Paris

Flemish school from the beginning of the 17th century (Circle of Martin DE VOS) Drawing Pen and wash 38 x 32 cm (58 x 52 cm with the frame) Inscription "Martin de Vos" Excellent cond...

French School 18th Century, Le Rire, Laughter as a form of expression, Titled on the lower right "Le rire N°12" Black chalk on paper 43 x 29 cm In quite good condition, stains vsibl...

Namban chest with a semi-cylindrical lid made of black lacquered wood (urushi) with gold lacquer (maki-e) and inlaid with mother-of-pearl (raden). Decorated with three main bands o...

Late 17th century French Gilt Bronze Figure of a Crouching Venus Gilt bronze crouching Venus on a pedestal decorated with Boulle marquetry and...

This vigorous drawing is clearly inspired by the numerous compositions on the Ecce Homo theme which were produced by Titian and his workshop at the painter's maturity. However, the number of characters and their expressionist treatment, the many variations to Titian's paintings reveal a drawing made by an original artist, perhaps of foreign origin, belonging to the peripheral circle of the "Titian solar system”, as described by the art historian Enrico Maria del Pozzolo. 1. Titian, the leading artist of 16th century Venetian painting and his botteghe Tiziano Vecelli (or Vecellio), known as Titian, was born between 1489 and 1490 in Pieve di Cadore in the Veneto region of Italy into a wealthy family of soldiers and lawyers. At the age of 15, he joined the studio of Giovanni Bellini, where he became friend with Giorgione, ten years his senior. Giorgione introduced him to a new pictorial style in which forms are defined by colour and pictorial substance, freeing himself from the meticulous underlying drawings characteristic of Bellini's painting. Titian became the official painter of the Republic of Venice upon Bellini's death in 1516. In 1518, the completion of his Assumption for the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice established his reputation as the leading painter of the Venetian school: throughout his career, Titian had a considerable impact on other artists of his time, whether they were direct collaborators, occasional contributors, or other artists under his influence. Considered one of the greatest portraitists of his time, his fame spread throughout Europe and he became the official painter of the greatest European families: the Gonzagas, the Farneses (Alessandro Farnese, of whom he executed several portraits, was elected pope in 1534 under the name of Paul III), the Habsburgs (he went to Augsburg in 1548 to paint the portrait of Charles V and King Philip II of Spain, his successor, later became the artist's main patron). As Titian almost reached the age of 90 years, he saw during his lifetime the death of many of his loved ones (his wife Cecilia, his brother Francesco and his son Orazio). A pathetic feeling appears in his late artworks, such as his famous Pieta, his last work intended to decorate his tomb which remained unfinished. Titian's success was also based on the establishment of a large and versatile workshop, which, alongside the traditional assistance in the production of certain paintings, ensured the publication of numerous woodcuts, allowing the master's works to be widely distributed. Long ignored by art historians, the individual stories of these various collaborators, the organisation of this workshop and the interactions of the collaborators with the master are at the heart of contemporary studies on the artist. 2. A complex composition with expressionist overtones Executed with great virtuosity in black chalk, the composition of our drawing is complex, even slightly confused and probably reflects several phases of execution, if not several hands. The scene is organised around the characters of Christ and an executioner wearing a Phrygian cap. Christ is presented at mid-body, slightly at an angle, his torso bare, his shoulders draped in a cloak, his hands clasped together and probably bound. His head, as if weighed down by the crown of thorns, is slightly bent forward. The eyes and mouth are hollowed out by the black chalk to better express his sorrow. The man wearing a Phrygian cap holds a whip in his right hand, while his left hand, barely outlined, seems to be pulling aside Christ's tunic as if he were about to scourge him. Two other men, who may have been added at a later stage, occupy the space between the executioner and Christ. One is depicted in profile, while the one behind Christ appears to be wearing a military helmet. In an indistinct gesture, his left arm is raised as if to strike Christ. Slightly behind Jesus on his left side, appears a bearded old man wearing a turban. With his left arm raised, he holds out the palm of his hand in a gesture of amazement. His face is finely executed and contrasts with the hand depicted in a rather crude manner. This character may also have been added at a later stage, as he does not fit in perfectly behind the group formed by Jesus and his executioner. This frieze is completed in the left foreground by two additional figures depicted in three-quarter view. Soberly sketched but with great fluidity, only their heads emerge, as if Christ and his executioners were situated on a pedestal above a large crowd. Finally, on the right-hand side of the composition, a second helmeted soldier is depicted. His musculature can be seen under his armour while he stares intently at Christ. He is smaller than the other figures, even though he appears in the front row, revealing a certain clumsiness on the part of the artist. 3. Ecce Homo, one of Titian’s favourite subjects in his twilight years In 1543, Titian tackled the theme of the Ecce Homo in a masterly composition now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Christ is presented by Pilate, dressed in an antique costume, at the top of a staircase, in a large, highly architectural setting animated by a crowd of characters. The title of the painting refers to a passage from the Gospel of St John (19, 1-5): “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” From the 1540s onwards, Titian and his workshop repeatedly depicted the Christ of Sorrows for their principal patrons. In these paintings, Titian returned to the half-body format that he had practically abandoned since 1520 and refocused the composition (compared to the large 1543 Ecce Homo) on the figure of Christ, who is depicted alone or accompanied by a few figures. With his eyes lowered and his head slightly bowed, Titian's Christ seems calmly resigned to his fate. Powerless and submissive, he arouses deep pathos from the viewer. The tondo in the Louvre Museum shows Christ in a position very similar to that of our drawing, a position that will be found in most of Titian's Ecce Homo. To his right stands a helmeted soldier who seems to be baring his shoulder and to his left a servant of Pilate wearing a Phrygian cap. These two figures are reminiscent of the soldier in the lower right corner and the executioner in the left most part of our drawing. Various versions were executed by Titian and his workshop until the late 1560s, and the version that seems closest to the right-hand side of our drawing is the one in the Prado Museum. Although of uneven quality, it is interesting to note the gesture of Pilate's hand, holding out the palm of his left hand towards the viewer, as if to distance himself from the decision that the crowd will make. Recent X-rays of the painting have shown that the executioner on the right, depicted from behind, was originally depicted in profile (as in our drawing), and that the other two figures (Pilate on the left of Christ and a servant wearing a Phrygian cap on his right) were added later. The painting was then organised around the diagonal that crosses the canvas from left to right, emphasised by the light coming from the window, and centred on the exchange of glances between Christ and the executioner on his left. The profile of the old man in the foreground on the left could be inspired by that of the elderly Titian as it appears repeatedly in the painter's late artworks, such as the Madonna of Mercy in the Palatine Gallery. 4. A deeply original drawing, at the risk of confusion We saw in the last paragraph the various borrowings from Titian's depictions of the Ecce Homo that can be found in this drawing: the position of Christ, the presence of executioners wearing Phrygian caps and of helmeted soldiers, one of whom is looking at Christ in a position that evokes the repentance visible with X-ray in the Madrid painting...

A Regence ormolu-mounted commode by Etienne Doirat (Paris, 1675-1732) Rare and elegant commode curved on the front and on the sides, in amaranth veneer arranged in sheets in the frames. It opens with four drawers in three rows: two large and two short and asymmetrical . Rich ornamentation of chiseled and gilt bronzes: the Rococo frontal cartouche, mounts with oak leaf windings, foliated handles and clogs, rosettes on the sides. Flanders red marble top. Size: h. 35.04 inch, w. 56.69 inch, d. 33.46 inch By Etienne Doirat (1675-25 June 1732), Regency period, 18th century Although not stamped, our commode belongs by its shape and its bronze ornamentations to an identified corpus of the production of Etienne Doirat, one of the most talented cabinetmakers under the Regency. This group of chests of drawers listed in public and private collections, some of which stamped E. Doirat are characterized by the almost identical front cartouche. On our chest of drawers, this cartouche is formed by two scalloped lambrequins joined by a clip they are extended by branches with acanthus foliage and flowers with beaded friezes. Inside are two keyholes, the first with a lion's mouth, the second formed by two stylized dolphins facing each other with lion's paws under a valance. Chests of drawers by Etienne Doirat with the frontal cartouche: Commode in identical "tombeau" shape: - Commode stamped Doirat, Christie's London, July 10, 2008 lot n 43 - Unstamped chest of drawers, doc. Me Tajan, published in "French 18th century Furniture" by Kjelleberg Commode of different shape, identical front cartouche: - Chest of drawers with three drawers, stamped Doirat, Christie's London, November 27, 2018 lot n 509 - Sarcophagus chest of drawers, stamped Doirat, J. Paul Getty museum, Los Angeles - Chest of drawers with two drawers, stamped Doirat, private collection, illustrated in J. - D. Augarde - Chest of drawers with three drawers, stamped by Migeon, but attributed to Doirat from the former Eugène Kraemer collection, sale at Galerie Georges Petit (Paris), May 5-6, 1913, lot 141; former Ogden Mills collection, Paris, rue de Varenne...

18th century Flemish School After David TENIERS Le Jeune Oil on canvas 72 x 53 cm (87 x 67.5 cm with the frame) Beautiful 19th century frame in black wo...

Fred G. Meier, art historian, confirmed with the following comment, after a photographic examination of the work, that it belongs to the studio of Georg Flegel...

Salome receiving the head of Saint John the Baptist 17th century painting Frame dimensions : 115 x 133 x 6 cm.

Italian School 18th Century An Ancient soldier in profile, red chalk on paper 35 x 23.5 cm in good condition, traces of folds in the lower right corner Framed : 46.5 x 35.5 cm This...

Large romanesque statue of Saint Lucy of Syracuse is dated from the 12th century. The saint is represented veiled and diademed, she wears a long dress, with an important tie. Stone s...

Tapestry of Flanders 17th century (offer to the king) with very pretty colors Thanks to our Restoration-Conservation workshop and also Our know-how, we are pleased to present to you works of art in fabric such as Tapestry, Carpets and Textiles...

This spectacular red chalk drawing depicts an elderly woman, her eyes bulging, her hand stretched out towards the sky. This disturbing character, who seems close to dementia, and the elongation of her arm with its Mannerist overtones, plunge us into the Florentine artistic milieu of the first half of the 17th century. The proximity of this drawing to some characters in the fresco in the Pitti Palace representing The Muses, Poets and Philosophers chased from Parnassus, the last masterpiece of Giovanni da San Giovanni, leads us to propose an attribution to this artist and a dating of around 1635-1636. 1. Giovanni da San Giovanni, the painter of contradiction We take here the title of the monography dedicated to the artist by Anna Banti in 1977, which remains the reference book for this artist. The son of a notary, Giovanni Mannozzi, known as Giovanni da San Giovanni, abandoned his studies to go to Florence at the age of sixteen, where he entered the studio of Matteo Rosselli (1578 - 1650) around 1609 and enrolled in the Academy of Drawing Arts in 1612. Around 1615 he produced his first known works, mainly frescoes for the city's tabernacles. He became famous in Florence for his originality, combining an obsessive application to the study of drawing and the reading of poetry and history with a disheveled appearance. Between 1619 and 1620 he decorated the facade of the Antella Palace in Piazza Santa Croce, a decoration that still partly survives today. The death of Cosimo II in 1621 put an end to the Florentine building activity and Giovanni da San Giovanni left for Rome to find other sponsors with the painter Francesco Furini...

Bust of Gothic Virgin. Lorraine 14th century. Important bust of Saint or Virgin of the Annunciation. Life size veiled woman. Full-featured face with almond-shaped eyes and large locks of curly wawy hair...

Early 18th century richly and profusely carved giltwood mirror depicting personnified allegories of the four seasons. The giltwood frame is made of adjourned wood decorated with flowers and leaves forming acanthus leaves spandrels. The pediment is lavishly carved and adorned with scrolls, foliage and flowers. Four putti...

This portrait depicts us the trusted confidant of the Conflans d'Armentières family. More precisely, Julien Prieur was the fiscal procurator of the Marquisate of Armentières, playing the role of representative of the "public ministry", safeguarding the interests of his lord. His role, one can imagine, was crucial at the death of Michel de Conflans (in 1717) since the latter left an heir, Louis, aged only 6, and a widow, Diane Gabrielle de Jussac, whom some memoirs describe as "a very clever grande dame" . Prieur ensured the smooth running of the family's affairs and it is probably to thank him for his services that Diane Gabrielle had his portrait painted, most probably by a painter close to Jean-Baptiste Oudry. Julien Prieur appears as he is, middle-aged, with a benevolent look, in his hunting suit. Only his knotted wig links him to the nobility. Above all, he is depicted as a hunter, a passion that he shared with the Marquis of Armentières. His very young master, Louis, became a first-rate hunter, hunting in the King's entourage, in whose cabinet he died of apoplexy in January 1774. As for the his son, he was one of Louis XVI's closest hunting companions, as numerous souvenirs attest . 1. Some biographical information about the model and the commissioner While the identity of many 18th century portraits is uncertain, an old label stuck on the reverse of the canvas gives us some precise information on the identity of the model: "Mr. Julien Prieur, homme d’affaires de Mr. le Marquis d'Armentières - Commune of Brécy - Aisne". The label also suggests that it could be his son Louis Prieur living in Rocourt (probably Rocourt-Saint-Martin, a neighbouring municipality of Brécy), born on 30 September 1745, who died on 8 July 1826, but this hypothesis must be rejected in view of the model's clothing. This label probably gives us an indication on the previous owner the owner of this painting; we will see later why it seems likely that this label was affixed between 1826 and 1832. Brécy is now a municipality in the Aisne County (Hauts-de-France) located between Soissons and Château-Thierry, slightly north of the Paris-Reims axis. It borders the municipalities of Armentières-sur-Ourcq and Rocourt-Saint-Martin. According to Louis Prieur's death certificate, he was in fact born in 1743 and not in 1745 . The age of the model in the painting and the dating of this painting would indicate that Julien Prieur, was probably born at the very end of the 17th century. In Louise-Marthe de Conflans-Coigny, chatelaine de Brécy , we read that "the Conflans were a family of ancient nobility, which genealogists trace back to the 12th century, when it was said to have come from the house of Brienne. In the 16th and 17th centuries, this family had several illustrations in the profession of arms. [...] Michel de Conflans, [...] belonged to a younger branch of the family, of which Saint-Simon wrote, with his acid soaked pen, that "poor and obscure, they had never left their village, where their house resembled a hut" and elsewhere that they "lived on their rifles and cabbages". Fortunately for Michel de Conflans, the last representative of the elder branch, Henriette d'Armentières, made him her heir on her death in 1712. It was through her that the land of Armentières and its 14th century castle became part of the estate of this branch, as well as, not far from there, the land of Brécy and the castle of Le Buisson, where the family lived. In the early years of the 18th century, Michel de Conflans was able to push himself into the entourage of the Duke of Orleans, becoming his first gentleman of the chamber. However it was above all his son Louis who restored the family status through his military career. Born on 23 February 1711, Louis de Conflans, Marquis d'Armentières died of apoplexy on 18 January 1774, in the King's cabinet at Versailles. Appointed lieutenant general in 1746, he received his Marshal of France’s stick in 1768. The Dictionary of French Biography writes of him that "without ever achieving a high command, he appeared with honour in all the wars of his time". The estates of Armentières and Le Buisson were sequestered during the French Revolution, declared national property and sold at auction (in 1794 and 1795 respectively) after the Marquise d'Armentières, the Marshal's second wife, was beheaded in 1794. The Château du Buisson (where Michel de Conflans died in 1717) was bought by a granddaughter of the Marshal de Conflans, the Marquise de Coigny, in 1816 and remained in her family after her death in 1832 until the sale of the 1,054 hectares estate in 1866. The bayonet blows that probably pierced the canvas in three places may well have a revolutionary origin and it is conceivable that the painting, acquired by the Marquise de Coigny from Louis Prieur, Julien's son, after the latter's death, was then restored and given the label specifying the name of the model. 2. Description of the portrait The painting presents a man in his thirties in his hunting costume. Pictured at mid-body, his face is marked by his life in the open air and characterised by a look of great bonhomie. Holding a rifle under his elbow, he is soberly dressed in a large caramel-coloured jacket, decorated with silver buttons. Presented in a three-quarter view, the model holds a partridge in his right hand. The jacket opens onto a vermilion waistcoat. A green shoulder strap probably holds a powder flask hidden under his arm while a satchel is visible on his belt. The model is wearing a grey wig, tied at the back with a black ribbon that seems to fly in the wind. This ornament anchors Julien Prieur in his time. "The new King of France, Louis XV, [imposed] a style of smaller wigs for men and the rigorous white or preferably greyish powdering. From the middle of the century men also used a ponytail on the back of the neck, tied with a ribbon, a style that became very popular in all courts." He stands out against a dark, purplish sky at the end of an autumn day in a soberly sketched forest landscape. The treatment of the sky recalls the influence of Largillière, Oudry's first master. 3. Jean-Baptiste Oudry Jean-Baptiste Oudry was born on 17 March 1686 in Paris, rue de la Ferronnerie. He began his apprenticeship around 1705-1707 with Nicolas de Largillière, with whom he stayed for five years. In 1713 Oudry established his "livre de raison" in which he reproduced all his early works in wash drawings up until 1718. During this first period which lasted about 7 years, Oudry produced works of great diversity, both in the genres that the artist tackled and in the artists which influenced him. It has been estimated that he painted about 150 pictures during this period: mainly portraits, but also still lifes and some religious paintings and landscapes. Of the hundred or so portraits that Oudry is said to have painted during this period, only fifteen have been identified today. A number of those lost portraits are probably still confused with works by Largillière. First admitted to the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1708, he was then allowed to join the Académie Royale in 1717, and subsequently admitted as a history painter in 1719. This year marks a turning point from which Oudry will assert himself as an animal painter. In 1723 he met Louis Fagon, Intendant of Finances, and the Marquis de Beringhen, the King's first equerry, who became both friends and patrons of the artist, giving him access to royal commissions and enabling him to be appointed as painter of the Royal Tapestry Factory of Beauvais in 1726. From 1728 onwards, the creation of tapestries became the core of his work, even though at the same time Oudry developed his skill as an illustrator, first for Scarron's Roman Comique and then for La Fontaine’s Fables. Between 1726 and 1731, Oudry created the decoration of a large drawing room at the château de Condé-en-Brie, about twenty kilometres from Brécy, which has remained in place to this day. This important commission, about which few details are known, is said to have originated with the Countess de Verrüe, a great lady of the French Regency who often stayed at Condé with her friend Jean-François Leriget, Marquis de la Faye, then owner of Condé. A prolific artist, Oudry fulfilled numerous commissions in parallel with his regular contributions to the Salons, to which he regularly took part until 1753. He suffered a stroke in 1754 and died the following year. It seems almost certain, in view of the importance of his work, that Oudry supervised a workshop in which several artists were involved, but this point is very poorly documented. Given the geographical proximity of Brécy and Condé-en-Brie, the links between the Armentières family and the Condé patrons, and finally based upon the quality of our portrait, we propose the hypothesis that it was painted by one of the painters who worked with Oudry at Condé. 4. Related artworks: comparison with some other portraits of hunters by Jean-Baptiste Oudry While Oudry gradually abandoned portraiture from 1720 onwards to devote himself to animal paintings, he seems to have made an exception for hunter portraits, which were often depicted in the company of their hunting dogs. Two examples seem particularly evocative and suggest a dating for our painting around 1730. We will see in a second part why this dating proposal seems relevant. The first portrait worth mentioning is the presumed portrait of Lieutenant Claude-André Courtin de Crouey, lord of Quatre Fils and Cormeilles-en-Parisis made in 1723, reproduced below. Also presented in a very tight frame, it is interesting for the similarities in the representation of the rifle, and in particular the two metal rivets that are almost identical in our painting. The painting that seems closest to ours is the presumed portrait of Monsieur...

We would like to thank Juliette Parmentier-Courreau of the Custodia Foundation for her welcome and support during the consultation of Glomy’s Journal des Ouvrages. This spectacularly large "feuille de desseins ajustés" commissioned by François Boucher from Jean-Baptiste Glomy is emblematic of the painter's art and mastery of rocaille. It is also fully representative of the taste of this period in the field of decorative arts. The largest of these three drawings, placed at the bottom of the composition, is particularly interesting: dating from around 1756, it constitutes a modello (apparently unpublished) for the frontispiece of the "Catalogue des tableaux de Monsieur de Julienne"), preserved in the Morgan Library in New York. 1. François Boucher, the master of French rocaille The extraordinary career of Francois Boucher was unmatched by his contemporaries in versatility, consistency and output. For many, particularly the writers and collectors who led the revival of interest in the French rococo during the last century, his sensuous beauties and plump cupids represent the French eighteenth century at its most typical. His facility with the brush, even when betraying the occasional superficiality of his art, enabled him to master every aspect of painting – history and mythology, portraiture, landscape, ordinary life and, as part of larger compositions, even still life. He had been trained as an engraver, and the skills of a draftsman, which he imbued in the studio of Jean-Francois Cars (1661 – 1738), stood him in good stead throughout his career; his delightful drawings are one of the most sought-after aspects of his oeuvre. As a student of Francois Lemoyne (1688 - 1737), he mastered the art of composition. The four years he spent in Italy, from 1727-1731, educated him in the works of the masters, classics and history, that his modest upbringing had denied him. On his return to Paris in 1734, he gained full membership of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture with his splendid Rinaldo and Armida (Paris, Musée du Louvre). Although, throughout his career, he occasionally painted subjects taken from the Bible, and would always have considered himself first as a history painter, his own repertoire of heroines, seductresses, flirtatious peasant girls and erotic beauties was better suited to a lighter, more decorative subject matter. His mastery of technique and composition enabled him to move from large scale tapestry...

Perfume fountain in porcelain Imari kinrandé mounted in gilt bronze from the same set of porcelain. The cup and the bowl form the base, the pot covers the perfume container...

Beautiful Arsène Galisson lamp in the shape of a cave made in the 1970s, France. Inside hollowed out to let space for a lightbulb. Signed. Dimension...

Black and gold lacquer suzuribako (writing set) in takamaki-e on a nashi-ji background representing two tigers near rocks, bamboos and plum blossoms in a night landscape. Inside of the lid with a lake landscape. The interior of the suzuribako is composed with an inkstone, topped by a copper water bucket in the shape of a chrysanthemum on the left side, with a brush and a small knife. It includes in the right part a storage compartment. Inscription under the inkstone "Inkstone made by Nakamura Chobe". Although the tiger is not native to Japan, it has a high symbolic. The figure of courage was introduced by Buddhism from China. According to the Chinese tradition, the tiger is from one of the stars of the Great...

Large romanesque capital with water leaf in red Verona marble. This type of capital is typical of 12th century Cistercian abbeys and represents a tr...

This unpublished composition is a recent addition to Adeodato Zuccati’s catalog. The study of this painting by Gianluca Bocchi, an Italian art historian specializing in Italian still lives, is available upon request. This composition is typical of the productions of Adeodato Zuccati, an Emilian painter...

Six-panels screen depicting the exit from the city of a Chinese emperor on horseback and his concubine in a luxurious palanquin. It may be a scene illustrating the poem The Song ...

This masterly frontispiece study, executed with a very sure hand, testifies to the survival of the great Baroque taste in 18th century Venice. It could be one of the very last works by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini: the few lines that cross the papal arms evoke those of Benedict XIV, who became pope in 1740, one year before the artist's death. 1. Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini and the European influence of Venetian history painting in the 18th century Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini was born in Venice in 1675 and trained in the studio of the Milanese painter Paolo Pagani (1655 - 1716). Pagani, who had been living in Venice since 1667, took him to Moravia and Vienna from 1690 to 1696. After a stay in Rome from 1699 to 1701, Pellegrini married Angiola Carriera in 1704, the sister of the great pastelist Rosalba Carriera. From 1708 onwards, Pellegrini left Venice and began an extensive tour of Europe: he worked in England between 1708 and 1713, where he met great success, particularly at Kimbolton Castle and Castle Howard. He then worked in Germany and the Netherlands, then in Bohemia and Austria, before returning briefly to England in 1719. In 1720 he was in Paris where he decorated the ceilings of the Royal Bank for John Law...

Louis Lesueur (1746-1803) A Fantasy Landscape with ancient ruins, 1789, signed and dated "L Lesueur 1789" in the bottom centre Pen and ink and ink wash on paper 14.8 x 22 cm In goo...

Superb sculpture of a laying doe from the Chinese Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). Remainders of polychromic paint, namely red, symbol of good fortune and joy as well as the season of summer, and green, symbol of vigor and vitality and the season of spring. Mounted on base. A similar sculpture in bronze is kept at the Met Museum with the following description " A low bed, small table, and screen were often the only furnishings in a Han-dynasty room. The floors were generally covered with mats kept in place with weights in the shape of single animals, fighting beasts, or entertainers." Condition seen in pictures. Dimensions in cm ( H x L x l ) : - Sculpture : 35 x 40 x 10 - With base : 45.5 x 44 x 15 The Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 B.C. to 220 A.D. and was the second imperial dynasty of China. It is known for its promotion of Confucianism as the state religion and opening the Silk Road trade route to Europe, permanently altering the course of Chinese history. Han Dynasty art and inventions like paper still influence the world today. From the Han Dynasty to the present, deer can be found in many materials and media—rock crystal, nephrite, ink on paper, porcelain, cloisonné enamel, jade, bamboo root, textile, bronze, etc.—alone or in groups, among trees and rocks and in various positions. They appear on everyday objects, from boxes to incense burners, incense holders, lamps, mirror holders and the droppers scholars used when they wrote. A symbol of longevity and grace in Chinese mythology, the word deer is pronounced lu, a homonym for emoluments—favors granted to officials. They therefore represent wealth, nobility and success in imperial examinations (civil service exams for selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy in Imperial China). Deer were the faithful companions of Shu Lao, the god of longevity, and the goddess Magu. They were reputed to live long and to be the only creature able to find the mushroom of immortality, linghzhi. Although its spots are different, deer are sometimes confused or associated with stags, a Manchu hunting trophy whose antlers served to make prestigious furniture. (La Gazette Drouot, Claire Papon) For the colours found on this piece, in Chinese culture, red symbolizes good fortune and joy. Green, symbolizes the spring when everything is brimming over with vigor and vitality. The Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to 220 A.D.) continued the Qin Dynasty’s use of dark colours, but incorporated red. During the earlier years, or Western Han Dynasty, ordinary people wore red while court dress was black. Shoes were red in color. The clothing worn for sacrificial rites was black edged with red. In the later Eastern Han Dynasty, red symbolized the dynasty’s “fire Virtue” and became predominant. Court dress was red. Sacrificial rites called for a red-edged white layer under robes with red socks...

This rare Pidocchioso grey porphyry vase, of antique form, which closely relate those visible on a design of an urn attributed to Louis-Jean Desprez (1743...

This large wash drawing is a slightly enlarged version of a composition executed by Hubert Robert in 1761, at the end of his stay in Rome. This composition is a marvellous synthesis of the painter's art: the clatter of the waterfall, in a grandiose setting inspired by antiquity, is opposed to the intimacy of a genre scene, made up of a few peasant women performing some agricultural work. 1. The stay in Italy, an important founding stage in Hubert Robert's carrier Hubert Robert came from a privileged family of Lorraine origin, linked to the Choiseul-Stainville family, where his father was an intendant. The protection of this powerful aristocratic family enabled him to study classical art at the Collège de Navarre (between 1745 and 1751). After a first apprenticeship in the workshop of the sculptor Slodtz (1705 - 1764), he was invited by Etienne-François de Choiseul-Beaupré-Stainville (the future Duke of Choiseul, then Count of Stainville) to join him in Rome when the latter had just been appointed ambassador. Hubert Robert arrived in Rome on 4 November 1754, aged twenty-one, and remained there until 24 July 1765. Thanks to his patron, he obtained a place as a pensioneer at the Académie de France without having won the prestigious Prix de Rome. On his arrival in Rome, he frequented the studio of the painter Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691 - 1765), the inventor of the ruins painting, and also benefited from the proximity of Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s studio (1720 - 1778). During his eleven-year stay in Rome, Hubert Robert studied the great Italian masters and drew many of the great archaeological sites, multiplying the sketches which he would use throughout his career, becoming one of the masters of the "ruin landscape". Back in Paris in 1765, he was very successful. He was accepted and admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture on the same day, July 26th 1766, which was very unusual. He was appointed draughtsman of the king's gardens in 1784, then guard of the Royal Museum from 1784 to 1792. Arrested in 1793 and detained in the prisons of Sainte Pélagie and Saint-Lazare, he was released in 1794 after the fall of Robespierre and undertook a second trip to Italy. In 1800, Hubert Robert was appointed curator of the new Central Museum and died at his home in Paris in 1808. 2. Description of the artwork This composition, formerly called "La Cascade du Belvédère Pamphile" , is undoubtedly inspired by the water theatres of the Frascati villas. Hubert Robert presents a hemicycle of columns with rustic bossages at the foot of which is a cascade of water falls into a basin. The hemicycle is flanked by two high walls, pierced by window wells topped with antique masks...

Small marble head representing a bearded man in profile, an apostle or a prophet. This sculpture comes from the Joseph Altounian collection dispersed...

Beautiful photo poster of Surf by photographer Leroy Grannis. Huntington Beach is a coastal municipality of Orange County, located in the southern part o...

This recently rediscovered portrait of Santi di Tito depicts a Florentine senator, with a letter in his hand indicating that the painting was executed in 1574 when the sitter was 66 years old. On the basis of these clues, it is tempting to view it as a portrait of Bartolomeo Panciatichi, who was painted some thirty years before by Bronzino (1503 - 1572). While the treatment of the hands recalls the Florentine tradition of Mannerist portraits, the comparison with Bronzino's portrait illustrates Santi di Tito's search for greater realism, despite the stereotyped composition. 1. Santi di Tito, Counter-Reformation painter and portraitist Santi di Tito was the great painter of the Florentine Counter-Reformation. He proposed a new artistic language that broke away from Mannerism. Little is known about his training in Florence (perhaps alongside Bronzino or Baccio Bandinelli), but this period of training enabled him to join the Company of Saint Luke, the guild of Florentine painters, in 1554. Between 1560 and 1564, Santi di Tito spent time in Rome, where he frequented the workshop of Taddeo Zuccari. This stay had a fundamental influence on his work, thanks to the discovery of the late work of Raphael, but also his encounters with the painters Francesco Salviati and Federico Barocci. Around 1565, Santi di Tito returned to Florence, where he remained until the end of his life, dividing his talents between the creation of important religious paintings and countless portraits. He became one of the city's leading painters, distinguishing himself, in particular, in the creation of large religious compositions in which the spirit of the Counter-Reformation was reflected. In 1568, Santi di Tito became a member of the Confraternity of Saint Thomas Aquinas...

Beautiful Renaissance walnut armchair. Origin: Italy. Period: 16th Century. Dimensions: height: 110 cm. length: 66 cm. depth: 50 cm. Material: walnut wood. leather t...

Beautiful and rare Japanese vase from the 18th/19th century. Superb silver inlay work showcasing a Samuraï fighting off a dragon snake with an additional dragon on top of the lid. Additional detailed decorations of chrysanthemums and lily motifs. This vase was part of the collection of Marechal Niel...

Set of four Italian walnut Savonarola armchairs ORIGIN : FLORENCE, ITALY PERIOD : LATE 15TH CENTURY - EARLY 16TH CENTURY Measures: height : 102 cm 40.15 inches, height : 93 cm 36.61 inches length : 68 cm 26.77 inches, length : 68 cm 26.77 inches depth : 55 cm 21.65 inches, depth : 50 cm 19.68 inches Walnut Very good condition This movable Italian seat from the late 15th century descents from the roman curule seat. It took the name of sedia Savonarola...

18th Century Aubusson tapestry - N° 1195 . Thanks to our Restoration-Conservation workshop and also Our know-how, we are pleased to present to you works of art in fabric such as...

Catalan School of the 13th century. Bishop statue in polychrome wood. Large polychrome wooden statue representing a holy bishop carrying a crosier and ma...

Important 15th century polychrome wood virgin and child Origin: Southern Germany Period: Late 15th Century, Ca. 1480-1490 Height : 125 cm Polychrome limewood Good condition Provenance : Private collection, Alsace, France. As soon as 1430, sculpture starts a major and deep stylistic evolution than will unfold over a century, until around 1530. We call it the International Gothic. This production is particularly interested in a quest for realism. This important Virgin and Child wears a long red dress with a round gilded neckline. A delicate golden belt...

IMPORTANT FRENCH RENAISSANCE CHEST ORIGIN : BURGUNDY, FRANCE PERIOD : 16th CENTURY, 2nd FRENCH RENAISSANCE Height: 85cm Length: 170cm Depth: 68cm Oak wood Good condition Original lock Chest is an essential item of Medieval and Renaissance furniture. With its handles it was conceived to be easily moved from one house to another. It would hold linens, dishes or jewellery. Chest was also the ideal wedding present and would enclose the bride’s trousseau. In the middle of the 16th century chests are decisively transformed, their conception now favouring architecture, sculpture and images. This oak wood chest shows impressive proportions with a solid frame. Large mullions are assembled with mortise and tenon joints also securing three carved panels. The facade lower part comprises a high plinth hiding the base of the jambs and acting as feet. It is carved with a frieze of canal motifs topped with palm leaves. The carved decor spreads over the facade of the chest and underlines its structure. On the mullions appears a vegetal decor including roses and palm leaves executed with rigorous symmetry. They frame three rectangular panels. The central one is enriched with two female sphinxes back to back. They wear helmets and spread their wings while their body is partially hidden by long leaves. In the centre a female mask is positioned over draperies. The two lateral panels show a similar but not identical decor. Indeed we can notice a few variations in the motifs. The left hand side panel is adorned with a cut-out leather upon which is depicted two extraordinary ram heads. Their bodies are intertwined with the leather and vegetal motifs in elegant scrolls. A large chou bourguignon stands between both heads. The panel is centred with another ram’s head carved in high relief. On the right hand side panel the composition is alike. The chou bourguignon has been replaced with a shell and the lower part of the panel is adorned with two large fully bloomed flowers. The chest is topped with a frieze of geometrical motifs including scrolls, ovals and rectangles. On the sides, the surface is divided in two moulded rectangular spaces adorned with frame-like scrolls, rectangular cartouches and palm leaves. The chest closes with a massive original lid that can be locked with a key. The important and abundant sculpted decor of this chest allows us to locate its conception in the Burgundy region, France. The regular composition is allied to a remarkable imaginative freedom in the execution of the figures. The very rich iconography draws from the art of Fontainebleau as well as Italian art. The Italian Wars have indeed favoured artistic exchanges and influences between France and the peninsula. The craze for Italian art, particularly during the reign of King François I...

IMPORTANT SEDES SAPIENTIAE VIRGIN AND CHILD ALSO CALLED « THRONE OF WISDOM » ORIGIN: FRANCE, BURGUNDY PERIOD: EARLY 13th CENTURY Height : 75 cm Len...

We thank Mrs. Bożena Anna Kowalczyk who suggested the attribution to Francesco Galimberti based on a photograph of the artwork. This engaging drawing, finely executed in black and red chalks, depicts a Venetian diplomat in his 'new clothes...

RARE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE PERSPECTIVES SIDEBOARD WITH FAN-SHAPED PEDESTAL ORIGIN: TUSCANY, FLORENCE PERIOD: 16th CENTURY Height : 143.5 cm Length : 133 cm Depth : 54 cm Li...

IMPORTANT TRAVEL CHEST WITH A DOMED TOP ORIGIN : SPAIN PERIOD : 16th CENTURY Height : 72 cm Length : 125 cm Depth : 56 cm Walnut Boarded and Studded Good Condition ...

Cow, attribued to delft earthenware 18th century

No Dutch draughtsman ever captured the atmosphere of the rural countryside of Holland with the same atmospheric and engaging simplicity that Van Goyen achieved in drawings such as this. Indeed, his landscapes were seminal in the development of the genre. The present sketch conveys a striking sense of movement within the natural landscape, conveyed by the deftly applied strokes of chalk, from which the artist’s hand can be sensed. The composition is characteristic of his work, with the low horizon affording significance to the broad sky and the soaring birds within. This feeling of windswept motion powerfully evokes the expansive Dutch farmland with which he was evidently preoccupied. 1. Jan van Goyen...

Provenance: Dukes of Marlborough Collection, Blenheim Palace until its sale at Christie's London on 26 July 1886 (lot 172) English private collection until its sale at Christie's London on 11 December 1992 (lot 363) Erna Weidinger Collection (1923 - 2021) - Austria Literature : Georg Scharf - A list of the pictures in Blenheim Palace - Catalogue raisonné Part 2 - London 1862 (page 166 - number 199 "after Palma Giovane") Charles Davies...

This landscape, masterfully executed in pen and wash by Louis-Jean Desprez around 1779, probably represents a view of the Roman countryside. The treatment of the trees is very similar to that of two engravings which Desprez executed in Rome, The Island of Cythera and The Temple of Love. 1. Louis-Jean Desprez, a cosmopolitan life between Italy and Sweden Born in Auxerre in 1743, Louis-Jean Desprez probably began his apprenticeship with the engraver Charles-Nicolas Cochin...

Renaissance Armoirette frontage ORIGINE: FRANCE EPOQUE : 16th CENTURY Measures: height : 90 cm length : 65 cm depth : 10 cm Walnut The armoirette is used to store valu...

Small renaissance cabinet ORIGIN : FRANCE PERIOD : END OF THE 16th CENTURY Measures: height: 167 cm length: 123 cm depth: 58 cm This small two-part unit with harmonious proportions opens with four front leaves and two belt drawers. It rests on a molded base. The uprights and the central frame of the lower body are adorned with long stylized palmettes. They frame the four leaves on which unfolds a vegetal decoration made of stems and leaves sculpted in symmetry around two mascarons topped with feathers...

VIRGIN OF CALVARY ORIGIN : ITALY PERIOD : SECOND HALF 13th CENTURY Height : 75 cm Length : 19 cm Depth : 13 cm Polychrome wood carved in the round This rare sculpture of a Virgin of Calvary originally belonged to an ensemble depicting the Crucifixion. The Virgin would be accompanied by a sculpture of the apostle John, both flanking the Christ. Depictions of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus could complete the ensemble. The portrayal of the Descent from the Cross had to be a touching and moving scene for the viewer. Quite rare during the 10th and 11th centuries this particular scene of the Passion was very much in favour during the 12th century before other scenes took over in turn. Mary is standing with her head slightly tilted to her right shoulder. In a gesture of intercession she raises her left hand – note the long and delicate fingers – towards the missing Christ while with her right hand she holds her cloak around her elbow. Those calm and restrained movements break with the hieratism of Romanesque sculpture...

Carved wood depicting saint martin Origin : Germany Period : 15th century Measure: Height : 85 cm Wood Polychrome remains Good state of conservation Collection number on the back 26757 Our partially polychromed Saint...

Aubusson Tapestry Bakery Scene - 18th Century Thanks to our Restoration-Conservation workshop and also Our know-how, we are pleased to present to you works of art in fabric such as ...

Conical shaped bottle in faceted crystal and gold setting. The conical bottle set in a gold mount opens with a hinge. Inside, the cap has a gripping shaped bird. Once the cap is clos...

Small two-body buffet decorated with bird feathers ORIGIN : FRANCE PERIOD : 16th CENTURY Measures: height: 170 cm length: 106 cm depth: 51 cm Walnut wood This cha...

Large crowned queen's head with trace of polychromy in half-bump. The crown features a fleur-de-lis and cabochons. The almond-shaped eyes are framed by well-marked eyelids with incis...

SMALL RENAISSANCE CABINET ORIGIN: PROVENCE PERIOD: END OF THE 16th CENTURY Height: 175cm Length: 102cm Depth: 50cm Blond walnut This small cabin...

18th Century Roman School A Palazzo with antiques Brown ink and pen, brown ink wash on paper 12.5 x 20 cm Framed : 28,5 x 35.5 This nice drawing represents a genre scene, with a nobleman, priests, a mother and her children...

RARE PAIR OF FIREDOGS ORIGIN : FRANCE PERIOD : 16th CENTURY, HENRI II Measures: height: 78 cm 30 ¾ in width : 24 cm depth : 61 cm Origina...

Large Saint Sebastian finely carved in alabaster. The saint is attached to a column surmounted by a capital, beautiful soft features and superb hair wi...

Very pretty tapestry of 18th century royal manufacture of Aubusson. Thanks to our Restoration-Conservation workshop and also our know-how, we are pl...

This brilliant study sheet, of which we present here a counterproof, is a souvenir of Fragonard's return journey from Italy. Between April and September 1761, he accompanied the abbot of Saint-Non on his way back to France. Three studies after the masters taken from the Pitti Palace’s gallery in Florence are gathered on this sheet. Although The Ecstasy of Saint Margaret...