'THE ROTHSCHILD CHEVAUX MARINS CHENETS'

'THE ROTHSCHILD CHEVAUX MARINS CHENETS'

A RARE PAIR OF LOUIS XV ORMOLU SEAHORSE CHENETS, CHEVAUX MARINS

FRENCH OR GERMAN, C.1745-50

each surmounted with a prancing horse with webbed hooves, on a Rococo scrolling leaf base, with chased and punched decoration, stamped '2', with a bronze scroll support (2)

43.5cm high, 35.3cm wide

Provenance

Alfred de Rothschild (1842-1918) the Central Hall / Salon, Halton House, Buckinghamshire

Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942)

Edmund de Rothschild (1916-2009)

The Trustees of Exbury House

Catalogue Note

This wonderful pair of sculptural chenets derive from a drawing attributed to Lambert-Sigisbert Adam (1700-1759) for a chenet designed with Triton astride a sea horse.

Chenets incorporating 'chevaux marins' are recorded in the inventory at the chateau of Passy which belonged to A-G Bernard de Saint-Saire, the grandson of Samuel Bernard, Louis XVI's banker. Listed as 'a high-firing copper representing a mythical sea horse leaning on ornaments ... all gilded with ormolu'. Other examples can be found in the Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna, in the collection of the Dukes of Buccleuch and Queensberry at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, a pair formerly in the collection of Dr. Anton C. R. Dreesman, sold at Christie's, 10th April 2002, lot 250 for £91,750 and a pair formerly in the Riahi Collection sold at Christie's, 6th December 2012, lot 6, for £109.250.

A further pair of chenets with the same base but lacking the horses is at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, see The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, vol. II, Furniture, pp.726-7, no.184. Our chenets share the same pounced decoration as the Waddesdon and Riahi pairs.