelangelo del Legno', Palazzo Crepadona, Belluno, 28th March-12th July 2009.

- Giuseppe Morazzoni, Mobili Veneziani del'700, Milan-Rome, MCMXXVII, plates XIV-XXVI.

These magnificent tables tops with their exuberant inlay and engraving are amongst the most outstanding examples of a small group of related pieces executed by Lucio and Antonio De Lucci in Venice in the late 17th century. Furthermore, this is the first time that the bases can be attributed to Andrea Brustolon, the celebrated Venetian carver. In previous literature, it did not mention that the table bases were carved from boxwood which is a strong indication of the work of this sculptor, who sculpted in a similar vein.

The tops by Lucio and Antonio De Lucci:

Furniture by these craftsmen constitute the only known pieces of elaborate marquetry furniture dating from the second half of the 17th century emanating from Venice emphasing their rarity.

There is a paucity of information about the De Luccis, apart from the few items signed by or attributed to them that have come to light in the research by Alvar Gonzáles-Palacios, op. cit. There is in addition to the present pair of tables, a third, closely related table top recorded on which a very similar Turkish figure is holding an ivory scroll inscribed ANT. DE LUCCI FECE IN VENETIA 1686 (González-Palacios, fig. 597, erroneously shown as fig. 595). This table is important as it sets the date for all the other pieces by the De Luccis. As their works are extremely alike, there can be no doubt that Antonio and Luccio De Lucci were related and that they were active in the same workshop in Venice in the fourth quarter of the 17th century.

There existed a fourth top, possibly made en suite and identically inscribed, that was cut up in the eighteenth century to be employed as marquetry decoration on a German writing desk probably constructed in 1764 (Daniela di Castro, 'Una tarsia veneziana del Seicento per un bureau Tedesco del Settecento', DecArt, Riviste di arti decorative 1 (2004), pp. 20-25).

A fifth, unsigned top, inlaid with a view of Napoli Di Romania (presumably Nauplia, Greece), which on being compared with the abovementioned signed tops be safely attributed to either of the same makers (González-Palacios, op. cit., fig. 598).

Another table top with the view of Vienna has been recently recorded on the art market.

In the Davia Bargellini Museum of Bologna three console tables inlaid with mother of pearl are surely by the De Luccis . In fact a letter exists signed by Lucio De Lucci,in Venice and dated 10th August 1699 referring to these three tables ( A.G.P. Antologia delle Belle Arti, S. Tumidei, Intagli a Bologna, Intagli per Bologna, n 59-62, 2000,p.36-37 and 48).

The work of the De Luccis is not only recorded on table tops but also can be found on a group of chests of drawers, some of them certainly by their hand. Amongst those worthy of mention include a magnificent pair in the Galleria Benucci, Rome, which without a doubt originates from the same workshop and depict exotic figures in cartouches. Other artisans must have followed the style of the De Luccis as similar chests but more provincial in appearance have survived.

The marquetry by the De Luccis is characterized by boldly scrolled ribbons, exuberant floral patterns and highly ambitious pictorial scenes. The central panels on the present tables show perspective views of colonnaded buildings that are strongly reminiscent of Renaissance designs for marquetry, published by Hans Vredeman de Vries in Antwerp around 1560 (Simon Jervis, Printed furniture designs before 1650, Leeds 1974, figs. 122-141) and reflecting a contemporary South German tradition.

These panels are surrounded by vignettes of hunting scenes.The Turkish figures in the upper corners may refer to the defeat of the Turks at the Siege of Vienna in 1683. The grotesque figures depicted in the lower reserves of the marquetry tops are inspired by Jacques Callot's (d. 1635) celebrated series of engravings, Varie figure Gobbi di Iacopo Callot Fatto in firenz al'anno 1616-reproduced here in fig. 4 & 5. Callot's engravings were first depicted on pietra dura panels designed by Baccio del Bianco (1604-1656) in the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence (for instance the panel illustrated in A.-M. Giusti, Pietre Dure, London, 1992, fig. 106, which is based upon Callot's engraving 'Le Joueur de flageolet').

Figures from these engravings also featured on a bureau-plat that was purchased in 1841, by the 5th Duke of Buccleuch from Edward Holmes Baldock (d.1843), no doubt the latter influenced by the same engravings after Callot, which inspired the figures on the offered tops.

The table bases attributed to Andrea Brustolon (1662-1732):

The tables are superlative examples of the exhuberant late baroque carving executed in Venice. There is no doubt that such elaborate and exquisite Venetian table tops of such outstanding quality required equally magnificent bases to support them and they surely must have been produced in the same city by a very skilled sculptor. A few considerations should be made which allow us to suggest for the first time an attribution to the celebrated sculptor Andrea Brustolon from Belluno, who produced his finest works in the lagoon.

The stands are made of stained boxwood which is a wood which was mastered on several occasions by Brustolon and one of his signatures(see the suite for Pietro Venier, post). The strong baroque design which distinguishes these tables is also strongly reminiscent of Roman models influenced by the designs of Filippo Passarini and J.P.Schor. From annotations to his drawings, we know that Brustolon visited Rome and that he was fascinated by the superb Roman carriages made for Cardinal Rinaldo d' Este after the elaborate drawings by Ciro Ferri. The Roman context must have surely influented his work when he went back to Veneto. Drawings of elaborate consoles by Brustolon are to be found in the Museo Civico di Belluno, see Spiazzi. et al. op. cit., page 225 which depict elaborately carved and curved feet with vegetal and fruit elements interspersed as on the present tables. The military trophies and scrolling acanthus inlaid on the table tops are skilfully repeated in the carving on the bases.

Brustolon was termed by the celebrated French writer Balzac as `the Michelangelo of Wood'. He was apprenticed at the age of fifteen to the famous baroque sculptor Filippo Parodi. His earliest recorded work is a pair of angels for the Frari in Venice in 1684.

Should this attribution prove to be correct, the date of the tops and bases would indicate that Brustolon was a young man in his early 20's, when he executed the bases as the carving although very fine and sculptural , is somewhat less detailed than the celebrated armchairs and furniture which made up the `fornimento Venier', the suite commissioned in 1690 by the nobleman Pietro Venier to display his celebrated collection of porcelain vases in his family Palace in Venice.

There are also examples of similar sculptural armchairs historically attributed to Brustolon in English Country Houses, see for example, the set of ornately carved armchairs by Brustolon in Burghley House, Lincolnshire.

Hugh Honour in 1963 in an article in Apollo, `Italian Sculptured Furniture of the Eighteenth Century, states that Brustolon `proved himself more than capable of satisfying his private patrons' desire for extended monumental decorative programmes.'' Also see for example Colle, op. cit., p. 302, for a Venetian bookcase although unattributed, with similar exhuberant carving, with military trophies and boldly scrolling acanthus leaves and flowers, now in the Biblioteca del Seminario, Padova, where Colle mentions the names of Pianta and Brustolon It is worthwhile noting that Colle op. cit., p. 302, reproduces the offered table with the arcaded building opposite the bookcase.

Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry (1806 – 1884):  

In 1819, Walter Francis Douglas Scott succeeded his father to the Dukedoms of Buccleuch and Queensberry, becoming one of the country's wealthiest landowners in the process. The Duke acquired some extraordinarily good furniture for his residences from the great London dealer and cabinet maker Edward James Baldock (1777-1845). It therefore must follow that it was most probably at this time that the consoles entered the 5th Duke's collection.

Baldock was held in high regard, so much so that he was a supplier of works to George IV, William IV and Queen Victoria until his death. He appears to have supplied the Duke predominately with furniture between 1830 and 1843, selling him the very best and there are pieces still in the Buccleuch collection, notably a bonheur du jour by Martin Carlin and at Bowhill where there is a card table by Bongen and a commode by Horrix both acquired by Baldock for him, see Reinier Baarsen, French Furniture in Amsterdam in 1771, Furniture History, XXIX, 1993, P. 114. There is also documentation of Baldock travelling to Italy and making purchases there, a pietra dure top, said to have come from the Borghese Palace was acquired from the abbé Celloti for William Beckford's Fonthill, see Geoffrey de Bellaigue, Edward Holmes Baldock, Connoisseur, August, 1975, p. 290.

It is very likely that the pair of consoles offered here come from that group of purchases made in Italy. The later inlaid ivory armorials bare all the hallmarks of Baldock, sensitively let in to the marquetry top, most probably replacing an earlier Italian armorial, a minor alteration which Baldock would have delighted in; inlaid and marquetry furniture being a hallmark of this great 19th century dealers stock in trade.

LITERATURE: - Alvar González-Palacios, Il gusto dei principi, Arte di corte del XVII e del XVIII secolo, Volume II, Milan 1993, pp. 338-339, figs. 595 (erroneously switched with fig. 597) and 596.

- Enrico Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Milan 2000, ill.on pp. 302 , where the table with the arcade is illustrated and p. 322, where both tops only are illustrated.

• One of the most important 17th Century cabinets - a rare and impressive Roman gilt- bronze-pietre-dure-and marble-mounted ebony and ebonised cabinet, offered at auction for the first time, sold for £668,450/$1,073,263/¤746,992 (est. £250,000-£500,000).  

An Italian gilt-bronze-pietre dure-and marble-mounted ebony and ebonised cabinet, Roman, mid 17th century. Estimate: £- £500,000. Photo: Sotheby's.

 • The only surviving pair of Jaquet-Droz & Leschot singing bird snuff boxes still together sold for the above-estimate total of £735,650/$1,181,160/¤822,088 (est. £250,000-£450,000). Wound by a golden key, they were priced at as much as £1,800 apiece when they were ordered by the London retail jewellers David Duval & Co in 1801 for the Chinese market. 

 

A pair of gold and purple enamel singing bird boxes, made for the Chinese market, the movements Jaquet-Droz & Leschot, the cases Guidon, Rémond, Gide & Co., Geneva, 1800-1801; gold, enamel, pearls, humming bird feathers, ivory beak, gilt-metal, width 8.5cm, 3 3/8 in. Estimate:  £250,000-£450,000. Photo: Sotheby's 

Sale statistics:
• Sold by lot: 60.6%
• Sold by value: 76.9%
• Of the 33 lots offered, 20 sold

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium   

A Flemish 17th century gilt-metal and brass-mounted, ivory-inlaid tortoiseshell, rosewood, ebony and ebonised cabinet on stand

A Flemish 17th century gilt-metal and brass-mounted, ivory-inlaid tortoiseshell, rosewood, ebony and ebonised cabinet on stand. Photo Bonhams

the rectangular moulded top above a central drawer with balustrade balcony, the architectural façade with ten drawers arranged around a central pair of cupboard doors with tapering square columns each surmounted by female bust capitals, enclosing a fitted arcaded interior of twelve drawers, with trompe l'oeil parquetry and mirrors, above a further drawer and stepped plinth, the stand with simulated drawers, on square tapering supports, joined by a lower shelf inlaid with geometrical pattern, on bun feet, 130cm wide, 50cm deep, 169cm high (51" wide, 19.5" deep, 66.5" high).  Estimate: £15,000 - 20,000, US$ 25,000 - 33,000, € 17,000 - 23,000