A Sèvres Gilt and 'Malachite'-Ground Four-Footed Fruit Bowl, 'jatte à fruits sirène', Circa 1815-20
Lot Closed
October 16, 06:39 PM GMT
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
of large size, resting of four feet formed of winged sphinxes with lion paw terminals on an integral circular base painted in imitation of malachite, painted and gilt with a band of leafy tendrils issuing grapes, with a similar g༺ilt rosette of leafy grapes to the interior, the upper outer edge of the rim affixed with four lion masks above thunderbolts and lightning, on a band of tooled gilt stiff leaf, with a similar stiff leaf band to the interior, the underside with finely tooled radiating stylized feathers and florets on diaper.
Diameter 12 3/8 in., 31.4 cm
Height 8 1/2 in., 21.6 cm
Acquired in Europe b﷽y the parents of the present owner in 1950.
The jatte à fruits sirène was one of the most complex forms introduced to the Sèvres manufactory under the direction of Alexandre Brongniart. It was also one of the most expensive components of a service. The form first went into production in 1805/06 when it was included for the service Olympique, which ultimately was presented by Emperor Napoleon to Alexander I of Russia. A watercolour design for the shape by Brongniart is illustrated in Tamara Préaud, The Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, Alexandre Brongniart and the Triumph of Art and Industry, 1800-1847, New York, 1997, p. 185, pl. 18; Préaud, Sèvres Extraordinaire! Sculpture from 1740 until Today, Bard Graduate Center, New York 2023, pp. 226-27, fig. 5.3. It later was incorporated into services in the 1820s. Two were included in the service des Petites Chasses, priced at 700 francs each, presented at the Louvre at the annual Exhibition in December 1821-January 1821 and delivered on May 16, 1822 to Milord Herbert (Arch, Sèvres, cité de la céramique, Vbb6, f° 103v). One of these was sold at Tajan Paris, December 10, 2013, lot 69, is illustrated in Camille Leprince, Napoléon Ier & Sèvres, L'art de la Porcelaine au Service de l'Empire, Paris, 2016, p. 167, and p. 221 for a line drawing of the shape. The other is at Sèvres, cité de la Céramique, inv. no. MNC25235, illustrated in Préaud, op. cit., 1997, pp. 82, 386, fig. 18a. Two were originally meant to be included in the Service des oiseaux des Amérique du Sud of 1820, but were broken in the course of being decorated (Préaud, ibid, p. 360).
"fond de malachite", a ground colour simulating malachite appears to have been rarely used at the Sèvres factory, and is perhaps best seen in the dejeuner, circa 1816, painted with cameos, gifted by King ꦐLouis XVIII to Marie-Caroline, Duchesse de Berry, now in the Chitra Collection, London.
