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拍品专文
Though the Palace of Versailles is synonymous with the reign of Louis XIV, it was only after his death that his vision for the palace was fully realized. It fell to his grandson Louis XV, who came to the throne in 1715 at the age of five, to complete the task by patronizing the production of furniture, art, and of course carpets. While the carpets of Louis XIV had drawn on allegory and classical symbolism, those of Louis XV were dominated by floral motifs, acanthus leaves, and moulded elements, lending them a more comfortable and domestic feel (Sarah B. Sherrill, Carpets and Rugs of Europe and America, New York, 1995). The reign of Louis XV also saw many important aristocrats decorating their homes with Savonnerie carpets, and the factory expanded to meet the increased demand. Nonetheless, a carpet of the size and quality of the present lot can only have been a royal commission, intended to decorate the interior of one of Louis XV’s residences.
This particular design is known from a small number of surviving examples, and has been attributed to the designer Pierre-Josse Perrot (1678-1750). Active from 1715 to 1750, his designs are frequently composed of a central ‘rose moresque’ motif within a molded cartouche, as well as shells and the ‘bat’s wings’ which can be seen in all four corners of the square inner panel. As well as other carpets, he is also known to have collaborated in designing the dais cover for the throne of Louis XV in 1727 and a large screen with panels depicting stories from Aesop’s fables (Pierre Verlet, The Savonnerie: its history, the Waddesdon Collection, London, 1982, p.112). Perrot is known to have meticulously drawn out his designs in advance of the carpets being woven and, in one surviving cartoon, he divides the design in half and experiments with a different colour scheme on each side.
A notable feature of the present carpet, which sets it apart from other examples, is the presence of the fleur-de-lys motifs in each corner. Used in French royal heraldry since the 12th century, they unambiguously indicate that this carpet was woven as a royal commission. Their close association with féodalité however, meant that those carpets woven with this symbol, were often deliberately mutilated during the French Revolution, and the royalist symbol cut out. That this carpet came through that period of turbulence unscathed makes it an unusual survivor, and one of few which retain this original design.
The first carpet woven with this design was delivered on 29 November 1736, to be installed in the salle a manger des terrasses on the top floor at Versailles. Six more examples were woven, including one intended for Chateau de Choisy in 1740. The final known example was installed in the Salon de la Comédie, also at Choisy, in 1762 (Madeleine Jarry, The Carpets of the manufacture de la Savonnerie, Brighton, 1966, fig.39, p.34).
It would seem that the Rothschild family were particularly drawn to this design. A square format example, published in Verlet’s book, is accompanied by an essay written by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild on the design (Pierre Verlet, op. cit., p.259, cat.no.6). In it, Baron de Rothschild writes that he knew of ‘four or five’ examples of rectangular format in existence. One of these was housed in the Rothschild residence of Villa Ephrussi in Cap Ferrat. A second was in the Swedish royal collection, having been presented to Gustavus III by Louis XVI in 1784. A third and fourth he mentioned being in private collections in Paris and Neuilly-sur-Seine. Finally, he mentions the sale of an example on the Paris art market in 1954, which may be one of the last two or a fifth, and otherwise unknown example. Since then, two further examples have been sold by Christie’s, the first in Monaco as part of The Karl Lagerfeld Collection, 28-29 April 2000, lot 288, and the second in Paris, 16 December 2008, lot 9. Of these two, only the latter retains its original fleur-de-lys corner motifs.
This particular design is known from a small number of surviving examples, and has been attributed to the designer Pierre-Josse Perrot (1678-1750). Active from 1715 to 1750, his designs are frequently composed of a central ‘rose moresque’ motif within a molded cartouche, as well as shells and the ‘bat’s wings’ which can be seen in all four corners of the square inner panel. As well as other carpets, he is also known to have collaborated in designing the dais cover for the throne of Louis XV in 1727 and a large screen with panels depicting stories from Aesop’s fables (Pierre Verlet, The Savonnerie: its history, the Waddesdon Collection, London, 1982, p.112). Perrot is known to have meticulously drawn out his designs in advance of the carpets being woven and, in one surviving cartoon, he divides the design in half and experiments with a different colour scheme on each side.
A notable feature of the present carpet, which sets it apart from other examples, is the presence of the fleur-de-lys motifs in each corner. Used in French royal heraldry since the 12th century, they unambiguously indicate that this carpet was woven as a royal commission. Their close association with féodalité however, meant that those carpets woven with this symbol, were often deliberately mutilated during the French Revolution, and the royalist symbol cut out. That this carpet came through that period of turbulence unscathed makes it an unusual survivor, and one of few which retain this original design.
The first carpet woven with this design was delivered on 29 November 1736, to be installed in the salle a manger des terrasses on the top floor at Versailles. Six more examples were woven, including one intended for Chateau de Choisy in 1740. The final known example was installed in the Salon de la Comédie, also at Choisy, in 1762 (Madeleine Jarry, The Carpets of the manufacture de la Savonnerie, Brighton, 1966, fig.39, p.34).
It would seem that the Rothschild family were particularly drawn to this design. A square format example, published in Verlet’s book, is accompanied by an essay written by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild on the design (Pierre Verlet, op. cit., p.259, cat.no.6). In it, Baron de Rothschild writes that he knew of ‘four or five’ examples of rectangular format in existence. One of these was housed in the Rothschild residence of Villa Ephrussi in Cap Ferrat. A second was in the Swedish royal collection, having been presented to Gustavus III by Louis XVI in 1784. A third and fourth he mentioned being in private collections in Paris and Neuilly-sur-Seine. Finally, he mentions the sale of an example on the Paris art market in 1954, which may be one of the last two or a fifth, and otherwise unknown example. Since then, two further examples have been sold by Christie’s, the first in Monaco as part of The Karl Lagerfeld Collection, 28-29 April 2000, lot 288, and the second in Paris, 16 December 2008, lot 9. Of these two, only the latter retains its original fleur-de-lys corner motifs.