Lot n° 30
Estimation :
25000 - 30000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 30 912EUR
Perfume fountain Japanese porcelain, late... - Lot 30 - Coutau-Bégarie
Perfume fountain Japanese porcelain, late 17th century; Paris, chased and engraved white silver mount of the Regency period. The silver mounting bears several times a "fleur de lys" hallmark, the one of the Paris small works in use from 1717 to 1722 Hallmarks at the base of the seed, on the edge of the lid, on the support of the tap (the tap replaced). H.: 27,0 cm - D.: 12,5 cm
On the bottom, inventory number of the David-Weill collection: D.W 38/82-1. This number is also inscribed on the back of the lid.
Provenance : Former collection of Louis-Henri de Bourbon-Condé, 7th prince of Condé (1692-1740) at the Château de Chantilly. Former collection Élisabeth Alexandrine de Bourbon-Condé, known as Mademoiselle de Sens (1705-1765), Paris. Former David David-Weill collection (1871-1952); sale of masters Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, room 10, May 4-5 1972, lot n° 81. Former Jacques and Marianne Helft collection, Paris; Christie's sale, Monaco, December 3, 1989, lot n° 38. Private collection; New York The Zilka collection.
Comparative bibliography: Mathieu Deldicque, La fabrique de l'Extravagance: Porcelaines de Meissen et de Chantilly, Éditions Monelle Hayot & Domaine de Chantilly, 2020. This elegant little perfume fountain in Japanese Arita porcelain, dating from the end of the 17th century, has an atypical shape. Indeed, its body stylizing a slender barrel rests on a splayed tripod-shaped base entirely in porcelain. The green, red, blue and gold decoration on a white background in the Kakiemon style is exclusively vegetal. In the 18th century, this so-called first quality porcelain from Japan was famous "for the fine graining of its beautiful white paste, the seductive blur of its matte red, the velvety softness of its vivid colors in green & dark celestial blue [...] so all the top cabinets were & are composed of it1". Here, forget-me-nots or "wasurenagusa" adorn the three legs, with gold foliage and flower patterns on a blue background delineating the edge of the base and the top of the neck. Bamboos, pines and prunus characterizing "the three friends of winter" or "Shôchikabai", fundamental motifs in Japanese kakiemon style decorations, adorn the entire body of this fountain highlighted by the top of a band with flowers and foliage. The shoulder is punctuated by a band of stylized flowers whose heart is in relief, as are the two small twigs with berries. The object is distinguished by its fine chased silver mounting: the seed-shaped grip escaping from a rosette on a bitter background, the base of the lid bordered by a circle of gadroons, and finally the tap attachment with radiating acanthus foliage (the tap with a dolphin head is later). Unlike the Chinese porcelain pieces, the Japanese porcelain fountains were particularly sought after for their rarity by the great French amateurs of the Age of Enlightenment. Although some of them were found in the cabinets of distinguished Parisian collectors, the number of fountains with white silver mounts is exceptional. With the presence of the hallmark of Paris, for 1717-1722, we can perfectly identify the date of commercialization of this piece, and seek the recipient or the sponsor of this singular object. The small size of this fountain, and the presence of its tripod in Japanese porcelain, are distinctive elements that lead us to identify it as the one once preserved at the Château de Chantilly, in the collections of the Prince de Condé.
The fountain of Louis-Henri de Bourbon-Condé, 7th Prince de Condé (1692-1740) Like many other Japanese porcelains now in the Louvre2, this fountain was already in the collection of the Prince de Condé at the time of the death of his first wife, Marie-Anne de Bourbon-Conti3 (1689-1720). It is described under item 1621, among the curiosities found in "Le cabinet de Monseigneur le Duc" at the Château de Chantilly: "Item. Une fontaine garnie d'argent" prisée 200 livres. This fountain remained at the Château de Chantilly until the death of the 7th Prince de Condé in January 1740, and we find its mention in a small wardrobe at the Château, under item 2157: "Item. A small Japanese porcelain fountain trimmed with silver on its tripod, [...]". Louis-Henri was born in Versailles on August 18, 1692. The eldest son of Louis III de Bourbon-Condé (1668-1710) and Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, known as Mademoiselle de Nantes (1673-1743), the legitimate daughter of Louis XIV (1638-1715) and the Marquise de Montespan (1640-1707), the child bore the title of Duke of Enghien until his father's death on March 7, 1710. On that date, he inherited the offices of Grand Master of France, Governor of Burgundy and Bresse, and the dignity of Peer of France; he was then called Monsieur le Duc. Knight of the King's orders, on January 1, 1709, colonel and master of
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