Early 18th Century Furniture

What makes this piece unique and special is its originali twist to the characteristic Secretaire, a must-have object among Venetian aristocratic families that could not be missing in...

Unusual petite size Georgian ladies wingback chair. Out-scrolled arms supported by walnut cabriole legs. Newly upholstered in silk damask. See measurements below.

Period French Regence giltwood marble top console table, early 18th century with human head supports and hoof feet. Original gilding in good condition.

A page from a Persian manuscript, distinguished by its intricate miniature painting and surrounding script. Description The artwork shows a scene ...

A fine, diminutive, and early Dutch Delft pottery vase or jar marked for Gerrit Kam. With a stylized Chinese peony flower pattern. Bearing an underglaze blue GK monogram to the bas...

Rare early 18th century walnut Palladian diminutive cabinet of architectural form having a pedimented top over pair of pilasters flanking a single a...

A magnificent example of 18th-century Italian Baroque craftsmanship, this grand polychrome and gilded wooden niche embodies the opulence and theatricality of the period. At its cente...

A fine early 18th Century triple-plate George II carved giltwood framed overmantle mirror of horizontal form with acanthus leaf, floral and foliate borders and scrolled sides housing...

A period style Baroque early 18th Century baroque cupboard in dark patinated pine wood. The clean and useful interior is of a later date and features two drawers that can be used for...

Early 18th century Italian Venetian inland painting, a large size oil on canvas Baroque mountain landscape with stream, bridge, waterfall, wayfarers and a village in the background. The woodland is animated by figures, a caravan with horsemen fishermen. This monumental Italian Baroque landscape painting has a strong impact and an excellent composition balance, as it depicts in the center the luminous perspective of a fortified village, whose side wings consist of two mountain rocks with dark wooded vegetation crowded by characters, horsemen, paths, streams.On the left side, with respect to the observer, there is a path that runs alongside a stream that flows into a waterfall in the center of the composition. from a caravan of travelers on foot and on horseback traveling along it in both directions: going up the slope on the mountainous coast you can see a church and a village near the top. The right part of the painting depicts a more sparse and dry vegetation, painted in the chromatic tones of ocher, inside of which there are dead plant, dry branches and a smaller number of figures on the rugged mountain. The iconographic inspiration of this wooded representation seems to be in the large trunk of the withered conifer in a central position, which represents a dead tree, as a? reminder of the transience of everything in life, whose phases are summarized in the two mountainous coasts. In the background a village painted in light and soft blue colors, in stark contrast to the previous scene, seems  to reassure and project us into a future season. With a suggestive theatrical effect, more than 250 cm wide, this Baroque Italian painting comes from a private collection of Milan, the canvas has been lined and shows minor painting retouches at a horizontal seam of the canvas. It is unframed, it has just a wooden profile covering the canvas edge. It is an antique Italian landscape, the perfect opportunity to make a statement. Get the perfect size painting for a great living room, to create that eye-catching focal point. You can make an impact with a single large work by hanging this early 18th century Italian Baroque painting...

A tall and elegant early 18th Century Louis XIV period oak bookcase. With four fixed shelves in the top and one in the base. Hand carved detail with scrubbed back bleached finish. Br...

Scarce German Edition of Guillaume Delisle's 1700 Map of North America This beautifully colored and highly detailed map is a rare Latin edition of Guillaume Delisle's influential 17...

Likely a pew from a private chapel this bench features a shallow seat with tall back and side supports shaped and scrolled resting on bracket feet

This antique map, titled "Totius Americae Septentrionalis et Meridionalis," represents a significant cartographic piece from 1710 by Johann Baptist Homann. Here's a description of this remarkable map: - Title: Totius Americae Septentrionalis et Meridionalis (...) - Date: Published in 1710 by Johann Baptist Homann. Description: This map is a first edition of Johann Baptiste Homann's map of America, and it is notable for several cartographic features and historical representations: 1. California as an Island...

The engraving depicts a classical façade of a building, designed with a series of evenly spaced windows and arches on the ground floor, and rectangular windows on the upper floor. The architectural style is neoclassical, characterized by its symmetry, balanced proportions, and the use of classical elements such as pilasters and pediments. Atop the structure sits a central pediment supported by columns, flanked by statues. This could represent a public building or a grand palatial structure. The precise lines and attention to detail suggest that it was intended for scholarly study or as a record of architectural design. The labeling at the bottom, if any, could provide information on the building's location or the architect, but it's not visible in the image. The engraving is possible part of a series published around the early 18th century by Joan Blaeu, a renowned Dutch cartographer born in 1599 and who passed away in 1673. His works often featured detailed engravings of notable locations. This particular piece would have been published posthumously, as part of a collection that his heirs continued, which was later reissued by publishers like Pierre Mortier. The exact date of publication for this specific engraving is not provided in the information, but it would be within the timeframe of the early 1700s, given the dates of the reissues mentioned and the info behind the watermark that is visible if you hold the print to the light. The text appears in the paper is a historical note about the Honig family, prominent in the Dutch paper manufacturing industry during the 17th and 18th centuries. Jan Jbz. Honig (1688-1757), the white paper manufacturer from Zaandijk, was the son of paper manufacturer Jacob Cz. Honig(h) (1648-1709). Jan began his independent work in 1738 and continued until 1757. He was the younger brother of Cornelis Jbz. Honig (1683-1755), and together they started the company C & J HONIG in 1709. Following a division of the family business in 1738, Jan took over the mill 'De Vergulde Bijkorf' and also acquired the mill 'De Eendracht'. He was married to Trijntje Claes Caescoper (1689-1763) and operated with his son Jacob Jsz. Honig (1712-1780) under the name J(an) HONIG & ZOON. Around 1741, this firm produced Pro Patria paper featuring the emblem of the Hollandse Tuin as a watermark. By 1764, under the direction of his son Jacob, J. HONIG & ZOON supplied paper to the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company, using watermarks including the Amsterdam coat of arms...

Wunderkammer Memento Mori sculpture. depicting a skull, carved from a single piece of fruitwood, this sculpture depicts a skull with deliberately exaggerated and distorted proportion...

Antique French Gobelins Tapestry Rug Size: 11'8" × 13'5" (355 × 408 cm) This magnificent 18th-century French Gobelins tapestry rug exemplifies the ...

Title: "Solemn Mass or Grand' Messe" Description: This detailed engraving depicts a Roman Catholic solemn or high mass, typically celebrated on Sundays and holy days. The scene is s...

A very nice Spanish Colonial paneled cupboard or cabinet probably mid 18th century Spain constructed of Cedar and Pine. All paneled construction with clavos trim nails on the top. O...

Rectangular top with a design of cross section veneer from branches assembled to create a pattern. Rounded molded edge. The case with two over three drawers all with oyster patterns ...

A Pair of Framed 18th c Hand Colored Copper Engravings by Josef Friedrich Leopold (1668-1726) in Augsburg. One titled "Vertumnus and a Nymph Playing With Apples." The other "Mercury ...

A Chinese Porcelain export bowl Qianlong period Fantastic decoration Famille Rose Hunting European theme. The scene depicts Hunters on horses and dogs chasing unidentified animals. ...

Antique map titled 'Geografische Kaarte van de Oude Weereld (..).' Original antique map of the ancient world depicting Europe, Asia, and northern Africa with ancient place names....

A fine circa 1735 English early George II period mirror or looking glass in the Palladian manner of architect and designer William Kent (1685 - 1748), the carved wood frame in origin...

Ancient Italian painting from the first half of the 18th century. Oil on canvas framework depicting a religious subject Saint Francis of good pictorial quality. Wooden frame not coev...

Elegant and refined walnut coin cabinet, enriched with gilded bronze and ebonized wood finishes. The onion-shaped feet are made of ebonized wood, while the corners are adorned with g...

Set of five mid 18th century Delftware plates with chinoiserie decoration of a pagode. Unmarked. Condition: some chipping and wear to the rim

Very fine 17/18thC heavy Tibetan Bodhisattva from my 30-year personal collection. The warm rosy glow of the surface, the softness of the metal, and its incredible weight point to the...

A Fantastic and Rare Pair of Kangxi Period (18th Century) Chinese Porcelain Wucai Decorated Wall Vases/Fountains. Of pear shape, brightly enam...

A Swedish period Baroque painted wood occasional table from the turn of the 17th and 18th century. This antique table from Sweden has a rectangular-shaped elm wood top with angular/c...

A beautiful antique eight-panel English coffer or trunk, dating to the William III period in the early 1700s. The piece has recessed panels with molded ...

Rare early 18th century Delftware plate with rare chinoiserie decoration in blue and iron-red. Marked IvL for Johannes and Margaretha van Lockhorst-van der Gucht, owners of De Klaauw...

18th century mahogany chest on chest from England. There is a dentil moulding, over an arched cove moulding. This chest is of exce...

Great Regency period original antique fireplace mantel with original upper piece.. Originally this kind of mantle pieces where painted in the decoration of the room. It is reclaimed ...

Fabulous early 18th century 9' Italian inlaid walnut table on plinth bases with paw feet. Beautiful, with over 300 years of patina. Great scale and color. Breaks down into 4 pieces.

Early 18th century oak blanket chest from England. the top has three panels, surrounded by a frame with a beveled edge. The front of the case has four panels which have hand carved...

Antique French Commode commonly referred to as a Pantalonnière, which simply means trousers. The concept of a Pantalonnière Commode was that it enabled you to lay out your cloths wit...

Map of the British Isles by Gerard Valk circa 1700 – Hand-Colored Engraving This elegant copperplate engraving titled *Les Isles Britanniques, qui contiennent les Royaumes d'Anglete...

This is a beautiful hand painted blue and white Chinese porcelain large diameter deep plate or charger, dating to the first half of the 18th century, circa 1720, Qing dynasty, either...

Chamberlain Worcester Porcelain Crested Fruit Coolers, Covers and Liners, The crest on the coolers – ‘a phoenix in flames.’ could be that of the St Clair family of Staverton Court, G...

Hallmarked in London in 1726 by Thomas Bamford I, this magnificent, George I, Antique Sterling Silver Warwick Cruet, comprises two oil bottles, two pepper pots and a sugar caster, all fitted to a scroll detailed frame which stands on four cast shell...

18th century gilt black lacquer Chinese cabinet desk, the rectangular-section body decorated with panels of landscapes, the superstructure of two panelled doors, enclosing an array o...

A Louis XVI French barometer adorned with intricate carvings and original gilding, dating back to the late 1700s. This exquisite piece stands as a tes...

Very beautiful trough to put in your garden. Origin: France.

Main Hall Carpet Ningxia North Central China First Half of the 18th century Measures: 12'8" x 13'4" - 386 x 406 cm Structural Analysis Warp: cotton, white, natural, Z-4-S, hand-spun...

Early 18th-Century Burr Walnut Longcase Clock, Circa 1705-1710. England This magnificent early 18th-century English longcase clock exemplifies exceptional craftsmanship and timeless...

THE MOST COMPLETE COMPENDIUM ON THE TECHNICAL SCIENCES OF THE ERA Leupold, Jacob Theatri statici universalis, sive Theatrum staticum, Das ist: Schau-Platz der Gewicht-Kunst und Waag...

Spode Pottery neoclassical Greek pattern blue salad plates, Refreshment for Phliasian Horseman (Set of Fifteen) Early 19th century From a large collection of Spode Greek Pattern...

Unusual and charming Folk Art table from northern Scandinavia, most likely from Norway. The table has a nice and genuine patina after many years of use and it has never been painted ...

The three-piece hand-carved and shaped marble mantel with concave and channel carving, the top piece with interesting peaked corners, the bottom of the supports in black marble.

This handsome pair of Old English style Caldwell sconces are finely detailed, and have a mellow gilt finish. Originally from the library of "Goodwood", the Sewickley PA home of H.J. ...

This is a beautiful Chinese Export porcelain footed Bowl with fine Imari hand painted decoration, dating to the Qing, Kangxi period, circa 1700. The bowl comes with a Chinese hardwoo...

We kindly suggest you read the whole description, because with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to guarantee the authenticity of our objects. The c...

This is a Period of the King Louis XV, very colorful and a deep green paint on the frame, those kind of trumeau are originally situate above a marble mantel.

The most complete compendium on the technical sciences of the era. Leupold, Jacob Theatrum Machinarum Generale. Schau-Platz des Grundes Mechanischer Wissenschaften, das ist: Deutlich...

Tapestry from the Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period , made in 1738 at the Gobelins One panel from a series of Gobelins tapestries depicting the History of Esther, illustrating Esther seated and attended by handmaidens, one washing her feet in golden basin, another fastening a bracelet, another offering a mirror, all observed by Mordecai, woven in the workshop of Michele Audran after a design by J. F. de Troy. The Toilet of Esther c.1778-85.Royal Collection Trust-Queens Audience Chamber Windsor Castle The Sketches for the Esther Cycle by Jean-François de Troy (1736) “and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mor’decai, ..., took for his own daughter.” (Est. 2:7) A supple and undulating genius, both a flattering portraitist and a prolix history painter, as well as a brilliant genre painter, in a gallant or worldly vein, Jean-François de Troy (Paris, 1679 – Rome, 1752), solicited, although he had passed the threshold of old age, a new royal commission up to his ambitions. To obtain it, he submitted – successfully - for the approval of the Bâtiments du roi (administration), seven modelli painted in 1736 with his usual alacrity. Inspired by one of the most novelistic texts of the Old Testament, the Book of Esther, these sketches in a rapid and virtuoso manner were transformed by the artist, between 1737 and 1740 into large cartoons intended to serve as models for the weavers of the Gobelins factory. Showing undeniable ease and skill in the composition in perfect harmony with the sensitivities of the times, the tapestry set met with great success. The Story of Esther perfectly corresponded to the plan of the Bâtiments du roi to renew the repertoire of tapestry models used for the weavers of the royal factories while it also conformed to the tastes of Louis XV’s subjects for a fantastical Orient, the set for a dramatic tale in which splendour, love and death were combined. Indeed, no tapestry set was woven in France during the 18th century as often as that of Esther. The series of modelli painted by de Troy during the year 1736 looks to the history of French painting and decoration under Louis XV as much as it does the history of the Gobelins. It probably counts among the most important rococo pictorial groups to have remained in private hands. First the Biblical source illustrated by De Troy which constitutes the base of one of the richest iconographical traditions of Western art will be considered. Then the circumstances and specific character of French civilisation during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV which contributed to making the theme of Esther a relevant subject, both attractive to contemporaries and remarkably in line with the sensitivities of the time will be elucidated. An examination of the exceptional series of sketches united here, the cartoons and the tapestries that they anticipate as well as a study of their reception will close this essay. The Book of Esther: A scriptural source at the source of rich iconography. The origin of the Esther tapestry set by Jean-François de Troy – origin and creation of a masterpiece According to the evidence of one of the artist’s early biographers, the chevalier de Valory, author of a posthumous elegy of the master, read at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 6 February 1762, it was apparently due to early16 rivalry with François Lemoyne (1688-1737), his younger colleague who had precisely just been appointed First Painter to the King in 1736, that had encouraged François de Troy to seek a commission allowing him to show off his ease and his promptitude at the expense of a rival who was notoriously laborious: “M. De Troy, retaining some resentment of the kind of disadvantage which he believed to have suffered compared with his emulator looked to regain some territory by making use of the facility his rival did not possess. Lemoyne was excessively long in the creation of his works,and M. De Troy of a rare celerity: consequently, with this particular talent, the latter offered to the court to make paintings appropriate to be executed at the Gobelins Factory; and it is to this circumstance that we owe the beautiful series of the Story of Esther, which would be sufficient alone to give him a great reputation.”17 Beyond the suspicion inspired by the topos, which still constitutes, more or less, a tale of rivalries between artists in ancient literature, there is probably some truth in what Valory reports although A.-J. Dezalier d’Argenville (who indicates rather spitefully that de Troy did not hesitate to “cut prices” to impose himself, benefitting from the productivity assured by the unlikely rapidity of his brush)18 proves to be more evasive: “As he looked to busy himself, he had offered to make the paintings that serve as models for the King’s tapestries cheaply: which did not please his colleagues. He was given a choice of two tapestry series to be made and he took the Story of Esther and that of Jason”.19 Whether or not the choice was actually left to de Troy (which would appear rather casual on the royal administration’s part all the same), it seems likely that the artist, whose contemporaries extol his “fire”, as the faculty of invention was then called, must have ardently aspired to the possibility of using on a very large scale the “creative genius” with which Dezallier d’Argenville credits him. The decoration of the private apartments, the fashion for which Louis XV had promoted at Versailles and Fontainebleau, offered little opportunity to excel in this area. Other than painting for altarpieces, only tapestries could allow comparison with Lemoyne who had been granted – unfortunately for him – a major decoration: the enormous ceiling of the Hercules Room at Versailles. Favoured by the recent improvement in France’s financial situation, the revival of patronage offered de Troy a commission fitting for him, in a field in which, however, he had hardly any experience. Anxious to renew the repertoire of models available to the Gobelins factory, the Duc d’Antin, surintendant des Bâtiments du roi from 1708 to 1736 followed by his successor, Philibert Orry comte de Vignory, gave him the task of producing seven large cartoons inspired by the Book of Esther corresponding to the brilliant sketches or modelli which de Troy had produced in one go, or almost (very few preparatory drawings can in fact be linked to the Esther cycle and all seem to be at the execution stage of the cartoons).20 Subjected to the approval of the Administration des Bâtiments according to the procedure in use for projects being planned for the Gobelins, sketches made rapidly during 1736 were approved and the project launched immediately. Thereupon came the news of François Lemoyne’s death, who, ground down by work and a victim of his private torment, committed suicide on 4 June 1737. Against all expectations, de Troy did not replace his rival in the position of First Painter (which remained vacant until the appointment of Charles Coypel in January 1747), which would perhaps have made him too obviously the beneficiary of the drama. The awarding of the position of Director of the French Academy in Rome came to console him while he had already produced (or he was in the process of finishing), in Paris, three of the seven cartoons of the cycle (The Fainting of Esther finished in 1737 and the Toilet and Coronation of Esther, both finished in 1738). De Troy, we can see, did not follow the order of the narrative but began with the subjects which apparently offered the least difficulty because he had already depicted them, or because they fall into a strong pictorial tradition (such is the case especially for the Fainting of Esther). He had hardly settled at the Palazzo Mancini in August 1738, when his first task which awaited the new director of the French Academy naturally consisted of honouring the royal commission and finishing without delay the final cartoons of the Story of Esther after the sketches he must have taken with him. As prompt as ever, de Troy discharged himself of the execution of the four remaining cartoons in only two years, by beginning with the largest format which allowed him to strike the imagination and to impose himself as soon as he arrived on the Roman stage: the Triumph of Mor’decai which was finished in 1739 (like Esther’s Banquet). The following year, the Mor’decai's Disdain and The Sentencing of Haman were brought to an end in the same Neo-Venetian style, obviously tributary to Veronese with its choice of “open” monumental architecture which is characteristic of the entire cycle.21 The series, it should be noted, was almost augmented with some additional scenes in the mid 1740s. Indeed, the first tapestry set finished at the Gobelins in 1744 proved to be unsuitable for the arrangement of the Dauphine’s apartments at Versailles for which it had been intended to decorate the walls the following year (cf infra). Informed of this, de Troy, considering that the story of Esther offered “several good subjects,” immediately offered to illustrate one or new subject among those “which could appear to be the most interesting”. The directeur des Bâtiments Orry, who managed the State’s accounts, obviously judged it less costly to have one of the tapestries widened to fill in the end of the Dauphine’s bedroom,22 which has probably deprived us of very original compositions, because de Troy had already illustrated the most famous themes, those that benefitted from a strongly established iconographical tradition and from which it was not easy to deviate The Tapestry Set of the Story of Esther Placed on the tapestry looms of the Gobelins at the end of the 1730s in Michel Audran’s workshop, the cycle created by de Troy aroused true infatuation. The few hundred tapestries made between 1738 and 1797 – all in high-warp tapestry and woven in wool and silk except for four in low-warp made in Neilson’s workshop – show the impressive success of a tapestry set that was without any doubt the most frequently woven of the 18th century in France. 29 Only three cartoons had been delivered by de Troy in 1738 when the first tapestry set was begun by Audran under the expert eye of Jean-Baptiste Oudry to whom the Directeur général des bâtiments, Philibert Orry had assigned the (weekly) supervision of the weaving. During the summer of 1738, the piece of the Fainting of Esther, which Oudry judged to be admirable, was finished. During the winter of 1742, Oudry informed Orry that about two ells of the Triumph of Mor’decai had been made “with no faults”,that the Coronation of Esther was finished and that the Esther at her Toilet “a very gracious tapestry” was “a little over half” finished. Exhibited at Versailles in 1743, these two last pieces were admired by Louis XV and the Court. On 3 December 1744, the set of seven tapestries was finally delivered to the Garde Meuble. It was intended, the honour was not slight, to decorate the apartments of the Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain whose marriage to the young Dauphin Louis-Ferdinand had been fixed for the following year (it took place on 23 February 1745). Apparently it was thought that the theme of Esther the biblical heroine and wife of a foreign sovereign was appropriate for the apartments of the Spanish Dauphine. As early as the month of March, the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel informed de Troy that her grand cabinet was decorated with the “Esther tapestry set” specifying however that “for lack of two small or one large piece, we have not been able to decorate the end of the room”. This difficulty led immediately to the Banquet episode being woven a second time in two parts (they were delivered to the Garde-Meuble on 30 December 1746) to garnish the panels on each side of the bed of the Dauphine who would hardly enjoy them (she died on 22 July 1746 and the decoration was installed for the new Dauphine Maria Josepha of Saxony). The appearance of the set’s remarkable border, which imitated a richly sculpted wooden frame, should be mentioned. Conceived in 1738 by the ornamentalist Pierre Josse-Perrot and used in the later weavings until 1768, it tended to reinforce the resolutely painterly appearance of the tapestry set which, in this regard, pushed the art of tapestry as far as its ultimate mimetic possibilities. With the exception of Mor’decai's Disdain which had been removed earlier, the “editio princeps” of the story of Esther (from then on in nine pieces) remained at Versailles until the Revolution. Of the eight surviving tapestries, four are at the chateau of Compiègne and four belong today to the Mobilier National. No less than seven tapestry sets reputed to be complete (one of them in fact only had six tapestries) would be produced officially at the Gobelins up to 1772. Literature: 1- The Œuvres mêlées of an emulator of Racine, the Abbé Augustin NADAL thus include an Esther. Divertissement spiritual which is exactly contemporary with Jean François de Troy’s cycle since it was performed in 1735 and published in Paris three years later. 2-Le Siècle de Louis XIV, 1751, 1785 ed., p. 96-97 for French ed. 3- Lemoyne and de Troy had been obliged to share the First Prize in the competition organised in 1727 between the most prominent history painters of the Académie Royale. 4- Mémoires…, pub. L. DUSSIEUX et al., 1854, II, p.265. 5-The fact that de Troy, at the risk of falling out with his colleagues, did not hesitate to make use of prices in order to convince the new directeur des Bâtiments Philibert Orry, is confirmed by Mariette who adds tersely “it caused much shouting” (pub. 1851-1860, II, p. 103). 6- Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres…, ed. 1762, IV, p. 368-369 20 Early comments on the painter are inclined to present him as a kind of “pure painter”, doing without the medium of drawing, a few intermediary studies between the Esther sketches and the large cartoons at the Louvre nevertheless show that de Troy used red chalk (see in the catalogue, the notice for the Meal of Esther and Ahasuerus under the entry drawing) to change one or other figure. 7-C. GASTINEL-COURAL (cat. exp. PARIS, 1985, p. 9-13) as well as the article by J. VITTET, exh. cat. LA ROCHE-GUYON, 2001, p. 51-55. 8-The Hermitage in St. Petersburg conserves five tapestries of these two royal gifts whose provenance still awaits elucidation (as far as we are aware). In 1766, the Grand Marshal of Russia, Count Razumovski (or Razamowski), acquired the Fainting and the Banquet extracted from the sixth weaving (J. VITTET, 2001, p. 53). 9- Lettres écrites de Suisse, d’Italie…,quoted by J. VITTET, op. cit., p. 54. 10-The tapestry set remained in the hands of a branch of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family until 1933 (ibid. P. 54). 11-Quoted by Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, p. 97, note 269. 12-Y. CANTAREL-BESSON, 1992, p. 241. Catalogue The Esther at her Toilet Oil on canvas, 57 x 51 cm Provenance: Painted in 1736 at the same time as the six other modelli of the Story of Esther intended to be presented, for approval, to the direction des Bâtiments du Roi; perhaps identifiable among a lot of sketches by Jean-François de Troy in the post mortem inventory of the amateur, historian and critic Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786) drawn up on 13 January 1786 and following days (A.N. T 978, n° 30) then in the sale of the property of the deceased, Paris, 12 June 1786, n° 33; Paris, François Marcille Collection (who owned a series of six sketches from which the Triumph of Mor’decai was missing, see infra); Paris, Marcille Sale, Hôtel Drouot, 12-13 January 1857, n° 36; Asnières, Mme de Chavanne de Palmassy ( ?) collection; Paris, Galerie Cailleux; Paris, Humbert de Wendel collection (acquired from the Galerie Cailleux in 1928); by inheritance in the same family; Paris, Sotheby’s, 23 June 2011, n° 61. In order not to add unnecessarily to the technical commentary on each work, the catalogue raisonné by Chr. Leribault which contains a substantial bibliography on the series should be referred to. The other bibliographical references only concern the publications and exhibitions to have appeared and been presented more recently. Bibliography and Exhibitions: Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, n° P. 247 (repr.); E. LIMARDO DATURI, 2004, p. 28; Exh. cat. NANTES, 2011, p. 138, n° 34, referred to in note 1; Sotheby’s catalogue, Tableaux anciens et du XIXe siècle, 23 June 2011, n° 61 (repr.). Related Works: Tapestry cartoon: The cartoon (oil on canvas, 329 x 320 cm), the third made by the artist in Paris after the sketches had been approved by the direction des Bâtiments, is in the Louvre (Inv. 8315). It previously bore the painter’s signature and the date 1738 (inscriptions which are found on the tapestries). The royal administration paid 1600 livres for it on 21 June 1738 and it was exhibited at the Salon in the year of its creation. Summary Biography 1679 (27 January): Baptism in Paris (Parish of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet) of Jean-François de Troy, son of the painter François de Troy and Jeanne Cotelle, sister of the painter Jean II Cotelle. 1696-1698: Studies (apparently rather turbulent) at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. 1698-1708: First trip to Italy. Is obliged to leave Rome in January 1711 after a tempestuous affair (a duel?), de Troy extends the traditional Roman experience as a pensionnaire at the Académie de France by also visiting Tuscany where he stays for a long time, Venice (his art in face has a strongly Venetian character) and Genoa. 1708: De Troy (whose father had been elected Director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 7 July) is agréé and immediately received at the Académie with Apollo and Diana Piercing with their Arrows the Children of Niobe (Montpellier, Musée Fabre) on 28 July. 1710: First royal commission, paid for on 10 May (a sketch representing “the Promotion of the Order of the Holy Spirit” for the tapestry series of the History of the King). 1716: Jean-François de Troy is elected Assistant Professor at the Academy. 1720: He is appointed Professor. 1723: The artist creates the double portrait of Louis XV...

having a reverse plinth-form rectangular top above a conforming case housing 4 drawers all with horizontal lozenge-form inlay, retaining original hardware and raised on bracket feet

Early 18th century oak paneled chest of drawers from England. The top is made from two boards, following down to hand raised paneled sides, and two drawe...

A pair of 18th century Tuscan Baroque tables or wall consoles in warm colored waxed finished Walnut wood with a wonderful grain, in good condition. These freestanding Italian demi-lu...

Chinese Ming period dragon carving mounted as pendant in yellow gold. The metal mounting is marked 14K. Total weight 44g.