A PAIR OF FRENCH ORMOLU AND SWEDISH GREEN PORPHYRY BRULE-PARFUMS IN LOUIS XVI STYLE

A PAIR OF FRENCH ORMOLU AND SWEDISH GREEN PORPHYRY BRULE-PARFUMS IN LOUIS XVI STYLE

AFTER A MODEL BY FRANCOIS-JOSEPH BELANGER (1744-1818) AND PIERRE GOUTHIERE (1732-1813) , C.1830

each decorated with a grapevine, with a domed cover with a pierced frieze, above satyr monopodia supports centred by an entwined serpent, on a circular base (2)

46.7cm high

Provenance

Alfred de Rothschild (1842-1918) the Red Room at Halton House, Buckinghamshire

Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942)

Edmund de Rothschild (1916-2009)

The Trustees of Exbury House

Catalogue Note

This model is based on the celebrated ormolu mounted jasper vase recorded in the sale catalogue of Louis-Marie-Augustin, Duc d'Aumont, of the 12th December 1782, which is now in the Wallace Collection. The Duc d'Aumont was the First Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber and commissioned his architect, Belanger, to design many of the fixtures and fittings for his houses. These incorporated hardstones and porcelains, many of which were mounted in gilt bronze, often by Gouthiere.

The design of the jasper vase and hence the brule-parfums is thought to be based on a marble bas-relief at the entrance to the Cesi Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria della Pace in Rome. In the 18th century, it was believed that the chapel was designed by Michelangelo and as such was a building frequently studied, drawn and referenced in designs.

Swedish or Dala porphyry was mined at Alvdalen, around 350km north of Stockholm, and was discovered by a vicar in around 1730. Excavations at a commercial scale, however, didn't start until later in the 18th century at a period when the Antique, as a source of artistic inspiration, was on the rise. It was known that Egyptian porphyry was much prized in ancient Rome where it was seen as a symbol of power and hence was in great demand in the 18th century. However, the shortage in supply of porphyry to satiate the fashion of the times led to a search for alternative supplies which coincided with the discovery of porphyry in Alvdalen and the establishment of an industry in the 1790's.

One of these fine brule-parfums can be seen in the photograph of Alfred's Red Room, it sits on a French cabinet below the Geroge Romney portrait of Lady Hamilton.