- 564
A Paris (Nast) biscuit porcelain bust of Catherine, Princesse de Bénévent, early 19th century
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Porcelain
- 40.5cm., 16in. high
the Princess finely modelled looking slightly to her left, her hair elaborately coiffed in Psyche knots tied with plaits and a band of flowers, with flowing robes draped a la grec around her shoulders, supported on a separate glazed socle base, the reverse of the bust incised NAST,
Literature
Emmanuel de Waresquiel, Talleyrand, Dernières nouvelles du Diable, Paris, 2011, col. pl. 1.
Related Literature
François Gérard, 'Portraiture, Scandal, and the Art of Power in Napoleonic France', The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New York, Summer 2013.
Related Literature
François Gérard, 'Portraiture, Scandal, and the Art of Power in Napoleonic France', The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New York, Summer 2013.
Condition
There is very minor losses to the flower wreath in her hair, and very minor chips to extremities. The glazed socle foot and base is probably associated.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
"Three Exquisite forms of sweetness - her skin, her breath and her character", were the words used to describe the Princess by Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838), Prince de Bénévent, the first Prime Minister of France and lover and eventual husband of the Catherine.
An exceptional figure who lived through the most tumultuous period of French history Catherine was born to French parents of modest means in the Danish colony of Tranquebar in India in 1761. At fifteen she married her first husband George Francis Grand, a senior civil servant in the East India Company and after a scandalous affair she fled India - and her husband - in 1780 on ship bound to Europe. She lived in Paris during the Ancien Régime and was immortalised by Marie Antoinette's favourite painter Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun in 1783. In the following decade Charles-Maurice intervened with the Government on Catherine's behalf when she was incarcerated upon the suspicions of her having Royalist sentiments. Shortly after she officially became his mistress making her one of the most prominent women in Paris at the close of the 18th century. The pair eventually married in 1802.
Népomucène-Jean-Herman Nast (1754-1817), took over the Lemaire porcelain factory in 1783. The quality of the porcelain the Nast produced was renowned. In the 1806 National Industrial exhibition, the factory won a silver medal for a pair of busts depicting Emperor Napoléon and Empress Joséphine. The factory enjoyed commissions including the American consul in Paris and King Ferdinand VII of Spain and continued under the direction of Nast's sons until 1835.
The particularly fine quality of the present bust can be compared with a pair of Nast busts of the Emperor and his second Empress Marie-Louise, after models by François Joseph Bosio, sold at Osenat, Fontainebleau, 25th June 2006.
An exceptional figure who lived through the most tumultuous period of French history Catherine was born to French parents of modest means in the Danish colony of Tranquebar in India in 1761. At fifteen she married her first husband George Francis Grand, a senior civil servant in the East India Company and after a scandalous affair she fled India - and her husband - in 1780 on ship bound to Europe. She lived in Paris during the Ancien Régime and was immortalised by Marie Antoinette's favourite painter Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun in 1783. In the following decade Charles-Maurice intervened with the Government on Catherine's behalf when she was incarcerated upon the suspicions of her having Royalist sentiments. Shortly after she officially became his mistress making her one of the most prominent women in Paris at the close of the 18th century. The pair eventually married in 1802.
Népomucène-Jean-Herman Nast (1754-1817), took over the Lemaire porcelain factory in 1783. The quality of the porcelain the Nast produced was renowned. In the 1806 National Industrial exhibition, the factory won a silver medal for a pair of busts depicting Emperor Napoléon and Empress Joséphine. The factory enjoyed commissions including the American consul in Paris and King Ferdinand VII of Spain and continued under the direction of Nast's sons until 1835.
The particularly fine quality of the present bust can be compared with a pair of Nast busts of the Emperor and his second Empress Marie-Louise, after models by François Joseph Bosio, sold at Osenat, Fontainebleau, 25th June 2006.