拍品 1001* ♣ - A211 Glamour and Sophistication: Luxury in 19th-Century Paris - Donnerstag, 28. November 2024, 10.00 AM
HALF-HEIGHT CABINET “SOCRATES AND ASPASIA” WITH CONTRE-PARTIE BOULLE MARQUETRY
Louis XIV style, Paris, ca. 1870. Stamped Befort Jeune. The bronzes are signed on the back in part with the name Befort Jeune or a monogram BJ, and numbered (Mathieu Béfort, known as Béfort Jeune, 1813–1880). Based on a model by André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732).
Ebony in veneer and brown-backed tortoiseshell with engraved brass inlays in the form of arabesques, flowers, foliage and fillets. Rectangular body with straight frame on a slightly protruding base with round feet. Stepped, slightly protruding cornice. Front with double door. The front is architecturally structured with gilt bronze decoration in the form of a seated figures of Socrates and Aspasia, a female mask, scrollwork, corner scrolls, fleurons, rosettes, leaf friezes, shell scrolls, cartouche medallions and garlands. Black marble top (later). 1 key.
126 × 48 × 133 cm.
含有象牙、犀牛角及/或其他瀕危或受保護物種物質的拍賣品，在本目錄中特別註有♣符號。一些國家禁止或限制進口或出口含有象牙、犀牛角及/或源於其他瀕危或受保護物種的物品。因此，若您拍賣購得標有♣的物品，並擬運往其他國家，您應在拍賣前了解及遵守所有相關海關的規則及法規。
Marble repaired and reinforced at the bottom. The bronze mounts cleaned. Fine cracks in the veneer. Damage to the lacquer at the bottom of the frame. Signs of use.
A half-height cupboard and a cupboard with a comparable bronze decoration, dated 1701, both by André-Charles Boulle, served as models for the piece on offer (see Alexandre Pradère: Die Kunst des französischen Möbels. London 1989, p. 81, figs. 31 & 32). A design drawing from 1701, attributed to Boulle, illustrates the present iconography in mirror image (ibid. p. 80, fig. 30). Another “meuble à hauteur d'appui” with a depiction of Socrates and Aspasia can be found in the Mobilier National collection (inv. no. GME-9812-002). This example has slightly different design features as compared to the one one offer. For example, the half-height cabinet on offer does not have the medal medallions on the front, whereas the lower part of the central pilaster has an additional gilt shell volute.
Another similar half-height cabinet, made by André-Charles Boulle in contre-boulle marquetry, is part of the Hermitage collection in St. Petersburg, formerly the Sheremetiev collection. The Hermitage also has a copy of this medal cabinet from the Kotchoubey collection, which dates from around 1840 (André-Charles Boulle. 1642–1732. A New Style for Europe. Exhibition catalog for an exhibition at the Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, October 30, 2009 to January 31, 2010. p.168, fig. 2 and 3).
The figures of Socrates and Aspasia symbolize “wisdom and religion”. The design is based on models by the master cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle, which in turn probably come from a ceiling painting “Aspasia among Greek Philosophers” by Michel Corneille the Younger (1642-1708) for the Palace of Versailles. This model experienced a new appreciation in the 19th century, which led to the production of high-quality replicas, such as those by Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener and the present piece by Mathieu Béfort, known as Béfort Jeune. Béfort was one of the leading French furniture makers of the 19th century. His eponymous company specialized in Boulle-inspired furniture in slightly modified variations, which he recreated for a growing international clientele based on famous models from the Ancien Régime. A half-height cabinet with partly identical bronze mounts by Béfort was sold at Sotheby's New York, April 20, 2007, lot 108. This cabinet displays “en premier partie” marquetry and the medal bows on the front. Nineteenth-century copies like this are as popular as the works of André-Charles Boulle from the early eighteenth century, such as a pair of half-height cabinets from the collection of Robert de Balkany, sold by Sotheby's Paris (September 20–29, 2016, lot 42).
A half-height cupboard and a cupboard with a comparable bronze decoration, dated 1701, both by André-Charles Boulle, served as models for the piece on offer (see Alexandre Pradère: Die Kunst des französischen Möbels. London 1989, p. 81, figs. 31 & 32). A design drawing from 1701, attributed to Boulle, illustrates the present iconography in mirror image (ibid. p. 80, fig. 30). Another “meuble à hauteur d'appui” with a depiction of Socrates and Aspasia can be found in the Mobilier National collection (inv. no. GME-9812-002). This example has slightly different design features as compared to the one one offer. For example, the half-height cabinet on offer does not have the medal medallions on the front, whereas the lower part of the central pilaster has an additional gilt shell volute.
Another similar half-height cabinet, made by André-Charles Boulle in contre-boulle marquetry, is part of the Hermitage collection in St. Petersburg, formerly the Sheremetiev collection. The Hermitage also has a copy of this medal cabinet from the Kotchoubey collection, which dates from around 1840 (André-Charles Boulle. 1642–1732. A New Style for Europe. Exhibition catalog for an exhibition at the Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, October 30, 2009 to January 31, 2010. p.168, fig. 2 and 3).
The figures of Socrates and Aspasia symbolize “wisdom and religion”. The design is based on models by the master cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle, which in turn probably come from a ceiling painting “Aspasia among Greek Philosophers” by Michel Corneille the Younger (1642-1708) for the Palace of Versailles. This model experienced a new appreciation in the 19th century, which led to the production of high-quality replicas, such as those by Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener and the present piece by Mathieu Béfort, known as Béfort Jeune. Béfort was one of the leading French furniture makers of the 19th century. His eponymous company specialized in Boulle-inspired furniture in slightly modified variations, which he recreated for a growing international clientele based on famous models from the Ancien Régime. A half-height cabinet with partly identical bronze mounts by Béfort was sold at Sotheby's New York, April 20, 2007, lot 108. This cabinet displays “en premier partie” marquetry and the medal bows on the front. Nineteenth-century copies like this are as popular as the works of André-Charles Boulle from the early eighteenth century, such as a pair of half-height cabinets from the collection of Robert de Balkany, sold by Sotheby's Paris (September 20–29, 2016, lot 42).
CHF 30 000 / 50 000 | (€ 30 930 / 51 550)