A suite of four silk, wool and metallic thread Gobelins tapestries from the series 'Les Douze Mois Grotesques', France,

after designs by Claude Audran III, Antoine Watteau and Alexandre-François Desportes

January: Very minor scattered visible stitching at color changes. Very few scattered pulled metallic threads. Some tarnishing to metallic areas. Wool-and-silk sides and ends with very minor pinholes and scattered spot stains. Edges folded under and sewn. May: Some very minor scattered slits and minor visible sewing at color changes. Very few scattered pulled threads. Some tarnishing to metallic areas. Wool-and-silk sides and ends with scattered spot stains. Edges fraying. Lower silk and wool end detached from field woven with metallic-thread in most areas - recommend securing. August: Very minot scattered visible stitching at color changes. Some tarnishing to metallic areas. Wool-and-silk sides and ends with scattered spot stains. Edges folded under and sewn. September: Some very minor scattered sewing at color changes. Some tarnishing to metallic areas. Wool-and-silk sides and ends with scattered spot stains. Edges fraying.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

As the seventeenth century drew to a close, the solemn taste of Louis XIV's Grand Siècle began to give way to a fresher, lighter and more invigorated style. This was partly due to the work of draftsmen such as Jean Bérain the Elder and Claude Audran III, both of whom worked as designers at the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi, where they were in charge of court spectacles and functions. Audran, whose oeuvre can be characterized by the principles of the Poussinistes, also designed furnishings for the Crown, including tapestries for the workshops at Gobelins. As a Poussiniste, Audran considered drawing superior to color, believing that while the former appealed to the mind, the latter only stimulated the senses, and as such he was one of the leading proponents of the revival of the grotesque as an art form. Among his most important and influential works was a set of designs depicting the twelve months of the year, entitled 'Les Douze Mois Grotesques,' on which he worked with his pupils Antoine Watteau and Alexandre-François Desportes. The first series of these twelve tapestries, each 340 cm long and 60cm wide, were woven between 1709 and 1710 at Gobelins in the ateliers of Etienne Claude Le Blond and Dominique de la Croix. The pieces were then purchased by the Grand Dauphin for his apartments in the château de Meudon, newly constructed by Jules-Hardouin Mansart and Robert de Cotte, see Heinrich Göbel, Die Wandteppiche, Teil II, Band I, Leipzig, 1928, pg. 156. The idea of depicting the months and seasons in tapestries was a continuation of a long-standing tradition of portraying times of the year with allegorical devices and personalities. The use of royal residences to symbolize the months in tapestries woven at Gobelins exemplifies the vast popularity of the subject, see E. Gerspach, Répertoire Détaillé des Tapisseries des Gobelins Exécutées de 1662 à 1892, Paris, 1893, pg. 81. Unlike earlier works that most often depict the months in a solemn allegorical manner, Audran's 'Les Douze Mois Grotesques' treat the theme in a cheerful way. The occasional humorous singerie scenes, the gracefully drawn gods and goddesses together with the musical devices and abundant use of flowers in brilliant colors framed by architectural elements, cartouches and willowy vegetation create a sensibility that is typical to the early Rococo. The compositions are capricious and lighthearted, yet quietly restrained and peaceful. The pieces were so popular that they were rewoven in slightly different sizes during the reigns of Philippe d'Orléans and Louis XV. The four tapestries included in the lot offered here were also part of a later series from the nineteenth century, when historical styles, such as the Regence and the Rococo, enjoyed renewed popularity. In the nineteenth century a set of engravings of Audran's designs was discovered by Alexandre Braquenié, who founded his company in 1858 after purchasing a Parisian fabric store known for its outstanding inventory of carpets and textiles. Audran's twelve pieces were among the widely popular historical tapestries reproduced by the Braquenié firm. Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century the Braquenié firm sold mostly wall hangings and panels to the financial and social elite throughout Europe. Alexandre Braquenié's loyal clients included Empress Eugénie and Napoleon III, the Duke Pozzo di Borgo, the Marquess de la Païva, members of the Rothschild family, as well as the courts of Spain, Italy and Russia and even Sultan Said, the pasha of Egypt. The company also exhibited at the Exposition Universelle, where 'Les Douze Mois Grotesques' was among the displayed object representing French craftsmanship and the best the Braquenié firm had to offer its demanding clientele. The lot offered here includes the following four months: January - Aquarius, Juno hovering over a cloud; May - Gemini, Apollo with bow and quiver; August - Virgo, Ceres holding a torch; September - Libra, Vulcan seated on an anvil. Even though Braquenié's weavers followed Audran's designs very closely, there are some differences between the current lot and the eighteenth-century originals. The most important change is the incorporation of metal thread that makes this lot particularly luxurious and the omission of the border made up of leaves that frames Audran's compositions, see M. Fenaille, État Général des Tapisseries de la Manufacture des Gobelins depuis son Origine jusqu'à nos Jours 1600-1900, vol. III, Paris, 1904, pp. 73-80. In spite of the abovementioned differences, these panels closely follow their eighteenth-century models in the finesse of the drawing and the extremely fine quality of the weave. Due to their excellent execution, the use of luxurious materials and the artful interpretation of the design, these four pieces do not only attest to the audiences' love for lavish revival styles in the late 1800s but also to the excellence of French craftsmanship in both the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. For further information on the nineteenth-century series of 'Les Douze Mois Grotesques,' please see Pascal-François Bertrand et. al., Divinità, Scimmie e Segni Zodicali, Milano, 2007. A complete set of 'Les Douze Mois Grotesques' from circa 1726 was sold Sotheby's New York, The Patiño Collection, November 1, 1986, lot 141. A set of twelve cartoons and an architectural drawing depicting 'Les Douze Mois Grotesques' prepared by the Braquenié firm were offered Sotheby's Paris, Braquenié - Une Histoire du Décor Français, October 27, 2005 lots 258 and 259.