Garniture Louis XV comprenant une pendule en bronze doré, figure...
Garniture Louis XV comprenant une pendule en bronze doré, figure en porcelaine Meissen et fleurettes de Vincennes, et une paire de candélabres à trois bras de lumière et figures en porcelaine, milieu du XVIIIe siècle et époque postérieure
A Louis XV ormolu-mounted Meissen porcelain, Vincennes flowers and tôle peinte clock garniture with matching pair of three branch figural candelabra, mid-18th century and later
The porcelain mid-18th century, the ormolu probably mid-18th century and later, the circular enamelled dial signed 'DE SAINT JEAN A PARIS' within a circular case and foliate surround, mounted with figure of a singer flanked by a group with sheep, on a rocaille pierced stepped and balustrated base, issuing a naturalistic branch with tole leaves and polychrome flowers; the pair of candelabra with Meissen figures of gardeners watering flowers, the tôle branches mounted with Vincennes-style porcelain flowers and terminating in foliate drip-pans and conforming nozzles, the clock: 41cm high, 26cm wide, 17cm deep (16in high, 10 1/4in, 6 3/4in deep); the candelabra: 26cm high, 28cm wide, 14cm deep (10 1/4in high, 11in wide, 5 1/4in deep) (some restoration to book in her hand and sheep, overall in very good condition, some minor chips to extremities) (3)
Provenance:
With Röbbig, Munich, from where purchased by the present owner
This garniture, as with the ormolu-mounted figures also offered in this sale (lot 53), was created around the middle of the 18th century to supply a craving for the latest fashion of a new clientèle of buyers in the luxury market. They were furnished in every whim and demand by a group of Marchands Merciers active in mainly Paris. They were importers and dealers, but also interior designers and decorators, with a reach that extended to imported Chinese porcelain, exotic fabrics and the rarest of materials. Paris offered perfect conditions for a booming business, not least through its proximity to the most fashionable court in Europe. The main source of income for many Marchands did not principally come through the Court and its entourage, but through those aspiring to follow the newest fashion introduced by the French King and his family. The Marchands Merciers played a key role in the promotion of French art and luxury far beyond the French borders.
The prerequisite of their business was that the Marchands Merciers were not allowed to create objects, unlike other artisans that would have had to obtain a license to create works with Royal approval. Diderot famously said in his Encyclopédie that Marchand Merciers were 'sellers of everything, makers of nothing'. They acquired items, too, directly from porcelain manufacturers such as Sèvres and Meissen, whose objects they re-modelled and grouped together to the exact fashions of the period with the help of goldsmiths, bronziers and cabinetmakers. The success of these merchants is often attributed to their excellent self-promotion. The most successful Marchands Merciers were able to secure exclusive rights and monopolies in certain lucrative areas of the market, and, through the creation of business cards and advertisement, were able to build up a true brand identity.
For further reading on Meissen porcelain mounted in France see: V. Bastien/S. Castelluccio/S. Vris et al., La Fabrique du Luxe, Les Marchands Merciers Parisiens au XVIIIe Siècle, exhibition catalogue (2018) and M. Deldique (ed.), La Fabrique de l'Extravagance, Porcelaines de Meissen et de Chantilly (2020).
Orders at the Meissen factory by French Marchands Merciers in Paris are discussed in detail by J. Weber, Von Moskau bis Lissabon, von Dublin bis Konstantinopel. Der Handel mit Meissener Porzellan im 18. Jahrhundert (1719-1773), in Keramos 212 (2016), where the author discusses the orders placed at the factory, the French and other European dealers involved, and the lists of orders following the Arbeitsberichte.
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Garniture Louis XV comprenant une pendule en bronze doré, figure en porcelaine Meissen et fleurettes de Vincennes, et une paire de candélabres à trois bras de lumière et figures en porcelaine, milieu du XVIIIe siècle et époque postérieure
A Louis XV ormolu-mounted Meissen porcelain, Vincennes flowers and tôle peinte clock garniture with matching pair of three branch figural candelabra, mid-18th century and later
The porcelain mid-18th century, the ormolu probably mid-18th century and later, the circular enamelled dial signed 'DE SAINT JEAN A PARIS' within a circular case and foliate surround, mounted with figure of a singer flanked by a group with sheep, on a rocaille pierced stepped and balustrated base, issuing a naturalistic branch with tole leaves and polychrome flowers; the pair of candelabra with Meissen figures of gardeners watering flowers, the tôle branches mounted with Vincennes-style porcelain flowers and terminating in foliate drip-pans and conforming nozzles, the clock: 41cm high, 26cm wide, 17cm deep (16in high, 10 1/4in, 6 3/4in deep); the candelabra: 26cm high, 28cm wide, 14cm deep (10 1/4in high, 11in wide, 5 1/4in deep) (some restoration to book in her hand and sheep, overall in very good condition, some minor chips to extremities) (3)
Provenance:
With Röbbig, Munich, from where purchased by the present owner
This garniture, as with the ormolu-mounted figures also offered in this sale (lot 53), was created around the middle of the 18th century to supply a craving for the latest fashion of a new clientèle of buyers in the luxury market. They were furnished in every whim and demand by a group of Marchands Merciers active in mainly Paris. They were importers and dealers, but also interior designers and decorators, with a reach that extended to imported Chinese porcelain, exotic fabrics and the rarest of materials. Paris offered perfect conditions for a booming business, not least through its proximity to the most fashionable court in Europe. The main source of income for many Marchands did not principally come through the Court and its entourage, but through those aspiring to follow the newest fashion introduced by the French King and his family. The Marchands Merciers played a key role in the promotion of French art and luxury far beyond the French borders.
The prerequisite of their business was that the Marchands Merciers were not allowed to create objects, unlike other artisans that would have had to obtain a license to create works with Royal approval. Diderot famously said in his Encyclopédie that Marchand Merciers were 'sellers of everything, makers of nothing'. They acquired items, too, directly from porcelain manufacturers such as Sèvres and Meissen, whose objects they re-modelled and grouped together to the exact fashions of the period with the help of goldsmiths, bronziers and cabinetmakers. The success of these merchants is often attributed to their excellent self-promotion. The most successful Marchands Merciers were able to secure exclusive rights and monopolies in certain lucrative areas of the market, and, through the creation of business cards and advertisement, were able to build up a true brand identity.
For further reading on Meissen porcelain mounted in France see: V. Bastien/S. Castelluccio/S. Vris et al., La Fabrique du Luxe, Les Marchands Merciers Parisiens au XVIIIe Siècle, exhibition catalogue (2018) and M. Deldique (ed.), La Fabrique de l'Extravagance, Porcelaines de Meissen et de Chantilly (2020).
Orders at the Meissen factory by French Marchands Merciers in Paris are discussed in detail by J. Weber, Von Moskau bis Lissabon, von Dublin bis Konstantinopel. Der Handel mit Meissener Porzellan im 18. Jahrhundert (1719-1773), in Keramos 212 (2016), where the author discusses the orders placed at the factory, the French and other European dealers involved, and the lists of orders following the Arbeitsberichte.
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