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Lot Essay
Abundantly embellished with gilt-bronze mounts on a patinated ground and depicting classical figures engaged in festive activities, these monumental vases are superb examples of the oeuvre of St Petersburg artist Friedrich Bergenfeldt (d. 1822). Bergenfeldt worked closely with Count Stroganoff’s protégé (and likely illegitimate son), the architect Andrei Voronikhin (d. 1814), who produced designs for ornamental vases in 1801, loosely based on prototypes by the Paris bronzier Claude Galle. The present vases formed part of the collection of the connoisseur and architect Sir Albert Richardson at Avenue House in Ampthill.
FRIEDRICH BERGENFELDT (1768-1822)
Bergenfeldt was born in 1768 in Westphalia, and like so many German craftsmen, came to Russia to seek his fortune in the 1790s. He worked first in the atelier of the bronzier Yan Aoustin and then with Charles Dreyer. He then seems to have left St. Petersburg, possibly for Paris. He returned to Russia after the death of Paul I in 1801 and established his workshop on the Fontanka Embankment. His advertisements in the local newspapers announce the sale of all manner of bronze ornaments such as - vases, candelabras, cassolettes, girandoles, chandeliers, veilleuses etc. in the antique taste and of a quality equal to that of French bronzes. He collaborated with Heinrich Gambs, supplying many of the gilt-bronzes for Gambs' furniture, but eventually disappeared from view. Towards the end of his life, he successfully petitioned the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna for a position restoring and cleaning her bronzes. He died in poverty on May 17, 1822, leaving behind a large and destitute family (I. Sytchev, 'Friedrich Bergenfeldt, an Unknown Russian Bronzier', Russian Jeweler, No 1, 1998, p. 31).
In spite of the Russian embargo on French gilt-bronzes and clocks, Voronikhin and Bergenfeldt were strongly influenced by the work of Claude Galle, and designs produced by Voronikhin are loosely based on Galle prototypes, but imbued with originality and less restraint. A comparable single ormolu-mounted patinated bronze urn, signed by Bergenfeldt, working to a design by Voronikhin was sold Christie’s, New York, 26 October 2001, lot 298.
Further related comparables attributed to Bergenfeldt include a pair recorded in the collections of the Hermitage in the first half of the 19th century; another pair, possibly the latter, exhibited by Ariane Dandois in L'Empire à Travers l'Europe, exh. cat., Paris, 2000, no. 22; a pair formerly in the collections of the counts Bobrinski (illustrated in I. Sytchev, 'Friedrich Bergenfeldt, an Unknown Russian Bronzier', Russian Jeweler, No. 1, 1998, p. 31); and a pair in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence (see M. Chiarini and S. Padovani, Gli Appartamenti Reali di Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 1993, p. 229, fig. II.36).
A DIPLOMATIC GIFT?
The political alliance between Emperor Napoleon I and King Frederick I of Württemberg was a complex one. Frederick succeeded to the Duchy of Württemberg on the death of his father in 1797. He was by this time married to his second wife, Princess Charlotte (d. 1828), daughter of George III. In 1800 the Duchy of Württemberg was occupied by the Consulate army and Frederick was forced to temporarily flee to Vienna and Erlangen; this was to be the hostile initiation of his relationship with the future Emperor, however following the peace of 1802 the two would become firm allies. In 1805, Napoleon, by this time elevated to Emperor, recognised Frederick as the newly styled King of Württemberg, in return for the latter's support in the form of a supply of auxiliary troops. Frederick was crowned in January 1806 at Stuttgart shortly before joining Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine and the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. The new King's loyalty was rewarded with Napoleon's support of Württemberg's annexation of neighbouring territory. Diplomatic relations with Paris were finally cemented with the marriage of his daughter Princess Catharina of Württemberg to Napoleon's younger brother Jérôme Bonaparte in Paris in 1807; an alliance which had the curious side-effect of making George III grandfather-in-law to Napoleon's brother. The couple was installed as King and Queen of Westphalia by Napoleon in 1807, but would only remain until the fall of the Empire in 1813. Napoleon and Württemberg would remain political allies until Württemberg, perhaps in anticipation of the eventual outcome, switched sides during the War of the Sixth Coalition in 1813. A change of allegiance eased by his family ties, not only to the British monarchy but also to the Russian Emperor, Alexander I.
The vehement imperial symbolism, along with the sheer scale and opulence of these vases, certainly supports the tradition that they were a diplomatic gift, as implied by the note which accompanies them. In 1805 Napoleon visited Frederick I at Ludwigsburg Palace, Württemberg, to consolidate their alliance, prior to Frederick being crowned King the following year. The occasion prompted much work on the decorations of the palace, where the two leaders held talks in the 'Mars Room'. Entertainment came in the form of a visit to the theatre where Napoleon saw a production of Don Juan, and apparently the theatre was 'completely done over' for the occasion (K. Merten, Ludwigsburg Palace, Stuttgart, 1992, pp. 42 & 112). The meeting was subsequently recorded in a painting of 1812 by Louis Etienne Watelet (d. 1866), which is now in the collection of the palace of Versailles. Whilst no records have been found to identify the gifts exchanged at this meeting, it is highly likely that significant gifts, such as these vases, would have been made to mark such an important occasion. The giving of diplomatic gifts has always been used to cement alliances and curry favour between the courts of Europe and these gifts were often carefully chosen to display the power and intent of the giver. Napoleon took this tradition to extremes, lavishing the most sumptuous gifts on those who supported him and those whose support he wished to garner, making an imperial gift of this magnitude, to a key strategic ally, entirely plausible. The remaining records, though far from complete, illustrate the magnificence and distribution of Napoleon's gifts, not only across Europe but beyond, to destinations such as Algiers, Tunisia and Constantinople - the number of items dispatched from Paris is astonishing. Despite the incomplete nature of the records held at the French National Archive, especially covering the years 1804-1806, it is possible to discover the lavish nature of the gifts sent by Napoleon to the King of Württemberg, following the cessation of hostilities in 1801, which include: a snuff-box (costing 8,000 Fr.) on 24 August 1802, in celebration of the peace between the French Republic and Württemberg; five Gobelins tapestries on 4 May 1806; two snuff-boxes and two rings given at the Congress of Erfurt, 27 September-14 October 1808, (23,012 Fr.); and two Gobelins tapestries, Leonidas and Cleombrotte (13,600 Fr.) and Aria and Petus (12,600 Fr), together with a framed portrait of the Emperor (1.800 Fr.) on 29 December 1809 (A. Maze-Sencier Les fournisseurs de Napoléon Ier et des deux impèratrices..., Paris, 1893).
A LINK WITH THE CHATEAU DE SULLY
A paper label included in the most recent sale of these urns suggests that they were once part of the collection at the château de Sully, La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland. The château was built in 1882 by Baron René-Pierre de Boucheporn, the grandson of Anne François Louis Bertrand, Baron de Boucheporn (d. 1823), who was Grand Maréchal à la cour du roi de Westphalie, under Jérôme Bonaparte. This raises the possibility that the vases may have passed from the King of Württemberg to his daughter and subsequently from her, perhaps by gift, to the Baron de Boucheporn and by descent to his grandson at the château de Sully.
FRIEDRICH BERGENFELDT (1768-1822)
Bergenfeldt was born in 1768 in Westphalia, and like so many German craftsmen, came to Russia to seek his fortune in the 1790s. He worked first in the atelier of the bronzier Yan Aoustin and then with Charles Dreyer. He then seems to have left St. Petersburg, possibly for Paris. He returned to Russia after the death of Paul I in 1801 and established his workshop on the Fontanka Embankment. His advertisements in the local newspapers announce the sale of all manner of bronze ornaments such as - vases, candelabras, cassolettes, girandoles, chandeliers, veilleuses etc. in the antique taste and of a quality equal to that of French bronzes. He collaborated with Heinrich Gambs, supplying many of the gilt-bronzes for Gambs' furniture, but eventually disappeared from view. Towards the end of his life, he successfully petitioned the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna for a position restoring and cleaning her bronzes. He died in poverty on May 17, 1822, leaving behind a large and destitute family (I. Sytchev, 'Friedrich Bergenfeldt, an Unknown Russian Bronzier', Russian Jeweler, No 1, 1998, p. 31).
In spite of the Russian embargo on French gilt-bronzes and clocks, Voronikhin and Bergenfeldt were strongly influenced by the work of Claude Galle, and designs produced by Voronikhin are loosely based on Galle prototypes, but imbued with originality and less restraint. A comparable single ormolu-mounted patinated bronze urn, signed by Bergenfeldt, working to a design by Voronikhin was sold Christie’s, New York, 26 October 2001, lot 298.
Further related comparables attributed to Bergenfeldt include a pair recorded in the collections of the Hermitage in the first half of the 19th century; another pair, possibly the latter, exhibited by Ariane Dandois in L'Empire à Travers l'Europe, exh. cat., Paris, 2000, no. 22; a pair formerly in the collections of the counts Bobrinski (illustrated in I. Sytchev, 'Friedrich Bergenfeldt, an Unknown Russian Bronzier', Russian Jeweler, No. 1, 1998, p. 31); and a pair in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence (see M. Chiarini and S. Padovani, Gli Appartamenti Reali di Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 1993, p. 229, fig. II.36).
A DIPLOMATIC GIFT?
The political alliance between Emperor Napoleon I and King Frederick I of Württemberg was a complex one. Frederick succeeded to the Duchy of Württemberg on the death of his father in 1797. He was by this time married to his second wife, Princess Charlotte (d. 1828), daughter of George III. In 1800 the Duchy of Württemberg was occupied by the Consulate army and Frederick was forced to temporarily flee to Vienna and Erlangen; this was to be the hostile initiation of his relationship with the future Emperor, however following the peace of 1802 the two would become firm allies. In 1805, Napoleon, by this time elevated to Emperor, recognised Frederick as the newly styled King of Württemberg, in return for the latter's support in the form of a supply of auxiliary troops. Frederick was crowned in January 1806 at Stuttgart shortly before joining Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine and the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. The new King's loyalty was rewarded with Napoleon's support of Württemberg's annexation of neighbouring territory. Diplomatic relations with Paris were finally cemented with the marriage of his daughter Princess Catharina of Württemberg to Napoleon's younger brother Jérôme Bonaparte in Paris in 1807; an alliance which had the curious side-effect of making George III grandfather-in-law to Napoleon's brother. The couple was installed as King and Queen of Westphalia by Napoleon in 1807, but would only remain until the fall of the Empire in 1813. Napoleon and Württemberg would remain political allies until Württemberg, perhaps in anticipation of the eventual outcome, switched sides during the War of the Sixth Coalition in 1813. A change of allegiance eased by his family ties, not only to the British monarchy but also to the Russian Emperor, Alexander I.
The vehement imperial symbolism, along with the sheer scale and opulence of these vases, certainly supports the tradition that they were a diplomatic gift, as implied by the note which accompanies them. In 1805 Napoleon visited Frederick I at Ludwigsburg Palace, Württemberg, to consolidate their alliance, prior to Frederick being crowned King the following year. The occasion prompted much work on the decorations of the palace, where the two leaders held talks in the 'Mars Room'. Entertainment came in the form of a visit to the theatre where Napoleon saw a production of Don Juan, and apparently the theatre was 'completely done over' for the occasion (K. Merten, Ludwigsburg Palace, Stuttgart, 1992, pp. 42 & 112). The meeting was subsequently recorded in a painting of 1812 by Louis Etienne Watelet (d. 1866), which is now in the collection of the palace of Versailles. Whilst no records have been found to identify the gifts exchanged at this meeting, it is highly likely that significant gifts, such as these vases, would have been made to mark such an important occasion. The giving of diplomatic gifts has always been used to cement alliances and curry favour between the courts of Europe and these gifts were often carefully chosen to display the power and intent of the giver. Napoleon took this tradition to extremes, lavishing the most sumptuous gifts on those who supported him and those whose support he wished to garner, making an imperial gift of this magnitude, to a key strategic ally, entirely plausible. The remaining records, though far from complete, illustrate the magnificence and distribution of Napoleon's gifts, not only across Europe but beyond, to destinations such as Algiers, Tunisia and Constantinople - the number of items dispatched from Paris is astonishing. Despite the incomplete nature of the records held at the French National Archive, especially covering the years 1804-1806, it is possible to discover the lavish nature of the gifts sent by Napoleon to the King of Württemberg, following the cessation of hostilities in 1801, which include: a snuff-box (costing 8,000 Fr.) on 24 August 1802, in celebration of the peace between the French Republic and Württemberg; five Gobelins tapestries on 4 May 1806; two snuff-boxes and two rings given at the Congress of Erfurt, 27 September-14 October 1808, (23,012 Fr.); and two Gobelins tapestries, Leonidas and Cleombrotte (13,600 Fr.) and Aria and Petus (12,600 Fr), together with a framed portrait of the Emperor (1.800 Fr.) on 29 December 1809 (A. Maze-Sencier Les fournisseurs de Napoléon Ier et des deux impèratrices..., Paris, 1893).
A LINK WITH THE CHATEAU DE SULLY
A paper label included in the most recent sale of these urns suggests that they were once part of the collection at the château de Sully, La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland. The château was built in 1882 by Baron René-Pierre de Boucheporn, the grandson of Anne François Louis Bertrand, Baron de Boucheporn (d. 1823), who was Grand Maréchal à la cour du roi de Westphalie, under Jérôme Bonaparte. This raises the possibility that the vases may have passed from the King of Württemberg to his daughter and subsequently from her, perhaps by gift, to the Baron de Boucheporn and by descent to his grandson at the château de Sully.