Lot n° 296
Estimation :
30000 - 35000
EUR
Result without fees
Result
: 35 500EUR
VERMEIL MENAGERE WITH THE ARMS OF THE BORGHESE... - Lot 296 - Coutau-Bégarie
VERMEIL MENAGERE WITH THE ARMS OF THE BORGHESE FAMILY, BELONGING TO PRINCE CAMILLO BORGHESE AND HIS WIFE PAULINE BONAPARTE.
Composed of 142 place settings, including : 34 forks (23 by Pietro-Paola Spagna, Rome, circa 1820 and 11 by Pierre-Benoît Lorillon, Paris, 1789-1819); 36 knives (steel blade signed "Au singe violet", including 24 by Martin-Guillaume Biennais, Paris, 1809-1819 and 12 by Pietro Paola Spagna, Rome, circa 1820) ; 36 soup spoons (21 by Pietro-Paola Spagna, Rome, circa 1820 and 15 by Pierre-Benoît Lorillon, Paris, 1789-1819); 12 cheese knives (steel blade signed "Au singe violet" by Martin-Guillaume Biennais, 1789-1819); 12 dessert spoons (variation in the models, including 6 by Pierre-Benoît Lorillon, Paris, 1789-1819 and 6 by François-Dominique Naudin, Paris, 1819-1834) and 12 dessert forks (François-Dominique Naudin, Paris, 1819-1834). Model with filleted edge, finely chased with wolf's head, Diana's profile, horns of plenty, masks and foliage surmounted by a winged figure holding an escutcheon engraved under a crown with the arms of the Borghese family, belonging to Prince Camillo Borghese.
Slight wear from the time, but good general condition
French work : Paris, 1789-1819 and 1819-1834.
Italian work : Rome, circa 1820.
Master silversmith : Martin-Guillaume Biennais (1764-1843), Pierre-Benoît Lorillon (active 1757-1822) and Pietro-Paola Spagna (1793-1861), François-Dominique Naudin (active from 1824-1834) Various sizes. Total gross weight : 11 k800 g.
See illustration page 104.
History : the whole of this table service originally included 545 pieces of goldsmith's work and 1000 pieces of vermeil cutlery mainly made by Martin-Guillaume Biennais. According to tradition, it was given by Emperor Napoleon I to his sister Pauline Bonaparte (1780-1825) on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Camillo Borghese (1775-1832) in 1803. As the order for this service was very large, Biennais subcontracted some pieces to other silversmiths, in order to produce them quickly. However, Biennais recorded a number of these coins in his records indicating that most of them date from 1805, when Napoleon was appointed King of Italy. In addition, many French coins bear the Paris hallmarks for 1809-1819. Pauline Borghese's marriage was an unhappy one. She spent most of her time in Paris, until the fall of Napoleon, then returned to Rome and settled in the Borghese Palace. She did not join her husband in Florence until shortly before his untimely death in 1825. In the 1820s, Florentine and Roman silversmiths helped complete this service following Biennais' original designs. Later additions may have been commissioned by both spouses, as the service was shared between Rome and Florence. This important set remained in Rome until the sale of the contents of the Borghese Palace, which took place from 28 March to 9 April 1892. It was then that this table service composed of 1,545 pieces was presented at the sale under n°847, divided into 47 sets. After changing hands several times, it came into the collection of Edith Rockefeller McCormick (1872-1932), thanks to whom it was exhibited in its entirety at the Institute of Art in Chicago from 1924 to 1932. Two years after Mrs McCormick's death, the American Association Anderson Galleries, a famous New York auction house, put the Borghese service up for sale in 150 lots. Widely dispersed today, the prestigious service can be found in numerous public collections, including the Louvre Museum and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Martin-Guillaume Biennais (1764-1843), who was awarded the title of Master Tablemaker in Paris in 1788, set up shop on rue Saint-Honoré under the sign of "Le Singe Violet". His shop quickly became a place where French know-how was not to be missed and orders poured in from all over. This success allowed him to open a large goldsmith's shop and from 1804, he became the official goldsmith of Napoleon I, until 1819, when Jean-Charles Cahier succeeded him.
Pauline Bonaparte was born in 1780 in Ajaccio. She was Napoleon's second sister and also his favourite. She and her mother were the only members of the imperial family to visit him during his exile on Elba. Pauline married General Charles-Victoire-Emmanuel Leclerc in 1797, but the union ended prematurely in 1802 when Charles died of yellow fever. She later married Prince Camillo Borghese, a wealthy Italian with a magnificent palace in Rome. The wedding took place on 6 November 1803 at Mortefontaine, in the estate of Pauline's elder brother Joseph.
Reference: the decorative motifs of the Borghese service are largely inspired by the drawings of Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre-François Fontaine (1762-1853). The two artists met for the first time in Paris at the same time.
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