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Lot Essay
André-Charles Boulle, ébéniste du Roi, 1642-1732.
This magnificent chandelier is beautifully chased and richly gilt, both qualities displaying the talent of André-Charles Boulle, whose gilt-bronze chandeliers were amongst the most costly items produced in his atelier. This chandelier can confidently be attributed to Boulle on the basis of its similarity to other documented examples and designs executed by this maker, who was appointed ébéniste du Roi in 1672. His engravings published circa 1720 under the title 'Nouveau desseins...' by Mariette are a valuable source of information and give a clear idea of his production. A number of designs for chandeliers were published, and though many of these were not executed to the letter, various combinations and variations of these designs can been seen amongst Boulle's chandeliers which are known. The closest parallels to the Riahi chandelier are the set of four six-light chandeliers in the Audienzzimmer at the Residenz in Ansbach (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 55, fig. 1.6.11). Its central vase column within a scrolled, panelled, square-section frame above a hexagonal socle issuing gadrooned, acanthus-cast and panelled S-scroll branches, with waisted vase nozzles and its large berried foliate boss are almost identical to the Ansbach chandeliers. Other elements of this form can be found in related chandeliers by or attributed to Boulle, including the hexagonal socle surmounted by a vase on the central stem on an eight-light chandelier in the castle at Drottningholm and a related chandelier in the Royal Palace, Stockholm (Ottomeyer/Pröschel, op. cit., p. 53, fig. 1.6.8). The hexagonal socle features on a design by Boulle published by Mariette, for a 'grand lustre a huit branches'; whilst a design by Daniel Marot, from his Nouveau Livre d'Orfèvrie Inventé par Marot Architecte du Roi, published in 1710 but conceptually dating from twenty to thirty years earlier, shows the use of panelled S-scroll arms decorated with husk-trails.
Without specific characteristics, the identification of these chandeliers in 18th Century inventories or sale catalogues remains tentative. Many lustres à six branches de cuivre doré are recorded in contemporary documents but more detailed descriptions are rare. The only description which may relate to the present chandelier, also due to the listed dimensions, is one listed in the sale of the marchand Dubois on 20 December 1785:
- No. 234 Un lustre à six branches à riche cul de lampe surmonté par trois consoles en forme de lyre, renfermant un vase et terminant le couronnement. Hauteur 30 pouces; largeur 30 pouces.
ANDRÉ-CHARLES BOULLE
André-Charles Boulle was awarded the title of master cabinet-maker before 1666 and in 1672 was granted the Royal privilege of lodging in the Galeries du Louvre. In the same year, Boulle achieved the title of cabinet-maker and sculptor to Louis XIV, allowing him to produce works in gilt-bronze, such as chandeliers, wall-lights, and mounts for his own furniture. Although strict guild regulations usually prevented artists from practicing two professions simultaneously, Boulle's favoured position allowed him protected status and exempted him from the guild rules.
Boulle's most magnificent chandeliers have been prized by collectors for centuries and have always commanded extremely high prices at auction, with very few of this quality coming onto the market. Two celebrated examples, close to the Riahi chandelier, have been sold in the past twenty years: one was previously in the collection of the Dukes of Hamilton at Hamilton Palace, Lanarkshire, subsequently the collection of Beckett Denison, sold in 1885, and most recently sold from a private European collection, Christie's Monaco, 5 December 1992, lot 41 (3,552,000 FF); the other was formerly in the collection of Mrs Barbara Piasecka Johnson and was subsequently sold anonymously at Sotheby's London, 5 July 2006, lot 4 (£792,000).
JEAN BLOCH
Jean Bloch (1886-1942) was a French industrialist who made his fortune in kitchen and bathroom fixtures. He was a passionate collector of French Louis XIV and Régence decorative arts and his collection included tapestries, furniture, silver and porcelain. In December 1941 Bloch was arrested by the Nazis in an infamous round-up of 743 prominent Jews - intellectuals and professionals were especially targeted. They were interned in France for a time and in 1942 were deported to Auschwitz. His collection was sold in Paris by his descendants in two sales in June and December 1961, although this chandelier, by repute from his collection, does not appear in either catalogue.
This magnificent chandelier is beautifully chased and richly gilt, both qualities displaying the talent of André-Charles Boulle, whose gilt-bronze chandeliers were amongst the most costly items produced in his atelier. This chandelier can confidently be attributed to Boulle on the basis of its similarity to other documented examples and designs executed by this maker, who was appointed ébéniste du Roi in 1672. His engravings published circa 1720 under the title 'Nouveau desseins...' by Mariette are a valuable source of information and give a clear idea of his production. A number of designs for chandeliers were published, and though many of these were not executed to the letter, various combinations and variations of these designs can been seen amongst Boulle's chandeliers which are known. The closest parallels to the Riahi chandelier are the set of four six-light chandeliers in the Audienzzimmer at the Residenz in Ansbach (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 55, fig. 1.6.11). Its central vase column within a scrolled, panelled, square-section frame above a hexagonal socle issuing gadrooned, acanthus-cast and panelled S-scroll branches, with waisted vase nozzles and its large berried foliate boss are almost identical to the Ansbach chandeliers. Other elements of this form can be found in related chandeliers by or attributed to Boulle, including the hexagonal socle surmounted by a vase on the central stem on an eight-light chandelier in the castle at Drottningholm and a related chandelier in the Royal Palace, Stockholm (Ottomeyer/Pröschel, op. cit., p. 53, fig. 1.6.8). The hexagonal socle features on a design by Boulle published by Mariette, for a 'grand lustre a huit branches'; whilst a design by Daniel Marot, from his Nouveau Livre d'Orfèvrie Inventé par Marot Architecte du Roi, published in 1710 but conceptually dating from twenty to thirty years earlier, shows the use of panelled S-scroll arms decorated with husk-trails.
Without specific characteristics, the identification of these chandeliers in 18th Century inventories or sale catalogues remains tentative. Many lustres à six branches de cuivre doré are recorded in contemporary documents but more detailed descriptions are rare. The only description which may relate to the present chandelier, also due to the listed dimensions, is one listed in the sale of the marchand Dubois on 20 December 1785:
- No. 234 Un lustre à six branches à riche cul de lampe surmonté par trois consoles en forme de lyre, renfermant un vase et terminant le couronnement. Hauteur 30 pouces; largeur 30 pouces.
ANDRÉ-CHARLES BOULLE
André-Charles Boulle was awarded the title of master cabinet-maker before 1666 and in 1672 was granted the Royal privilege of lodging in the Galeries du Louvre. In the same year, Boulle achieved the title of cabinet-maker and sculptor to Louis XIV, allowing him to produce works in gilt-bronze, such as chandeliers, wall-lights, and mounts for his own furniture. Although strict guild regulations usually prevented artists from practicing two professions simultaneously, Boulle's favoured position allowed him protected status and exempted him from the guild rules.
Boulle's most magnificent chandeliers have been prized by collectors for centuries and have always commanded extremely high prices at auction, with very few of this quality coming onto the market. Two celebrated examples, close to the Riahi chandelier, have been sold in the past twenty years: one was previously in the collection of the Dukes of Hamilton at Hamilton Palace, Lanarkshire, subsequently the collection of Beckett Denison, sold in 1885, and most recently sold from a private European collection, Christie's Monaco, 5 December 1992, lot 41 (3,552,000 FF); the other was formerly in the collection of Mrs Barbara Piasecka Johnson and was subsequently sold anonymously at Sotheby's London, 5 July 2006, lot 4 (£792,000).
JEAN BLOCH
Jean Bloch (1886-1942) was a French industrialist who made his fortune in kitchen and bathroom fixtures. He was a passionate collector of French Louis XIV and Régence decorative arts and his collection included tapestries, furniture, silver and porcelain. In December 1941 Bloch was arrested by the Nazis in an infamous round-up of 743 prominent Jews - intellectuals and professionals were especially targeted. They were interned in France for a time and in 1942 were deported to Auschwitz. His collection was sold in Paris by his descendants in two sales in June and December 1961, although this chandelier, by repute from his collection, does not appear in either catalogue.