Baroque Furniture

MARBLE FIGURE OF THE MINOTAUR, 17th Century Baroque Style, Italy. Beige/grey marble. Minotaur on a rectangular "Rosso di Verona" base. H (without base) 81 cm. H (without base) 81 c...

outstanding tapestry in wool and silk, Bruxelles, second half of the 17th century. Depicting a detailed scene of The Bull Hunting. On the background of the landscape the Monument of ...

French Baroque tapestry fragment depicting a scene from Greek mythology, Poseidon and Amphitrite, circa 1690. Attributed to Isaac Moillon, Pari...

Beautiful large Baroque angel-wing . Extremely rare to find in this size. Very decorative item placed on a wooden base. Italy, circa 1750. Weathered small losses and old repairs. Me...

Beautiful and rare example of late 18th century Italian master blacksmith craftsmanship, this antique studded safe with typical all-around hobnails and great wrought iron details, pr...

Wonderful hand carved baroque angel figure. . Spain, circa 1750-1800 Weathered. small losses and old repair. Measurement here below includes the wooden base. H:57cm W:18cm D:20,5cm

This Italian giltwood coffee table exudes Old World opulence with its ornate craftsmanship and timeworn charm. The carved wood base features scrolling acanthus details, shell motifs,...

Extremely fine Italian Baroque ebonized wood, faux ivory, and hardstone cabinet, Florence, 20th century. Decorated overall with Berainesque (light...

Wonderful hand carved winged angel head with its original color and gilding. France, circa 1750 Weathered and small losses and old repair. Treated against woodworm. Measurement here...

Beautiful weathered oak panel depicting two baroque angels and an eagle standing on rams heads . Weathered and small losses, most likely it was once part of a larger panel. France ci...

A beautiful Danish modern stool in oak with curly legs, the hexagon seat reupholstered in a great quality shearling lambswool. A fine twist with the storage room underneath the seat....

Beautiful weathered oak panel depicting two baroque angels and an eagle standing on rams heads . Weathered and small losses, most likely it was once part of a larger panel. France ci...

A Spanish walnut side table, metal apron and fluted legs from the late 19th-early 20th century. This elegant Spanish table features a simple, round top with metal brass edges. The ta...

Wonderful Hand carved winged angel. Italy, circa 1750-1800 Weathered small losses and old repairs. Measurement here below inclusive the wooden base.

Offered is an absolutely stunning, 1890s or older wall console or shelf. Minor patina gives this piece a classy statement. Made of hand craft wood and gilded. Use just as a decorativ...

Spanish Renaissance casket, 16th century In carved, polychrome and gilded wood decorated with a vase with horns of plenty, heads of cherubs and fruits. In the lock a shield with two ...

Remarkable Spanish colonial late 18th/early 19th-century Cuzco school painting of Madonna and Child, or Virgin Mary. Oil on canvas Cuzco school painting with a desirable aged patina ...

Attribution of Mattia Preti " Salvator Mundi " 17th Century Italian painting from the 17th century depicting the figure of the infant Jesus as Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World),...

Like a chest with four distinct chambers, raised from the ground by six robust, thick pillars connected by strong beams — it hovers in space. A true marvel of Danish cabinetry from t...

19th century pair of ornate gilded relicquaries made of brass with a gilt finish. The feature highly decorative Baroque or Rococo-style detailing, including intricate scrollwork, f...

Beautiful small hand carved Baroque angel fragment. Unique period piece with traces of its old color . Italy, circa 1750 Weathered. Several small losses. Measurement here below inc...

These elegant Fortuny textile pillows feature a timeless and sophisticated design, showcasing the renowned Venetian fabric house’s signature craftsmanship. The fabric is adorned with...

Beautiful hand carved wooden risen Christ/ resurrection statue with flag in folk-art style. Great expression and traces of original color still visible. France circa 1750. Weathered,...

We present an exquisite Art Nouveau brass chandelier – a true rarity and an antique gem. This vintage chandelier was lovingly and expertly restored in Berlin, and its electrical wiri...

Doble Armchair or Sofa with arms and high back of the type known as “frailero”, which has leather with studs on the seat and upper part of the back, very low chambrances joining the ...

Rare and impressive monumental Antique 19th century Italian Baroque Rococo Bombe bedroom suite, circa 1870s. Features a large full length armoire, ...

A Florentine carved cream painted parcel gilt slant-top desk bureau with nicely aged dark warm distressed patina over the whole! Crafted in Florence, Italy, circa pre-1940, executed...

This Dutch table cabinet, also known as a cross-legged cabinet, is made of oak and has a deep, almost black finish, which suggests a traditional treatment such as ebonized stain or dark varnish. The cabinet stands on a distinctive base with four turned and faceted legs, connected by an elegantly curved stretcher and ending in ball feet. This type of base is characteristic of cross-legged cabinets. The upper section features two doors with molded panels and a cornice with a clean yet subtle profile. The gilded hardware on the drawers and doors adds a stately and luxurious appearance. The cabinet is removable, making transport and installation significantly easier. Additionally, its design makes it particularly suitable for housing a television. Thanks to the special hinges and their strategic placement, the doors can be fully opened without obstructing the view. Inside, there is space for a television with a maximum width of 48.2 inches and a height of 27 inches. The interior is finished in the same deep, dark color as the exterior, ensuring a uniform and elegant appearance. This cabinet was crafted in the Dutch Baroque style and is likely from the period between 1680 and 1720. The Dutch Baroque style is characterized by a restrained yet elegant design, where functionality and durability go hand in hand with refined details. This piece exhibits typical Baroque features such as the heavily molded cornice, the solid presence of the upper section, the use of dark wood tones, and the expressive shape of the base. This type of cabinet was made during the late Dutch Golden Age, a time when prosperity still had a significant influence on furniture design. During this period, cross-legged cabinets were highly sought after by the affluent bourgeoisie and institutions such as city halls and council offices, where they were used for securely storing important documents, money chests, and administrative records. Dutch furniture makers were among the most influential in Europe at the time, exporting their craftsmanship to countries like England and Germany. The use of dark oak furniture...

Rectangular table cigarette box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with slightly rounded lid with perforation and fine hand engravings. In the center, a beautiful rectangular mi...

Largest collection of Portuguese tiles in the world 18th century Portuguese " Angels " Measures: 364 cm x 252 cm 439 tiles Important note: This panel is with the tiles restored 18...

17th Century Antique French Tapestry Rare Verdure Fine Wool & Silk 8x11ft "This is an incredible antique 17th century French tapestry...

IMPORTANT PORTUGUESE ORATORY WITH CALVARY 18th Century Portuguese, from the 18th century in carved Brazilian rosewood. Decoration with interrupted pediments, volutes, floral motifs...

This stunning 18th-century period fireplace mantel, sculpted in exclusive Royal Sarrancolin Fantastico marble, showcases intricate carvings and decorations, including a central shell...

Amazing baroque panel depicting a crowned reliquary . Beautiful weathered with traces of its original silver, gilding and colour. Italy circa 1750 Weathered, small losses . Measureme...

An important LARGE Flemish tapestry 16th-17th century Old Testament subject of King Solomon, standing before his tent in armour and receiving a gift of two peacocks, from an old m...

Beautiful Baroque hand carved giltwood angel-wing. Rare and very decorative item placed on a wooden base, Italy, circa 1750. Weathered. Measurement is inclusive the wooden base. H:22...

Beautiful Baroque hand carved wooden angel-wing. Rare and very decorative item placed on a wooden base, Italy, circa 1750. Weathered. Measurement is inclusive the wooden base.

Condition: New Upholstery Recommended, Wood In Very Good Condition Designer: The Zangerle & Peterson Co. Manufacturer: The Zangerle & Peterson Co. Materials: Mahogany, Original Ne...

Magnificent carved stone head fragment with a very beautiful and strong expression. France, circa 1750. Beautiful weathered and small losses. Measurement is with the wooden base. H:3...

Monumental round walnut dining table crafted in the baroque taste. Designed by Therien Studio workshop for Dessin Fournir, Hollywood, CA. The rare volute dining table crafted from so...

Step into a world of timeless elegance with this exquisite Murano glass chandelier, a captivating relic from the glamorous 1950s. This exceptional piece, handcrafted by master artisa...

Chest of Drawers / commode hand-made in Italy in the late 1700s using poplar and walnut. The commode features three inset drawers with beautiful, hand-carved dovetail joints. The han...

This model of Regence style hurricane lamps evolved in the early 18th century. It is a type of candlestick designed to shield candle flames from wind. They were used to illuminate te...

Beautiful hand carved Baroque angel. Unique period piece with traces of its old paint . Spain, circa 1750 Weathered. Several small losses and old repair. Measurement here below in...

A beautiful Danish modern stool in oak with curly legs, the hexagon seat reupholstered in a great quality shearling lambswool. Made by a Danish Cabinetmaker in the 1950s. A fine stoo...

17th Century Antique French Tapestry Rare Verdure Fine Wool & Silk 8x11ft "This is an incredible antique 17th century French tapestry...

"Madonna With Sleeping Child, Follower Of Giovan Battista Salvi Il Sassoferrato (1609 - 1685)" Madonna with Sleeping Child Follower of Giovan Battista Salvi known as 'il Sassoferrato...

Flemish school 17th century "Our Lady with the Child Jesus, St. John, St. Elizabeth and Zacarias". Oil on canvas Relined. Dimensions: 74 x 84 cm good conditions.

17th. Century rare antique French tapestry fine wool & silk 5'9" x 10' (6' x 10') 175cmx305cm "This is a very fine high quality rare authentic Antique French Tapestry made wit...

Beautiful weathered oak panel depicting two baroque angels holding a coat of arms. Weathered and small losses, most likely it was once part of a larger panel. France circa 1750. trea...

Lovely small carved stone head of a Saint with a great expression. France, circa 1750. Weathered. measurements include the wooden base H:20cm W:8,5cm D:10,5cm

Early 20th Century Catalan Spanish Carved Walnut Console Table with Three Drawers

18th/19th Century French White Marble Bust of King Louis XIV, whose reign marked the height of absolute monarchy in Europe. The commanding sculpture swivels on round plinth, and at 3...

Evocative lamp made from a candelabra period of the 1700s Baroque (or Neo-Baroque), whose main feature is the presence of a putto - or cherub - with golden wings. The lamp is a candl...

Beautiful small hand carved Baroque angel. Unique period piece . Italy, circa 1750 Weathered. Several small losses and old repair. More photo's available on request. Measurement her...

Beautiful Baroque angel. Unique period piece made out of wood . Hand-carved and gilt Italy, circa 1750-1800 Weathered. Small losses ( finger missing) and old repairs. Measurement he...

This vintage wood carving by Anri is a beautiful work of art depicting " The Last Supper " Jesus and the Twelve Disciples. Marked on the Back and the ground. This wooden sculpture wa...

AN ITALIAN CARVED GILTWOOD MIRROR IN BAROQUE STYLE 20th century The cartouche-shaped plate within a blue border a profusely carved and pierced frame with foliate scrolls, sides deco...

18th century Swedish late Baroque mirror in burl veneer and blackened wood on a pine frame with brass ornamentation. Ca 1750 Sweden.

Madonna and Child late 1600s, oil painting on canvas from northern Italy, in good condition, within walnut frame, from a private collection in Milan. The work depicts the Virgin hol...

A pair of charming Danish modern stools in solid oak with curly legs, the round seats are reupholstered in a great quality shearling lambswool. Made by a Danish Cabinetmaker in the ...

Gorgeous set of six French Os de Mouton baroque style dining chairs crafted from oak. The stylish chairs feature a moss green mohair velvet upholstery bordered by patinated brass tac...

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...

Set of four antique hand-colored engravings. "Britannia Illustrata," the publication in which these prints originally appeared, was one of the most important topographical works of t...

Opulent Italian wrought iron Savonarola armchair made in the Baroque or campaign style. The chair features an iron frame with curule style legs and imposing patinated bronze mace fin...

Beautiful large Baroque angel-wing . Extremely rare to find in this size. Very decorative item placed on a wooden base. Italy, circa 1750. Weathered small losses and old repairs. Me...

A striking and highly popular sculptural set of 6 classic dining chairs in oak, seats reupholstered in great quality shearling lambswool. Designed by Henning (Henry) Kjærnulf for Nyr...

Very good early 19th century Bavarian painted cabinet or armoire in original painted finish, including rocaille, faux marble and grain painting, the a...

Unique handcarved wooden head of Christ with beautiful expression and glass eyes, once used at processions. Napels/ Italy, circa 1750-1800. Beautiful example of 18th century craftsma...

This will be completely rewired with certified US UL sockets for the USA and appropriate sockets for all other countries. Housing five lights, sitting in crystal bobeches, dripping ...

Original antique chandelier, wiring and sockets completely renewed. Crystal hand-knotted. Dimensions: Height with chain 115 cm, height without chain 95 cm, diameter 53 cm, weight (a...

Very large Maria Theresa chandelier with 28 candles material metal frame with baluster decoration in the center, richly decorated with glass prism This chandlier is in perfect condit...

A magnificent & monumental antique Italian walnut dining refectory table, circa 1820. This very substantial table is made from solid walnut, the top is 3.5" thick, the table is made ...