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Lot Essay
THE COMTE DE LAMARCK
In the Inventory of the comte de Lamarck in 1773, five vases were already placed on the chimney piece in the comtesse's bedroom:-
Une garniture cheminée composée d'un pot à oeil et quatre vases de differentes formes le tout en porcelaine montée garnie en bronze doré d'or moulu.
In 1790, the grandson of the former Auguste Marie Raymond, Prince and duc d'Arenberg and comte de Lamarck decided to rent part of the hôtel Charost, now the British Embassy, to Don Vincent de Souza Coutinho, Portuguese Ambassador to Paris. Following the death of the Ambassador on 8 May 1792, an Inventory of the contents was drawn up for inheritance purposes. This draft initially included all of the contents of the appartement in the hôtel de Charost, but the landlord's agent succesfully protested against the inclusion of those furnishings left in situ by the comte de Lamarck two years earlier, and they were subsequently returned to their rightful owner.
Unfortunately for the comte de Lamarck, all the furniture returned to him was promptly siezed by the Republic, who judged him to be an emigré, being both a subject of the Holy Roman Empire and resident of Brussels, owning estates in Belgium. Deposited in what is now the Elysée Palace, then called the maison de la citoyenne Orléans-Bourbon, the furniture was subsequently sold beginning on the 2 July 1795. Comprising 276 lots in total, it generated 281,357 livres for the state.
THE PORTUGUESE AMBASSADOR TO PARIS, 1792
Don Vincent de Souza Coutinho, Portuguese Ambassador to Paris, changed residence frequently during his long tenure in Paris. Living in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in 1778, he was ensconced in the rue d'Artois by 1782, before moving to the rue Caumartin in 1787 and, subsequently, the hôtel de Charost. It was in his appartement on the first floor of the latter that he died on 8 May 1792.
A client of the marchand Leclerc and the ébénistes Roussel and Molitor, the Ambassador is known to have turned to both Mignolet for horlogerie and Carpentier as a bronzier.
THE HOTEL DE CHAROST
Constructed in 1722 by Paul François, duc de Béthune Charost, this family hôtel was divided into several appartements. On the first floor, the appartement overlooking the garden was occupied by the duc de Charost himself, whilst that overlooking the courtyard was lived in by the duc de Béthune. His grandson inherited both the title and the hôtel. Philanthropic, devout and extremely generous, in 1762 he married Louise de Fontaine-Martel and they moved into a hôtel in the rue de Tournon. In 1784, at the death of his mother the duchesse d'Ancenis, the duc de Charost rented the whole hôtel to Auguste-Marie-Raymond d'Arenberg, comte de Lamarck and it was the latter, choosing to go into exile at the outbreak of the Revolution, who sub-let his appartement overlooking the courtyard to the Ambassador of Portugal.
Imprisoned during the Revolution, his son guillotined, the last duc de Béthune-Charost died in 1800. His widow sold the hôtel in 1803 to Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon and future Princess Borghese and it was the latter who, at the overthrow of the Empire, sold the hôtel fully furnished to Great Britain, thus establishing its first permanent Embassy in France.
THE BRONZIER
A second garniture, close both in ornament and composition, is recorded in 18th Century documentation. In 1795, une garniture de cheminée composée de cinq pièces en porcelaine de la chine gros bleu; celle du milieu d'une forme oblongue ornée d'enfants, les autres d'ornements de bronze doré d'or moulu, la pièce du milieu garnie d'une pendule de Buzot was siezed from President de Nicolay; subsequently returned, it was eventually sold by his heirs.
A pair of Chinese porcelain vases cornets, undoubtedly mounted in gilt-bronze by the same bronzier, is in the Frick Collection, New York (discussed in T. Dell, Furniture in the Frick Collection, Princeton, 1992, pp.315-320). The frieze, gadroons and pearls, as well as the marine putti are extremely close. T. Dell, op.cit., has associated the Frick vases with the Godilles, a celebrated family of Parisian fondeurs. Five members of this dynasty were fondeurs in the 18th Century:- Jean, his two sons Gabriel and André and his grandsons Louis-Gabriel and Jean-Nicolas.
The satyr-masks on the lidded vases can be seen with only minor differences upon a vase in the musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris, catalogue number 159.
MIGNOLET
Joseph Mignolet became a maître horloger on 3 August 1786. Established in the rue saint-Honoré and then the rue saint-Anne, he married the daughter of the horloger Lechopie, with whom he had five children - only one of whom went on to follow in his father's profession. A creditor of the duc de Richelieu, he supplied a number of clocks to the marquis de Mirabeau, the celebrated economist and father of the famous orator.
AUGUSTE-MARIE-RAYMOND D'ARENBERG, COMTE DE LAMARCK
The son of Charles-Marc-Raymond d'Arenberg (1721-1778) and Louise-Marguerite de Lamarck (1730-1820), Auguste-Marie-Raymond, Prince and duc d'Arenberg was born in Brussels on the 30 August 1753 and died on 26 September 1833. On the 23 November 1774, he married Marie-Françoise de Joffreville (1757-1810) and he reclaimed the name and title of his grandfather, being known under the name the comte de Lamarck.
At the outbreak of the French Revolution, the comte de Lamarck was an ardent supporter of constitutional monarchy, and it was in his arms that his friend Mirabeau died. After his departure for Belgium, the comte de Lamarck reverted back to using the title of Prince and duc d'Arenberg, and from then on he lived in Brussels.
JOSEPH COTEAU
Originally from Geneva, Joseph Coteau's (1740-1801) early career is scantly documented. He claimed that he had found a method 'd'appliquer solidement l'or marié avec lesémaux de toutes couleurs sur la porcelaine, and by 1780 his name first appears in the kiln records at Sèvres. Appointed Peintre-émailleur du roi et de la Manufacture de Sèvres around 1780, by 1784 his production at Sèvres was considerable, receiving 420 livres for executed commissions.
In the Inventory of the comte de Lamarck in 1773, five vases were already placed on the chimney piece in the comtesse's bedroom:-
Une garniture cheminée composée d'un pot à oeil et quatre vases de differentes formes le tout en porcelaine montée garnie en bronze doré d'or moulu.
In 1790, the grandson of the former Auguste Marie Raymond, Prince and duc d'Arenberg and comte de Lamarck decided to rent part of the hôtel Charost, now the British Embassy, to Don Vincent de Souza Coutinho, Portuguese Ambassador to Paris. Following the death of the Ambassador on 8 May 1792, an Inventory of the contents was drawn up for inheritance purposes. This draft initially included all of the contents of the appartement in the hôtel de Charost, but the landlord's agent succesfully protested against the inclusion of those furnishings left in situ by the comte de Lamarck two years earlier, and they were subsequently returned to their rightful owner.
Unfortunately for the comte de Lamarck, all the furniture returned to him was promptly siezed by the Republic, who judged him to be an emigré, being both a subject of the Holy Roman Empire and resident of Brussels, owning estates in Belgium. Deposited in what is now the Elysée Palace, then called the maison de la citoyenne Orléans-Bourbon, the furniture was subsequently sold beginning on the 2 July 1795. Comprising 276 lots in total, it generated 281,357 livres for the state.
THE PORTUGUESE AMBASSADOR TO PARIS, 1792
Don Vincent de Souza Coutinho, Portuguese Ambassador to Paris, changed residence frequently during his long tenure in Paris. Living in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in 1778, he was ensconced in the rue d'Artois by 1782, before moving to the rue Caumartin in 1787 and, subsequently, the hôtel de Charost. It was in his appartement on the first floor of the latter that he died on 8 May 1792.
A client of the marchand Leclerc and the ébénistes Roussel and Molitor, the Ambassador is known to have turned to both Mignolet for horlogerie and Carpentier as a bronzier.
THE HOTEL DE CHAROST
Constructed in 1722 by Paul François, duc de Béthune Charost, this family hôtel was divided into several appartements. On the first floor, the appartement overlooking the garden was occupied by the duc de Charost himself, whilst that overlooking the courtyard was lived in by the duc de Béthune. His grandson inherited both the title and the hôtel. Philanthropic, devout and extremely generous, in 1762 he married Louise de Fontaine-Martel and they moved into a hôtel in the rue de Tournon. In 1784, at the death of his mother the duchesse d'Ancenis, the duc de Charost rented the whole hôtel to Auguste-Marie-Raymond d'Arenberg, comte de Lamarck and it was the latter, choosing to go into exile at the outbreak of the Revolution, who sub-let his appartement overlooking the courtyard to the Ambassador of Portugal.
Imprisoned during the Revolution, his son guillotined, the last duc de Béthune-Charost died in 1800. His widow sold the hôtel in 1803 to Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon and future Princess Borghese and it was the latter who, at the overthrow of the Empire, sold the hôtel fully furnished to Great Britain, thus establishing its first permanent Embassy in France.
THE BRONZIER
A second garniture, close both in ornament and composition, is recorded in 18th Century documentation. In 1795, une garniture de cheminée composée de cinq pièces en porcelaine de la chine gros bleu; celle du milieu d'une forme oblongue ornée d'enfants, les autres d'ornements de bronze doré d'or moulu, la pièce du milieu garnie d'une pendule de Buzot was siezed from President de Nicolay; subsequently returned, it was eventually sold by his heirs.
A pair of Chinese porcelain vases cornets, undoubtedly mounted in gilt-bronze by the same bronzier, is in the Frick Collection, New York (discussed in T. Dell, Furniture in the Frick Collection, Princeton, 1992, pp.315-320). The frieze, gadroons and pearls, as well as the marine putti are extremely close. T. Dell, op.cit., has associated the Frick vases with the Godilles, a celebrated family of Parisian fondeurs. Five members of this dynasty were fondeurs in the 18th Century:- Jean, his two sons Gabriel and André and his grandsons Louis-Gabriel and Jean-Nicolas.
The satyr-masks on the lidded vases can be seen with only minor differences upon a vase in the musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris, catalogue number 159.
MIGNOLET
Joseph Mignolet became a maître horloger on 3 August 1786. Established in the rue saint-Honoré and then the rue saint-Anne, he married the daughter of the horloger Lechopie, with whom he had five children - only one of whom went on to follow in his father's profession. A creditor of the duc de Richelieu, he supplied a number of clocks to the marquis de Mirabeau, the celebrated economist and father of the famous orator.
AUGUSTE-MARIE-RAYMOND D'ARENBERG, COMTE DE LAMARCK
The son of Charles-Marc-Raymond d'Arenberg (1721-1778) and Louise-Marguerite de Lamarck (1730-1820), Auguste-Marie-Raymond, Prince and duc d'Arenberg was born in Brussels on the 30 August 1753 and died on 26 September 1833. On the 23 November 1774, he married Marie-Françoise de Joffreville (1757-1810) and he reclaimed the name and title of his grandfather, being known under the name the comte de Lamarck.
At the outbreak of the French Revolution, the comte de Lamarck was an ardent supporter of constitutional monarchy, and it was in his arms that his friend Mirabeau died. After his departure for Belgium, the comte de Lamarck reverted back to using the title of Prince and duc d'Arenberg, and from then on he lived in Brussels.
JOSEPH COTEAU
Originally from Geneva, Joseph Coteau's (1740-1801) early career is scantly documented. He claimed that he had found a method 'd'appliquer solidement l'or marié avec lesémaux de toutes couleurs sur la porcelaine, and by 1780 his name first appears in the kiln records at Sèvres. Appointed Peintre-émailleur du roi et de la Manufacture de Sèvres around 1780, by 1784 his production at Sèvres was considerable, receiving 420 livres for executed commissions.