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Lot Essay
THE BEAUVAIS MANUFACTORY
The tapestry manufactory at Beauvais was created by Sun King Louis XIV’s finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) in 1664 in an effort to promote French industry in the face of a thriving tapestry weaving industry in the Low Countries. While subsidized by the French government and patronized by the King, the manufactory was a private company that struggled to stand out in the field (see Edith Standen, “The Tapestry Weaver and the King: Philippe Behagle and Louis XIV”, Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 33, 1998, pp. 183-204). After Colbert’s death and the retirement of its first director in 1683, Philippe Behagle (1641-1705) was appointed director of the tapestry manufactory in 1684. Behagle, a weaver of Flemish extraction had a prolific tenure at Beauvais, with production estimated at 1,300 pieces between 1684 and 1690 (ibid. Standen, p. 183). Though despite the high output, many pieces were sold at a loss due to the disorganization and supply chain issues plaguing the manufactory. Despite these challenges, under Behagle’s stewardship, Beauvais created a variety of popular fanciful works drawing from myth, historical events, popular stories, and exoticism.
L'HISTOIRE DE L'EMPEREUR DE LA CHINE
The present lot forms part of the exotic and highly elaborate l'Histoire de l'Empereur de la Chine series, illustrating the life of the Chinese Emperor, believed to be either the Emperor Shunzhi (reigned 1643 to 1661) or the Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1661 to 1722). The central figure of the emperor appears to have been adapted from the title page of Legatio Batavica by Johan Nieuhof, published in 1668; an account by the Dutch traveler of his time in the Far East which was incredibly popular and helped to jumpstart the chinoiserie craze in Europe. The Beauvais series traditionally included The Audience of the Emperor (L’Audience de l’empereur), The Emperor Sailing (L’Embarquement de l’empereur), The Empress Sailing (L’Embarquement de l’emperatrice), Gathering Pineapples (La Recolte des ananas), The Astronomers (Les Astronomes), The Return from the Hunt (Le Retour de la chase), The Empress' Tea (Le Thé de l’emperatrice), The Collation (La Collation), The Emperor on a Journey (L’Empereur en voyage) and The Gathering of Tea (La Recolte du Thé, as yet unidentified) (see Edith Standen, “The Story of the Emperor of China: A Beauvais Tapestry Series”, Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 11, 1976, pp. 103-117).
In a memorandum of tapestries made during his directorship Behagle mentions this series: 'Chinoise faict par quatre illustre peintre'. Noël-Antoine Mérou (director 1722-1734) further elaborates in a document of 1731 : 'Une Tenture du dessin des chinois, par les sieurs Batiste, Fontenay et Vernensal, en six pièces'. The painters referred to are Guy Vernansal (1648-1729), the flower-painter Jean-Baptiste Belin de Fontenay (1653-1715) and Baptiste (the name used by contemporaries for the flower-painter Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (1636-1699)) as well as an unidentified fourth painter (ibid. Standen, p. 114). Vernansal's signature on various models implies that he was the main designer of the series while the exact dating of the first woven set is difficult to ascertain with certainty. It is probable that it was after Behagle took over the directorship in 1684 but before Monnoyer left for England in 1690. A further undated memorandum by Behagle states that the first set, woven with gold-thread (rarely used by Beauvais) was 'vendu par M. d'Isrodeà Monseigneur le duc du Maine (Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, 1670-1736) for 20,000 livres. M. d'Isrode, who later had two further sets made for 14,000 and 10,000 livres, presumably acted as an intermediary, and at least one of further set was made for the Comte de Toulouse (Louis Alexandre de Bourbon 1678-1737) for 10,565 livres; each of these three sets were likely either smaller, lacked the gold thread, or both due to their diminished pricing (ibid. Standen, p. 114).
More sets were created over the years, and can be further explored by their telltale borders, often created specifically for the client and incorporating particular armorials or devices relevant to the commission. Unfortunately the present lot has lost its border at some point, perhaps due to damage, preference or size restrictions which occurred somewhere down the line. Records indicate that the present lot may once have had a wide chinoiserie border with niches filled by further exotic royal and military figures surrounded by exuberant florals and and swags. An example of this border can be found in a set of four pieces from the series located at the Louvre (OAR 106, SRO 107, OAR 108, and SRO 109).
The success of the series was undoubtedly due to the increased interest in China at the end of the 17th century, which was already manifested with the importation of enormous quantities of goods from the Far East to France by the Compagnie des Indes Orientales. The enthusiasm was further heightened when the Mercure Galant published a long description of the travels of father Couplet to China in 1684. The young duc du Maine, the legitimized son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, met the Jesuit Couplet (c. 1622-1693) and his Chinese convert, Michael Alphonusus Shen Fu-Tsung (c. 1657-1691), when they first returned from China and was deeply interested in his adventures. A second event that may have elicited further interest was Louis XIV's glamorous reception at Versailles for the ambassadors of Siam on 1 September 1686 who had been sent by the King of Siam Phra Narai (1632-1688). Among the participants in the reception at Versailles was again the duc du Maine, illustrated in an etching in the Almanach Royal of 1687 recording the presenting of the gifts to Louis XIV. The ambassadors of Siam are even recorded visiting the site of the Beauvais tapestry workshop in October of 1686. Today further examples of the same scene of the present lot can be found at the Louvre (OA 10446) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (48.71). In recent years, other examples of this same, grand scene have sold at Sotheby's, London, 5 July 2023, lot 9 (£215,900) and Christie's, New York, 23 October 2003, lot 776 ($455,500). Similarly, 'The Emperor Sailing' from the same series sold from the Collection of Akram Ojjeh, Christie’s, Monaco, 11-12 December 1999, lot 21 (₣5,072,500), and 'Gathering Pineapples' sold Christie’s, New York, 21 June 2012, lot 1150 ($158,500).
The tapestry manufactory at Beauvais was created by Sun King Louis XIV’s finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) in 1664 in an effort to promote French industry in the face of a thriving tapestry weaving industry in the Low Countries. While subsidized by the French government and patronized by the King, the manufactory was a private company that struggled to stand out in the field (see Edith Standen, “The Tapestry Weaver and the King: Philippe Behagle and Louis XIV”, Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 33, 1998, pp. 183-204). After Colbert’s death and the retirement of its first director in 1683, Philippe Behagle (1641-1705) was appointed director of the tapestry manufactory in 1684. Behagle, a weaver of Flemish extraction had a prolific tenure at Beauvais, with production estimated at 1,300 pieces between 1684 and 1690 (ibid. Standen, p. 183). Though despite the high output, many pieces were sold at a loss due to the disorganization and supply chain issues plaguing the manufactory. Despite these challenges, under Behagle’s stewardship, Beauvais created a variety of popular fanciful works drawing from myth, historical events, popular stories, and exoticism.
L'HISTOIRE DE L'EMPEREUR DE LA CHINE
The present lot forms part of the exotic and highly elaborate l'Histoire de l'Empereur de la Chine series, illustrating the life of the Chinese Emperor, believed to be either the Emperor Shunzhi (reigned 1643 to 1661) or the Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1661 to 1722). The central figure of the emperor appears to have been adapted from the title page of Legatio Batavica by Johan Nieuhof, published in 1668; an account by the Dutch traveler of his time in the Far East which was incredibly popular and helped to jumpstart the chinoiserie craze in Europe. The Beauvais series traditionally included The Audience of the Emperor (L’Audience de l’empereur), The Emperor Sailing (L’Embarquement de l’empereur), The Empress Sailing (L’Embarquement de l’emperatrice), Gathering Pineapples (La Recolte des ananas), The Astronomers (Les Astronomes), The Return from the Hunt (Le Retour de la chase), The Empress' Tea (Le Thé de l’emperatrice), The Collation (La Collation), The Emperor on a Journey (L’Empereur en voyage) and The Gathering of Tea (La Recolte du Thé, as yet unidentified) (see Edith Standen, “The Story of the Emperor of China: A Beauvais Tapestry Series”, Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 11, 1976, pp. 103-117).
In a memorandum of tapestries made during his directorship Behagle mentions this series: 'Chinoise faict par quatre illustre peintre'. Noël-Antoine Mérou (director 1722-1734) further elaborates in a document of 1731 : 'Une Tenture du dessin des chinois, par les sieurs Batiste, Fontenay et Vernensal, en six pièces'. The painters referred to are Guy Vernansal (1648-1729), the flower-painter Jean-Baptiste Belin de Fontenay (1653-1715) and Baptiste (the name used by contemporaries for the flower-painter Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (1636-1699)) as well as an unidentified fourth painter (ibid. Standen, p. 114). Vernansal's signature on various models implies that he was the main designer of the series while the exact dating of the first woven set is difficult to ascertain with certainty. It is probable that it was after Behagle took over the directorship in 1684 but before Monnoyer left for England in 1690. A further undated memorandum by Behagle states that the first set, woven with gold-thread (rarely used by Beauvais) was 'vendu par M. d'Isrodeà Monseigneur le duc du Maine (Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, 1670-1736) for 20,000 livres. M. d'Isrode, who later had two further sets made for 14,000 and 10,000 livres, presumably acted as an intermediary, and at least one of further set was made for the Comte de Toulouse (Louis Alexandre de Bourbon 1678-1737) for 10,565 livres; each of these three sets were likely either smaller, lacked the gold thread, or both due to their diminished pricing (ibid. Standen, p. 114).
More sets were created over the years, and can be further explored by their telltale borders, often created specifically for the client and incorporating particular armorials or devices relevant to the commission. Unfortunately the present lot has lost its border at some point, perhaps due to damage, preference or size restrictions which occurred somewhere down the line. Records indicate that the present lot may once have had a wide chinoiserie border with niches filled by further exotic royal and military figures surrounded by exuberant florals and and swags. An example of this border can be found in a set of four pieces from the series located at the Louvre (OAR 106, SRO 107, OAR 108, and SRO 109).
The success of the series was undoubtedly due to the increased interest in China at the end of the 17th century, which was already manifested with the importation of enormous quantities of goods from the Far East to France by the Compagnie des Indes Orientales. The enthusiasm was further heightened when the Mercure Galant published a long description of the travels of father Couplet to China in 1684. The young duc du Maine, the legitimized son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, met the Jesuit Couplet (c. 1622-1693) and his Chinese convert, Michael Alphonusus Shen Fu-Tsung (c. 1657-1691), when they first returned from China and was deeply interested in his adventures. A second event that may have elicited further interest was Louis XIV's glamorous reception at Versailles for the ambassadors of Siam on 1 September 1686 who had been sent by the King of Siam Phra Narai (1632-1688). Among the participants in the reception at Versailles was again the duc du Maine, illustrated in an etching in the Almanach Royal of 1687 recording the presenting of the gifts to Louis XIV. The ambassadors of Siam are even recorded visiting the site of the Beauvais tapestry workshop in October of 1686. Today further examples of the same scene of the present lot can be found at the Louvre (OA 10446) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (48.71). In recent years, other examples of this same, grand scene have sold at Sotheby's, London, 5 July 2023, lot 9 (£215,900) and Christie's, New York, 23 October 2003, lot 776 ($455,500). Similarly, 'The Emperor Sailing' from the same series sold from the Collection of Akram Ojjeh, Christie’s, Monaco, 11-12 December 1999, lot 21 (₣5,072,500), and 'Gathering Pineapples' sold Christie’s, New York, 21 June 2012, lot 1150 ($158,500).