A pair of Louis XVI gilt-bronze and verde antico marble ewers, circa 1790-1800

Acquired in Paris by George Byng M.P. (d. 1847), for Wrotham Park, Hertfordshire, in 1823 ;

Thence by descent to Julian Byng, Christie's, London, 10 June 1993, lot 103 ;

Christie's, London, 9 December 2004, lot 219 ;

Christie's, New York, 21 June 2012, lot 125

G and R. Wannenes, Les bronzes ornementaux et les objets montés, Milan, 2004

This magnificent pair of ewers is modelled on the bronze examples attributed to Michel Anguier and held, amongst others, at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown.

Examples of this ewer are known to have been held in the collection of the financier Augustin Blondel de Gagny, renowned for his taste for Louis XIV furniture, and were described in his 1776 auction under lot 495 as « Deux buires, par Michel Anguier elles sont composées richement et très bien exécutées : hauteur chacune de 14 po. 394 livres à Légère » ( ‘Two ewers, by Michel Anguier; they are richly crafted and very well executed: each 14 in. high. 394 livres by Légère’)

They were purchased by Madame Légère, who resold them on 15 December 1784 as lot 13 « Deux buyres, couvertes, à anse formée par une lionne debout, les deux pattes appuyées sur une console, le bec à tête de cheval ailé, le corps à mosaïques, mascarons et bustes de relief, culot à godron et piedouche cannelé, sur socle de bois doré : hauteur 14po (37,9cm.) » (‘Two ewers, lidded, with a handle in the form of a standing lioness, both paws resting on a base, the spout in the shape of a winged horse’s head, the body featuring mosaics, mascarons and busts in relief, a gadrooned base and fluted foot, on a gilded wooden plinth: height 14 po (37.9 cm).’)

This highly distinctive shape is found in numerous vases and ewers from the reign of Louis XIV, notably those attributed to Nicolas Delaunay or in drawings by associated artists, such as those attributed to his half-brother Jacques de Meaux, from the Tessin Collection in Stockholm and reproduced in the catalogue of the exhibition Versailles à Stockholm, Paris, 1985, pp. 196–198. The unusual shape of the handle, modelled as a rearing panther, first appears in Enea Vico’s studies of ancient vases published in Italy in 1533, now held at the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Inv. 2012.136.400.3)

A very similar vase with a handle, signed by the silversmith Nicolas Delaunay and dated 1697, is held at the Poitiers Cathedral Museum, France; see Les Trésors des Églises de France, exhibition catalogue, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1965, p. 187, no. 347.

George Byng and Wrotham Park

Wrotham Park is a prominent Neo-Palladian mansion in Hertfordshire, designed by Isaac Ware in 1754 at the request of Admiral John Byng.

These vases were acquired in Paris in 1823 by George Byng (d. 1847) for the state apartments at Wrotham Park, which he wished to extend. They are mentioned in the ‘List of furniture, porcelain, paintings, etc., acquired by George Byng, Esq., for Wrotham Park between 1816 and 1843’ (« Liste des meubles, porcelaines, tableaux, etc., acquis par George Byng, Esq., pour Wrotham Park entre 1816 et 1843 »), where they are described as follows: 'A pair of superb gilt-bronze ewers in the antique style, on green marble plinths and beneath glass globes – £44 2s’ (« Une paire de superbes aiguières en bronze doré d'inspiration antique, sur socles en marbre vert et sous globes en verre – 44 £ 2 s »). The pair remained in the possession of the Byng family until they were sold by Julian Byng in 1993.