A rare and possibly unique Louis XV Vincennes hand-painted...

A rare and possibly unique Louis XV Vincennes hand-painted porcelain rouet de salon

circa 1740-50

The cartouche-form porcelain base very finely painted with flowers and butterfly, mounted in gilt-bronze frame and fitted with mahogany and brass spinning mechanisms, raised on fitted mahogany footed base inscribed "56086;" the verso of plaque with large blue underglaze interlaced L mark aux trois points; apparently without distaff to attach quenouille.

L: 16, W: 8 in. (base)

PROVENANCE:

The collection of Georges Perrier, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This rare piqué work spinning wheel, or rouet de salon, appears to be a new discovery to add to the exceptionally small group of such pieces surviving. The offered lot may now be counted together with a similar spinning wheel in the Louvre, another at Waddesdon Manor (cf Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, vol. II, London, 1974, pp. 840-42), and one offered Sotheby's (cf. Treasures from the Prestigious Qizilbash Collection," 28 November 2016, lot 6).

Pietro Piffetti (Italian, 1701-1777), the ébéniste to the Royal court of Turin, produced a model in ivory and tortoiseshell around 1740, which is now at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (inv. no. W.159.1-7-1921, fig. 4). The V&A also has in its collection a vernis martin spinning wheel made in Paris at the same time as the offered lot (inv. no. 4475:1-1858, fig. 5).

This rouet de salon features an exquisite and possibly unique Vincennes porcelain plaque of exceptional quality. The ormolu hardware is virtually identical to that of the model from the Qizilbash Collection, attributed to Neapolitan manufacture.