A pair of two-tone gilt-and silvered-bronze hardstone centrepieces created under the direction of Aimé Chenevard (1794-1838) and executed by Jean-Jacques Feuchère (1807-1852), Jean-August Barre (1811-1896), and Pierre-Jules Cavelier(1814-1894); and others, monture, casting and ciselure by Guillaume Denière Louis Philippe, circa 1839

each coupe in the form of a tazza supported by an ionic capital on a waisted stem inlaid with panels of green foil backed chalcedony and mounted with masks, cabouchon and faceted semi-precious 'jewels' including cornelion garnet and amethyst, the tri-form base of each raised on a circular 'damascened' worked plinth applied with the d'Orléans cypher below the Royal French crown; one coupe surmounted with an owl above a display of dead game in the form of an arrangement of birds, the lower tier with further birds, three of which are portrayed alive, the triform base applied with pendants of fruit between three free standing figures of Native Americans, the circular plinth punctuated by grape and vine leaf motifs; the other coupe surmounted by a pelican above a display of fish and crustaceans finished in three colours of gilding, the lower tier with further fish and three feeding birds portrayed alive, the triform base applied with pendants of shells between three free standing figures of Inuits, the circular plinth punctuated by shell motifs

Supplied to Ferdinand-Philippe duc d'Orléans 1839 for the Pavillon de Marsan, Tuileries (see Figs. 1 & 2)
Duchesse d'Orléans (see Fig. 3); sold at auction 19th January 1853, Paris;
Private Collection England

Le Mécénat du duc d'Orléans 1830-1842, published 1993 Délégation à l'action artistique de la Ville de Paris, Ed Robert Hervé.
Le destin d'une grande collection princière au XIX^ieme siècle, Gazette des Beaux Arts, juillet-août 1991, No 176, Robert Hervé.

Most impressive and in overall very good condition and they can be placed immediately. Colour of gilding less yellow, slightly darker and more attractive than in the catalogue photograph. There is more of a contrast of colours than appears, with pink gilding and silvering. Quality of casting and gilding is exceptional. Green backed chalcedony is slightly darker and more attractive. On both, two small holes drilled in the eagle and pelican centre finials on their reverse, but these are well hidden. Fish centrepiece: Resoldering of both legs of flamingo on second tier and also to one of the legs on the crane. Some very minor traces of verdi gris and surface dirt, but this is hardly noticeable. The paddle has a casting flaw and some very minor pitting. There is some minor degradation of foil behind the chalcedony, especially to the section underneath the bowl. It is possible that a couple of the garnets may have been replaced and some evidence of very minor regluing to pear-shaped chalcedony drops. Some very minor rubbing to the gilt-bronze in places but this is hardly noticeable. There are some very minor cracks in the chalcedony in the baluster section of the stem and very minor chips and areas of infill which is not too noticeable. There is a slight gap where the panels of chalcedony meet the gilt-bronze band on the stem cast with heads. Game centrepiece: There is a slight gap where the panels of chalcedony meet the gilt-bronze band on the stem cast with heads and some very minor cracks and some minor degradation of foil behind the chalcedony, especially to the section underneath the bowl just below the scrolled capital. The gilding is worn on the beading revealing a silver colour beneath and the scrolled bosses beneath enclosing garnets are pink rather than gold in colour. The heron shows evidence of a very minor tip of tail feathers missing, but this is hardly visible to the naked eye. On the base the colour of the foil beneath the chalcedony has faded, giving a slight blue and white tinge, rather than green which is also evident in some panels on the underside of the tazza section.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A LOST SURTOUT DE TABLE

Isabelle Leroy-Jay Lemaistre draws attention to a now lost surtout de table commissioned by Ferdinand-Philippe duc d'Orléans in 1834 and delivered on 20th April 1839, in an article entitled Des sculpteurs et des bronziers, which is included in Le Mécénat du duc d'Orléans 1830-1842, published in 1993 by Délégation à l'action artistique de la Ville de Paris, and edited by Robert Hervé.  It is certain that this pair of coupes comprised part of that impressive surtout de table. This is confirmed by their closeness to an original drawing by Aimé Chenevard, the date of their eventual sale in Paris being scratched on the base, the royal cipher for Ferdinand-Philippe and a description in the accounts of the duc d'Orléans, which matches them precisely. The story of these remarkable centrepieces is worth exploring in further detail.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Ferdinand-Philippe duc D'Orléans, the eldest son of Louis-Philippe was born in Palermo in 1810. He grew up in a world released from the pressures of the ancien regime, emerging from a protracted period of war under Napoleon and yet invigorated by the brilliance of his military genius. By 1832 work had begun on the reordering and decoration of apartments in the Pavillon de Marsan in the Tuileries for him and his brother the duc de Nemours, under the direction of the architect Pierre-Léonard Fontaine. Fontaine best known for his collaboration with Percier had carried out work for Louis-Philippe at Neuilly and at Eu. The apartments were on the ground floor and had previously been occupied by the Duchesse de Berry, also a distinguished patron of the arts. Work on furnishing and reorganising them extended over several years and by the time he married princess Hélène de Mecklembourg-Schwerin on 30^th May 1837, he had engaged the rather more forward looking architect Charles-Auguste Questel (1807-1888).

The Duke was determined to encourage younger artists, whose tastes had moved on from the classical influence of Percier and Fontaine. He favoured the emerging eclectic taste of the period and in particular the revival of the renaissance and medieval styles, which brought with it intricate detail and colour. He commissioned paintings from contemporary artists such as Delacroix and d'Ary Scheffer and ordered furniture from leading ébènistes such as Grohé and Bellangé. With an income in excess of a million francs, he could afford to employ the best craftsmen. It was for the Dining Room, which looked onto the rue de Rivoli on one side and the gardens on the other that the Grand surtout de table was ordered in 1834. When not in use the grander pieces stood on a boulle marquetry cabinet by Bellangé, which was delivered in 1839 and exhibited at the exposition des Produits d'industrie in the same year; the remainder was stored within it.

THE COMMISSION

For designs the Duke turned to Aimé Chenevard. The comptes du duc d'Orléans preserved in the archives nationales in Paris indicate that payments of 114,000 francs were made to Chenevard over five years and a further 30,000 was paid for ses honoraires on completion; this was out of a total cost of 433,925. (300 AP (I) 2394). Two drawings survive in the collection of the musée des arts decoratifs which relate to the surtout. One is a rather free pen and wash sketch for one of the central "temples", the another relates closely to the present lot. (reproduced here in fig. 4) It is a pen and ink drawing catalogued as coupe pour le surtout du duc d'Orléans. It is certainly a preparatory sketch as it does not match exactly the description of any of the pieces that comprised the surtout, however the basket filled with fish and the base are identical to the present lot.

Although the designs for the surtout were carried out by Chenevard a number of distinguished artists and bronziers were responsible for its manufacture. The best known and most distinguished of them being Antoine-Louis Barye. Klagmann, Lami, Pradier, Barre, Denière and Feuchère were also engaged on the work as well as numerous others. As an ensemble it must have been truly impressive. It comprised two temples ronds, one temple carrés, four socles, four coupes elevées, two coupes plus basses formants bouts de table and fourteen candelabra. The large "temple" centrepieces were surmounted by bronzes depicting exotic hunting scenes by Barye. The coupes and the candelabra were arranged around these impressive centrepieces . From a detailed description of the surtout, which survives with the accounts (300 AP (I) 2394) we can be sure that these two pieces are two of the four larger coupes; the other two being decorated with fruit and vegetables respectively. "À droite et à gauche du temple du milieu sont deux coupes montiés, l'une chargé de gibier morte, et au sommet un oiseau de proie que le contemple, le gibier à étè executé par M.Pascal, le base est ornée de 3 figures de chasseur de M. Barre fils. L'autre coupe consacré à pêche est chargée de poissons de toute epèce et oiseaux pecheurs cherchant leur proie. Les poissons et les oiseaux pecheurs sont de M.Cavelier, le base est décoré de 3 figure de pêcheur de nord par M.Feuchère. Les ornements de coupes sont de M. Combettes. » The accounts record that Feuchère was paid 7,300 francs, Combettes 5,485 francs, Cavelier 1897 francs and Barre 1,000 francs. Denière the bronzier was paid a total of 30,000 but this would have included work on other elements of the surtout, he is also likely to have been responsible for the very high quality gilding in a variety of different tones.

The accounts distinguish between different elements of the surtout and although we cannot determine exactly how much each coupe cost the total for the four larger coupes was 58,911 francs, more than 10% of the total, suggesting that they must have been among the more impressive pieces of the ensemble.

THE SALE OF 1853

The sale and subsequent history of this remarkable piece is worth noting. After the Duc's early death in 1842 the private apartments remained intact for the use of the Duchesse.  The whole surtout is recorded in the inventory carried out by Dentend in August 1842. (300 AP III 173) However during the 1848 revolution on 24^th February crowds broke into them. Although the collection was undamaged Prosper Mérimée organised for their safe keeping in the Louvre where they were transferred on the following day. Unfortunately they were then seized by the state and it was proposed that they should be confiscated. After a protracted legal case conducted by the distinguished notaire Frémyn they were returned to the family on 25^th October, after which some of the pictures were returned to the Duchesse in Eisenach and the objets placed in the safe keeping of the artist d'Ary Scheffer and Adolphe Asseline in a small hôtel in rue Chaptal. However, this did not secure them for the family and a decree was passed on 22^nd January 1852 that they should be handed over to the state within a year. Frémyn employed the commissaries priseurs Bonnefons de Lavialle to offer the pictures and the objects for sale. The auction took place on 18^th, 19^th and 20^th January 1853, just in time to avoid them being seized by the state. The date 19^th janvier 1853 scratched on the base of the present lot confirms that they were in that sale.

The sale itself attracted widespread attention and was attended by leading aristocracy and collectors including Prince Demidoff, the duc d'Aumale, the marquis of Hertford and the Comte Duchâtel. All the pieces can be identified in the catalogue although there is some confusion as the surtout was split up for the purposes of sale. Examination of the auctioneer's book preserved in archives de ville de Paris (D48 E³ 45 – reproduced here in fig. 5) suggests that this pair were listed as 104, une coupe aux oiseaux and 105, une coupe aux poisons, sold for 2,850 and 2,600 francs, considerably less than their original cost only ten years before. The buyers are listed as Gambard, recorded as a dealer from London and Vittoz, who was a distinguished Parisian bronzier. It seems curious that they went to different buyers, however they may have been united again soon after the sale and sold in London as they recently emerged from a private collection in England. 

We are grateful to our consultant Jonathan Meyer who identified these pieces as being part of the Duc d'Orleans surtout and for his subsequent research and note.