.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Dom Pedro I was the son of Dom Joao, who was Regent of Portugal due to his mother Maria I's insanity. In 1807, when Napoleon invaded Portugal, the Portuguese Royal Family fled to the Portuguese colony of Brazil, where Dom Joao established his government at Rio de Janeiro. The arrival of the Royal Family was a double edged sword for Brazil; the establishment of a seat of government in exile meant that Brazil was no longer regarded as a colony for commercial purposes, resulting in fewer restrictions and thus greatly increased prosperity; but the expenses incurred by the family and government generally were correspondingly heavy. It was the personal popularity of Dom Joao that tipped the balance favourably with the Brazilian population, and once the positive effects to the economy had become established, he began to expand his influence in the arts, bringing to Brazil such advanced amenities as a public library, a botanical garden, and an academy of fine arts.
The friction which remained between the largely Portuguese court and the Brazilian population was on the increase despite these good works, although Dom Joao himself was a popular figure, cementing his regard for his former colony by declaring it a kingdom in 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, and refusing to return to Portugal even after the death of his mother in 1816 made him King. Popular opinion increasingly moved towards republican ideology and in 1821 a military coup provided the impetus for democratic reforms, ironically similar to those adopted in Portugal in the previous year under similar auspices.
With regret, Dom Joao sailed for Brazil in 1821. His queen, the unpopular and bigoted Carlota, was not displeased to return to Portugal. Contemporary accounts describe her as ostentatiously shaking the dust of Brazil off her shoes as she boarded the boat.
They left behind their son Dom Pedro I, a liberal-minded young man whose inclination for adventure and political leftism had caused his father concern and led him to exact a promise from Dom Pedro never to try to separate the Portuguese and Brazilian crowns. This concern was not misplaced. Within a year of his rule Dom Pedro dramatically broke his promise, tearing the Portuguese colours from his uniform and shouting 'It is time! Independence or death!' Proclaimed Emperor of Brazil at Rio, Dom Pedro had placed himself at the head of a war with his father. The hostilities were relatively brief, however, and by the end of 1823 most of the Portuguese forces had withdrawn. Two years later Dom Joao recognised his son's title by means of assuming it himself and then abdicating in his son's favour. Upon the death of Dom Joao, Dom Pedro, who did not want to leave Brazil, solved his dilemma neatly by sending his six year old daughter Dona Maria de Gloria to Portugal to succeed to the crown which he himself renounced; and keeping his infant son with him to succeed as Emperor of Brazil.
Dom Pedro's dashing personality could not save his waning popularity, however, as, sure of his empire, he began to dismiss his former revolutionary colleagues, surrounding himself with Portuguese advisors as his father had done before him. His marriage to the cultured Austrian Archduchess Leopoldina, a sister of the Empress Marie Louise, provided him with heirs but he was reportedly blatantly unfaithful to her, and her sudden death after a miscarriage in 1826 was a blow to the royal house. A war with Argentina culminating in Brazil's defeat in 1829 resulted in loss of land and precipitated a financial crisis, which in turn affected the elections that year. A newly elected liberal parliament opposed the Emperor at every turn, and riots ensued; finally, Dom Pedro, having tried and failed to replace the liberals with his own right-wing government, abdicated, leaving his five year old son Dom Pedro II as Emperor, in the hands of a Regent, in a country which was now a Republic in all but name.
The present plateau dates from 1828, the year before the Argentinian victory which effected these dramatic final events in Dom Pedro's reign, and as such may be seen to represent the culmination of cultural and artistic fashion in Dom Pedro's court. A French maker, using European methods and a design incorporating ancient Greek and Roman deities, created an object to display the wealth and culture of a monarch who had become increasingly European and less revolutionary in outlook. The trimphal nymphs, emblematic of the Seasons, celebrate peace and prosperity. They stand on palm and acanthus flowered altar pedestals, displaying laurel garlanded armorials, accompanied by the festive sistrum recalling the Egyptian Sun-deity Isis. Spring is represented by flower-wreathed Flora bearing the dove of Venus; Summer by the harvest deity Ceres with corn and scythe; Autumn by a vine-decked Bacchante with thyrsus and tazza; and Winter by veil-draped Fortuna. The symbolic nature of the elements represented is clear; as Emperor, having abandoned his revolutionary youth, Dom Pedro believed his reign to be eternal, up to the moment when he sailed back to Portugal.
The design of the plateau survives and is published in J-M Pincon and O. Gaube du Gers, Odiot l'Orfèvre, Paris, 1990, p. 96, pl. 147. The order was received in 1825 and it was delivered in 1828. The designs for the piece are after Adrien-Louise-Marie Cavalier who was himself inspired by Prud'hon. A similar but larger plateau was ordered by the American President James Munroe in 1817. The border includes vines and bacchic figures, howvever the sides are similarly ornamented with standing classical figures, in this instance holding candlesockets or dish-holders.
We are grateful to M. Oliver Gaube du Gers of La Maison Lapparra for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry
The friction which remained between the largely Portuguese court and the Brazilian population was on the increase despite these good works, although Dom Joao himself was a popular figure, cementing his regard for his former colony by declaring it a kingdom in 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, and refusing to return to Portugal even after the death of his mother in 1816 made him King. Popular opinion increasingly moved towards republican ideology and in 1821 a military coup provided the impetus for democratic reforms, ironically similar to those adopted in Portugal in the previous year under similar auspices.
With regret, Dom Joao sailed for Brazil in 1821. His queen, the unpopular and bigoted Carlota, was not displeased to return to Portugal. Contemporary accounts describe her as ostentatiously shaking the dust of Brazil off her shoes as she boarded the boat.
They left behind their son Dom Pedro I, a liberal-minded young man whose inclination for adventure and political leftism had caused his father concern and led him to exact a promise from Dom Pedro never to try to separate the Portuguese and Brazilian crowns. This concern was not misplaced. Within a year of his rule Dom Pedro dramatically broke his promise, tearing the Portuguese colours from his uniform and shouting 'It is time! Independence or death!' Proclaimed Emperor of Brazil at Rio, Dom Pedro had placed himself at the head of a war with his father. The hostilities were relatively brief, however, and by the end of 1823 most of the Portuguese forces had withdrawn. Two years later Dom Joao recognised his son's title by means of assuming it himself and then abdicating in his son's favour. Upon the death of Dom Joao, Dom Pedro, who did not want to leave Brazil, solved his dilemma neatly by sending his six year old daughter Dona Maria de Gloria to Portugal to succeed to the crown which he himself renounced; and keeping his infant son with him to succeed as Emperor of Brazil.
Dom Pedro's dashing personality could not save his waning popularity, however, as, sure of his empire, he began to dismiss his former revolutionary colleagues, surrounding himself with Portuguese advisors as his father had done before him. His marriage to the cultured Austrian Archduchess Leopoldina, a sister of the Empress Marie Louise, provided him with heirs but he was reportedly blatantly unfaithful to her, and her sudden death after a miscarriage in 1826 was a blow to the royal house. A war with Argentina culminating in Brazil's defeat in 1829 resulted in loss of land and precipitated a financial crisis, which in turn affected the elections that year. A newly elected liberal parliament opposed the Emperor at every turn, and riots ensued; finally, Dom Pedro, having tried and failed to replace the liberals with his own right-wing government, abdicated, leaving his five year old son Dom Pedro II as Emperor, in the hands of a Regent, in a country which was now a Republic in all but name.
The present plateau dates from 1828, the year before the Argentinian victory which effected these dramatic final events in Dom Pedro's reign, and as such may be seen to represent the culmination of cultural and artistic fashion in Dom Pedro's court. A French maker, using European methods and a design incorporating ancient Greek and Roman deities, created an object to display the wealth and culture of a monarch who had become increasingly European and less revolutionary in outlook. The trimphal nymphs, emblematic of the Seasons, celebrate peace and prosperity. They stand on palm and acanthus flowered altar pedestals, displaying laurel garlanded armorials, accompanied by the festive sistrum recalling the Egyptian Sun-deity Isis. Spring is represented by flower-wreathed Flora bearing the dove of Venus; Summer by the harvest deity Ceres with corn and scythe; Autumn by a vine-decked Bacchante with thyrsus and tazza; and Winter by veil-draped Fortuna. The symbolic nature of the elements represented is clear; as Emperor, having abandoned his revolutionary youth, Dom Pedro believed his reign to be eternal, up to the moment when he sailed back to Portugal.
The design of the plateau survives and is published in J-M Pincon and O. Gaube du Gers, Odiot l'Orfèvre, Paris, 1990, p. 96, pl. 147. The order was received in 1825 and it was delivered in 1828. The designs for the piece are after Adrien-Louise-Marie Cavalier who was himself inspired by Prud'hon. A similar but larger plateau was ordered by the American President James Munroe in 1817. The border includes vines and bacchic figures, howvever the sides are similarly ornamented with standing classical figures, in this instance holding candlesockets or dish-holders.
We are grateful to M. Oliver Gaube du Gers of La Maison Lapparra for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry