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拍品专文
Jacob Frères: the brothers Georges II (1768-1803) and François-Honoré Jacob (1770-1841), sons of Georges Jacob, worked together from 1796-1803.
Juxtaposing its base’s restrained lines executed in mahogany and brilliant ormolu with the organically-formed pattern in monochrome tones of the top, this table is a truly original creation of a particularly inventive ébéniste of the Consulat period; most likely a member of the well-known Jacob dynasty. Conceived à l'antique, the design of this lot was most likely influenced by the early iterations of Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine's iconic works first circulated in 1801 and collectively published under the title Recueil De Décorations Intérieures in 1812. The table was conceived in the purest form of Neoclassical style, where the materials themselves, as opposed to the applied decoration, provides the most harmonious effect. Due to the dissolution of the guild system and the loss of their wealthy aristocratic patrons, the number of furniture-makers in 1790s Paris plummeted and only the most well-known and prolific ateliers managed to stay in business and to create such extraordinary pieces. One such workshop was that of Jacob Frères, who produced some of their most iconic pieces during these tumultuous times. In fact, many of Jacob Frères’ creations dating to the turn of the nineteenth century can be characterized by a close following of antique models, and the use of luxurious materials that were to satisfy the demands of the new French elite. The innovative design, use of costly materials and the quality of construction all suggest the Jacob workshop as a place of production.
Conceived circa 1800, this table is an amalgam of the most severe version of Neoclassicism consistent with the strict republican values of the Consulat, and certain pre-revolutionary fashions. With the deep top section raised on six slender ormolu legs terminating in voluted acanthus-cast paw-form feet, the overall shape of this table recalls ancient lavabos or braziers and is clearly inspired by antiquity. The inclusion of the highly unusual granit obiculaire top is a further reference to ancient Rome and its enduring values. Interestingly, this visually arresting stone was only found in Corsica, the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the use of this stone could be viewed as paying homage to the Premier Consul. In fact, due to its Corsican origin, the stone used here is sometimes referred to as granit napoléonite. The Emperor himself must have been keen on this special stone from his birthplace, as a pair of vases ‘fuseau’ with bodies of granit obiculaire was delivered to Napoleon for his bedchamber at Malmaison.
At the same time, the combination of mahogany with rich ormolu mounts is a design feature salvaged from the last decade of the Ancien Régime. In a way, the addition of an exotic stone is also a remnant from pre-revolutionary times, when such materials were collected and used in furnishings made for the wealthiest patrons. Similarly, besides being considered natural wonders, they were intended to evoke the grandness and eternity of Rome, even if not at all its republican-era values. A Consulat guéridon of similar hexagonal form and inset with granit obiculaire top, but using more modest materials such as iron and citronnier, is preserved in the collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (inv. 3741). A further guéridon, also attributed to Jacob Frères, and with closely related slender columnar uprights and scrolling feet in ormolu, is in the Mobilier National (both illustrated here).
THE PROVENANCE
This exceptional guéridon hails from one of the most important art collections of the nineteenth century; that of James-Alexandre de Pourtalès, comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier (1776-1855). A true art aficionado and collecteur of fine and decorative arts, de Pourtalès-Gorgier was immensely proud of his collection, which is evident in his portrait by Paul Delaroche, where the painter immortalizes the sitter among marbles and bronzes in his possession. Born into a wealthy Swiss Huguenot family of financiers ennobled by the King of Prussia, James-Alexandre de Pourtalès added Gorgier to his name after purchasing the eponymous seigneury in 1813. The following years Frederick Willem III of Prussia awarded him the noble title of count for his loyalty and services to the Crown as chamberlain. Pourtalès moved to Paris in 1815 and set up his home on the Place Vendôme. As his wealth grew and art collection expanded, in the late 1830s he decided to have his own hôtel particulier built on the rue Tronchet in the 6th arrondissement according to the plans of Félix Duban. In addition to his Parisian townhouse, he also owned Château de Bandeville in Saint-Cyr-sous-Dourdan and the Château de Luins in the Swiss canton of Vaud. The majority of his art collection, which contained works by the most emblematic artists such as Botticelli, Bronzino, Rembrandt, Hals, Ingres, as well as antiquities and an assortment of decorative arts of the highest quality, was installed in his home in the French capital. This collection was well known and was regarded as one of the finest in France. So much so, that an image of the picture gallery of his hôtel was included in chapter LVI entitled Les habitations modernes of Edmond Texier’s Tableau de Paris, published two years before Pourtalès’ death, see E. Texier, Tableau de Paris, Vol. II, Paris, 1853, p. 201. Furthermore, the collection was published by Léon Jean Joseph Dubois, an archaeologist and curator at the Musée du Louvre, in 1842, where this table is listed as item 381 as Granit obiculaire de Corse - Guéridon à six pans, monté sur autant de pieds en bronze doré.
It is uncertain when this table entered the count’s collection but it is clearly visible in Texier’s 1853 engraving, placed prominently in the middle of the palatial gallery, next to a similar guéridon that appears to date from the same period. In 1855 the table, along with the rest of the art collection, was bequeathed to Pourtalès’ son, Edmond (1828-1895). Ten years after inheriting the vast collection, Edmond sold it in a multi-day auction held at the family’s townhouse starting on 6 February 1865. The table was listed as lot 1443 described exactly as it had been by Dubois, see above. Interestingly, we know that the collection contained many similar small tables with exotic stone tops, such as porphyry, specimen marbles, green granite, and vert de Corse, among others. Although only implied by the large number of comparable guéridons it is most probable that James-Alexandre de Pourtalès-Gorgier had a special interest in hardstone-mounted furnishings and actively collected them. At the 1865 auction this table was sold for 570 francs to a buyer named Gruau.
Juxtaposing its base’s restrained lines executed in mahogany and brilliant ormolu with the organically-formed pattern in monochrome tones of the top, this table is a truly original creation of a particularly inventive ébéniste of the Consulat period; most likely a member of the well-known Jacob dynasty. Conceived à l'antique, the design of this lot was most likely influenced by the early iterations of Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine's iconic works first circulated in 1801 and collectively published under the title Recueil De Décorations Intérieures in 1812. The table was conceived in the purest form of Neoclassical style, where the materials themselves, as opposed to the applied decoration, provides the most harmonious effect. Due to the dissolution of the guild system and the loss of their wealthy aristocratic patrons, the number of furniture-makers in 1790s Paris plummeted and only the most well-known and prolific ateliers managed to stay in business and to create such extraordinary pieces. One such workshop was that of Jacob Frères, who produced some of their most iconic pieces during these tumultuous times. In fact, many of Jacob Frères’ creations dating to the turn of the nineteenth century can be characterized by a close following of antique models, and the use of luxurious materials that were to satisfy the demands of the new French elite. The innovative design, use of costly materials and the quality of construction all suggest the Jacob workshop as a place of production.
Conceived circa 1800, this table is an amalgam of the most severe version of Neoclassicism consistent with the strict republican values of the Consulat, and certain pre-revolutionary fashions. With the deep top section raised on six slender ormolu legs terminating in voluted acanthus-cast paw-form feet, the overall shape of this table recalls ancient lavabos or braziers and is clearly inspired by antiquity. The inclusion of the highly unusual granit obiculaire top is a further reference to ancient Rome and its enduring values. Interestingly, this visually arresting stone was only found in Corsica, the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the use of this stone could be viewed as paying homage to the Premier Consul. In fact, due to its Corsican origin, the stone used here is sometimes referred to as granit napoléonite. The Emperor himself must have been keen on this special stone from his birthplace, as a pair of vases ‘fuseau’ with bodies of granit obiculaire was delivered to Napoleon for his bedchamber at Malmaison.
At the same time, the combination of mahogany with rich ormolu mounts is a design feature salvaged from the last decade of the Ancien Régime. In a way, the addition of an exotic stone is also a remnant from pre-revolutionary times, when such materials were collected and used in furnishings made for the wealthiest patrons. Similarly, besides being considered natural wonders, they were intended to evoke the grandness and eternity of Rome, even if not at all its republican-era values. A Consulat guéridon of similar hexagonal form and inset with granit obiculaire top, but using more modest materials such as iron and citronnier, is preserved in the collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (inv. 3741). A further guéridon, also attributed to Jacob Frères, and with closely related slender columnar uprights and scrolling feet in ormolu, is in the Mobilier National (both illustrated here).
THE PROVENANCE
This exceptional guéridon hails from one of the most important art collections of the nineteenth century; that of James-Alexandre de Pourtalès, comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier (1776-1855). A true art aficionado and collecteur of fine and decorative arts, de Pourtalès-Gorgier was immensely proud of his collection, which is evident in his portrait by Paul Delaroche, where the painter immortalizes the sitter among marbles and bronzes in his possession. Born into a wealthy Swiss Huguenot family of financiers ennobled by the King of Prussia, James-Alexandre de Pourtalès added Gorgier to his name after purchasing the eponymous seigneury in 1813. The following years Frederick Willem III of Prussia awarded him the noble title of count for his loyalty and services to the Crown as chamberlain. Pourtalès moved to Paris in 1815 and set up his home on the Place Vendôme. As his wealth grew and art collection expanded, in the late 1830s he decided to have his own hôtel particulier built on the rue Tronchet in the 6th arrondissement according to the plans of Félix Duban. In addition to his Parisian townhouse, he also owned Château de Bandeville in Saint-Cyr-sous-Dourdan and the Château de Luins in the Swiss canton of Vaud. The majority of his art collection, which contained works by the most emblematic artists such as Botticelli, Bronzino, Rembrandt, Hals, Ingres, as well as antiquities and an assortment of decorative arts of the highest quality, was installed in his home in the French capital. This collection was well known and was regarded as one of the finest in France. So much so, that an image of the picture gallery of his hôtel was included in chapter LVI entitled Les habitations modernes of Edmond Texier’s Tableau de Paris, published two years before Pourtalès’ death, see E. Texier, Tableau de Paris, Vol. II, Paris, 1853, p. 201. Furthermore, the collection was published by Léon Jean Joseph Dubois, an archaeologist and curator at the Musée du Louvre, in 1842, where this table is listed as item 381 as Granit obiculaire de Corse - Guéridon à six pans, monté sur autant de pieds en bronze doré.
It is uncertain when this table entered the count’s collection but it is clearly visible in Texier’s 1853 engraving, placed prominently in the middle of the palatial gallery, next to a similar guéridon that appears to date from the same period. In 1855 the table, along with the rest of the art collection, was bequeathed to Pourtalès’ son, Edmond (1828-1895). Ten years after inheriting the vast collection, Edmond sold it in a multi-day auction held at the family’s townhouse starting on 6 February 1865. The table was listed as lot 1443 described exactly as it had been by Dubois, see above. Interestingly, we know that the collection contained many similar small tables with exotic stone tops, such as porphyry, specimen marbles, green granite, and vert de Corse, among others. Although only implied by the large number of comparable guéridons it is most probable that James-Alexandre de Pourtalès-Gorgier had a special interest in hardstone-mounted furnishings and actively collected them. At the 1865 auction this table was sold for 570 francs to a buyer named Gruau.