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Lot Essay
An awe-inspiring work of hand craftsmanship by one of the preeminent Western artisans of the 19th century, this intricate casket - a sublime example of the Renaissance revival - was created for one of the Victorian period’s greatest patrons of the Decorative Arts, Alfred Morrison.
PLÀCIDO ZULOAGA – AN OBVIOUS TALENT
Born into a family of Spanish Royal Armourers, Plácido Zuloaga (1834-1910) went on to become one of the greatest masters of the art of damascening, praised in his day as 'a second Benvenuto Cellini'. His first recognition as an artist came in 1855 when, together with his father Eusebio, he inspired the following comments for work shown at the Paris Exposition Universelle: 'One cannot praise too highly the arms and other metal objects presented by the Sres. Zuloaga, father and son; [...] iron-chiselling, damascene, etching and repoussé never had interpreters of such obvious and varied talent' (Anon. Visite à l'Exposition Universelle de Paris, Paris, 1855, p. 121). In 1859, Plácido took over the management of his father Eusebio Zuloaga's manufactory at Eibar in the northern Basque province of Guipúzcoa, and what had principally been a gun-making factory for the previous two generations was gradually transformed under his supervision into one for forging and damascening art objects. Internationally lauded, Zuloaga went on to win the Grand Prix at 1878 and 1889 Paris International Exhibitions and died in 1910.
TECHNIQUE
The process by which the present casket and all Zuloaga's works of art were produced was meticulous and, in almost direct contradiction to the industrial revolution, entirely by hand. As noted in a contemporary article on the artistry of Zuloaga’s damascene work, ‘The steel of all countries arrived at Mr. Zuloaga’s in rough condition as sheet-iron; then begin the different operations of planning, polishing, adjusting, repulsing; while, on the other hand, the pattern and the model in wax, which ought to be executed are prepared. Let us remember that the relief, which Mr. Zuloaga is the only one to apply in Europe, is the application of gold in different thickness, afterwards chiselled on the whole.’ (‘Artistical Spain,’ Le Pantheon de l’Industrie, 1 January 1891, pp. 261-262).
This specific technique introduced by Eusebio and perfected by Plácido indeed involved drawing the designs by hand on the iron surface, the resulting shallow striations were cut in three directions and evenly spaced close together. The gold and silver wires were then laid down and permanently attached by manual process of punching so that surfaces becomes flattened and each wire joins together to appear as if executed from a single sheet of metal (see Lavin, pp. 36-37). The process was highly technical, and one that could not be rushed. As an article from 1874 notes that two ‘precious’ vases in repoussé iron, and gold and silver damascene destined for a ‘riche amateur anglaise, M. Alfred Morrison’ took three years to complete (La République française, 14 June 1874, p. 3).
THE ARTIST AND HIS PATRONS
With the high cost of materials and craftsman to produce his intricate designs, patronage was key to Zuloaga’s success. On the death of his father in 1856, Eusebio Zuloaga was promoted to the position of Chief Armourer to Isabel II and her consort king, and was given the title of Huntsman to the Royal Family. Thus for the next twelve years the firm of Zuloaga was kept busy not only supplying weaponry and armour, but also sumptuous table objects ordered by the monarchy, either for gifts or for their own private use. The latter included a gold and silver damascened iron inkstand supplied to Isabel II in 1860 (illustrated Lavin, p. 52, fig. 10), and a magnificent table-clock ordered by the queen mother, Marìa Cristina, for presentation to Napoleon III (op. cit., p. 55, fig. 11). However, the fall of Isabel II's government in 1868 not only brought the Royal patronage enjoyed by the Zuloaga’s over the previous decade to an abrupt end. Fortunately for Plácido Zuloaga, a new patron, less prone to the precariousness of 19th century European royalty, arrived to replace the Borbóns and became his most important client for the next two decades – Alfred Morrison.
Plácido Zuloaga is believed to have met Morrison during his visit to London for the International Exhibition of 1862. The son of a wealthy textile magnate, Morrison had inherited the estate of Fonthill, Wiltshire, on the death of his father in 1857. Soon after, he engaged Owen Jones, the celebrated architect and author of The Grammar of Ornament, to redesign its interior to complement his already extensive collection of modern objets d'art. Jones was an admirer of Islamic, and by extension, Spanish ornamentation, and had even spent some time living in the Alhambra, Granada. These tastes corresponded with those of Morrison, who over the next twenty years was responsible for virtually all of Plácido Zuloaga's major commissions, whether they were intended for Fonthill or for his London home at 16 Carlton House Terrace, acquired in 1865 and decorated by Jones in the same taste. Chief among these commissions were an enormous Renaissance style cassone of related decoration, executed 1870-1 (sold Christie's, The Remaining Contents of Fonthill House, 1-2 November 1971, lot 9, now in the Khalili Collection; see Lavin, cat. 1, pp. 71-81) and a magnificent side-table, completed in 1880 and now in the collection of His Majesty the King (The Royal Collection Trust, inv. RCIN 2526).
The present lot is described in a descriptive tour of Morrison’s home in an article in The Magazine of Art of 1880. Recorded in the drawing room (where the aforementioned cassone was also placed) this ‘jewel like casket’ was described as ‘sumptuous with its beaten steel ornamentation, in a Giulio-Romano style of scroll work, on a granulated dull gold ground’ (The Magazine of Art, vol. 2, 1879, p. 207). An artistic tour de force, it is no wonder it was given pride of place in the ‘opalescent’ drawing room of Carlton House terrace.
Following Morrison’s death in 1857, the casket passed by descent to his granddaughter Hester Sassoon née Gatty (1906-1973), wife of the poet Siegfried Sassoon (1888-1967) at Heytesbury House, Wiltshire. Upon her death the casket passed by descent to her only son, George.
PLÀCIDO ZULOAGA – AN OBVIOUS TALENT
Born into a family of Spanish Royal Armourers, Plácido Zuloaga (1834-1910) went on to become one of the greatest masters of the art of damascening, praised in his day as 'a second Benvenuto Cellini'. His first recognition as an artist came in 1855 when, together with his father Eusebio, he inspired the following comments for work shown at the Paris Exposition Universelle: 'One cannot praise too highly the arms and other metal objects presented by the Sres. Zuloaga, father and son; [...] iron-chiselling, damascene, etching and repoussé never had interpreters of such obvious and varied talent' (Anon. Visite à l'Exposition Universelle de Paris, Paris, 1855, p. 121). In 1859, Plácido took over the management of his father Eusebio Zuloaga's manufactory at Eibar in the northern Basque province of Guipúzcoa, and what had principally been a gun-making factory for the previous two generations was gradually transformed under his supervision into one for forging and damascening art objects. Internationally lauded, Zuloaga went on to win the Grand Prix at 1878 and 1889 Paris International Exhibitions and died in 1910.
TECHNIQUE
The process by which the present casket and all Zuloaga's works of art were produced was meticulous and, in almost direct contradiction to the industrial revolution, entirely by hand. As noted in a contemporary article on the artistry of Zuloaga’s damascene work, ‘The steel of all countries arrived at Mr. Zuloaga’s in rough condition as sheet-iron; then begin the different operations of planning, polishing, adjusting, repulsing; while, on the other hand, the pattern and the model in wax, which ought to be executed are prepared. Let us remember that the relief, which Mr. Zuloaga is the only one to apply in Europe, is the application of gold in different thickness, afterwards chiselled on the whole.’ (‘Artistical Spain,’ Le Pantheon de l’Industrie, 1 January 1891, pp. 261-262).
This specific technique introduced by Eusebio and perfected by Plácido indeed involved drawing the designs by hand on the iron surface, the resulting shallow striations were cut in three directions and evenly spaced close together. The gold and silver wires were then laid down and permanently attached by manual process of punching so that surfaces becomes flattened and each wire joins together to appear as if executed from a single sheet of metal (see Lavin, pp. 36-37). The process was highly technical, and one that could not be rushed. As an article from 1874 notes that two ‘precious’ vases in repoussé iron, and gold and silver damascene destined for a ‘riche amateur anglaise, M. Alfred Morrison’ took three years to complete (La République française, 14 June 1874, p. 3).
THE ARTIST AND HIS PATRONS
With the high cost of materials and craftsman to produce his intricate designs, patronage was key to Zuloaga’s success. On the death of his father in 1856, Eusebio Zuloaga was promoted to the position of Chief Armourer to Isabel II and her consort king, and was given the title of Huntsman to the Royal Family. Thus for the next twelve years the firm of Zuloaga was kept busy not only supplying weaponry and armour, but also sumptuous table objects ordered by the monarchy, either for gifts or for their own private use. The latter included a gold and silver damascened iron inkstand supplied to Isabel II in 1860 (illustrated Lavin, p. 52, fig. 10), and a magnificent table-clock ordered by the queen mother, Marìa Cristina, for presentation to Napoleon III (op. cit., p. 55, fig. 11). However, the fall of Isabel II's government in 1868 not only brought the Royal patronage enjoyed by the Zuloaga’s over the previous decade to an abrupt end. Fortunately for Plácido Zuloaga, a new patron, less prone to the precariousness of 19th century European royalty, arrived to replace the Borbóns and became his most important client for the next two decades – Alfred Morrison.
Plácido Zuloaga is believed to have met Morrison during his visit to London for the International Exhibition of 1862. The son of a wealthy textile magnate, Morrison had inherited the estate of Fonthill, Wiltshire, on the death of his father in 1857. Soon after, he engaged Owen Jones, the celebrated architect and author of The Grammar of Ornament, to redesign its interior to complement his already extensive collection of modern objets d'art. Jones was an admirer of Islamic, and by extension, Spanish ornamentation, and had even spent some time living in the Alhambra, Granada. These tastes corresponded with those of Morrison, who over the next twenty years was responsible for virtually all of Plácido Zuloaga's major commissions, whether they were intended for Fonthill or for his London home at 16 Carlton House Terrace, acquired in 1865 and decorated by Jones in the same taste. Chief among these commissions were an enormous Renaissance style cassone of related decoration, executed 1870-1 (sold Christie's, The Remaining Contents of Fonthill House, 1-2 November 1971, lot 9, now in the Khalili Collection; see Lavin, cat. 1, pp. 71-81) and a magnificent side-table, completed in 1880 and now in the collection of His Majesty the King (The Royal Collection Trust, inv. RCIN 2526).
The present lot is described in a descriptive tour of Morrison’s home in an article in The Magazine of Art of 1880. Recorded in the drawing room (where the aforementioned cassone was also placed) this ‘jewel like casket’ was described as ‘sumptuous with its beaten steel ornamentation, in a Giulio-Romano style of scroll work, on a granulated dull gold ground’ (The Magazine of Art, vol. 2, 1879, p. 207). An artistic tour de force, it is no wonder it was given pride of place in the ‘opalescent’ drawing room of Carlton House terrace.
Following Morrison’s death in 1857, the casket passed by descent to his granddaughter Hester Sassoon née Gatty (1906-1973), wife of the poet Siegfried Sassoon (1888-1967) at Heytesbury House, Wiltshire. Upon her death the casket passed by descent to her only son, George.