- 100
Louis Siries (1686-1766) Italian, Florence, circa 1750
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
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Description
- Intaglio with a Hunter or Adonis
- signed: L.S and the gold mount stamped: 750
- carnelian, in a gold ring setting
- Louis Siries (1686-1766) Italian, Florence, circa 1750
Provenance
Possibly Emperor Francis I and Empress Maria Theresa, Vienna
Condition
Overall the condition of the intaglio is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are minor nicks and scratches to the gold mount, including some minor nicks along the front edge.
"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
This ring reflects both Louis Siriès’ achievements as a gem carver and an accomplished goldsmith, talents that rewarded him with the positions of Director of the Imperial Gallery and Pieta Dura Workshop in Florence, and Orfévre du Roi to Louis XV. Contemporary treaties upon the art of glyptics, for example by Mariette, St Laurent and Giulianelli, lavished praise for Siriès’ carvings.
Siriès fame reached the Habsburg court and Empress Maria-Theresa purchased all 168 gems which appeared in his publication Catalogue des pierres gravées par Louis Siriès…, 1757. Significantly, no. 52 is described as an intaglio of a hunter on cornelian set in a ring and the oval frame illustrated plate III in that publication (the images were never engraved) matches that on this ring. The inspiration was likely to have been a gem recorded by Baron Stosch in the early 18th Century and listed in Tassie/Raspe, 1791, no. 2173, as a 'hunter'. The elegant fluidity of the ring mount is a notable feature of other Siriès gem mounts, compare to, for example, the lapis cross which formed part of Maria-Theresa’s acquisitions (Rainer, op. cit., pp. 106-7). Aside the ring offered here and an example in the Marlborough collections, dispersed in 1899, Siries’ outstanding pieces remain in institutions: amongst the Habsburg gems in the Imperial collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum and one intaglio acquired by the BnF in 1897 from the collection of Baron Jerome Pichon.
Siriès fame reached the Habsburg court and Empress Maria-Theresa purchased all 168 gems which appeared in his publication Catalogue des pierres gravées par Louis Siriès…, 1757. Significantly, no. 52 is described as an intaglio of a hunter on cornelian set in a ring and the oval frame illustrated plate III in that publication (the images were never engraved) matches that on this ring. The inspiration was likely to have been a gem recorded by Baron Stosch in the early 18th Century and listed in Tassie/Raspe, 1791, no. 2173, as a 'hunter'. The elegant fluidity of the ring mount is a notable feature of other Siriès gem mounts, compare to, for example, the lapis cross which formed part of Maria-Theresa’s acquisitions (Rainer, op. cit., pp. 106-7). Aside the ring offered here and an example in the Marlborough collections, dispersed in 1899, Siries’ outstanding pieces remain in institutions: amongst the Habsburg gems in the Imperial collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum and one intaglio acquired by the BnF in 1897 from the collection of Baron Jerome Pichon.
RELATED LITERATURE
L. Forrer, Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, London 1912, p. 535-540; P. Rainer, Splendour and Power: Imperial Treasures from Vienna, exh. cat. Wiener Kunstkammer, Vienna; Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim; Kunstmuseum of Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle; The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 2011, pp. 106-111, nos. 16-18