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Lot Essay
'A BORN COLORIST'
The firm Boucheron, founded by the celebrated jeweler Frédéric Boucheron in 1858, was known not only for jewellery of exceptional quality and rarity but also for extraordinary objets-de-fantasie designed in a myriad of styles. The avant-garde artist Paul Legrand (1840-1910) joined the young firm in 1867 and is widely regarded as the creator of some of their most inventive pieces. He was acknowledged by Boucheron to be the designer of the Japanese-inspired pieces made by the firm in the late 1870s, as noted in a report made to the jury of the Exposition Universelle in 1878, for which Boucheron won a grande medaille for joaillerie-bijouterie. Boucheron wrote of Legrand, 'He is a born colorist and loves inventiveness – he has always worked at achieving effects of light, different patinas or gilding in his creations, [through] the use of openwork, enameling and rock crystal; and they have always conferred considerable success on my firm’ (Gilles Néret, Boucheron, Four Generations of a World-Renowned Jeweler, New York, 1988, p. 47). The present vase with its surfaces of silver, patination and gilding, is a virtuoso demonstration of Legrand’s colorist design principles, executed in the medium of silver.
The present lot corresponds to archival photographs preserved in the Boucheron archives dating 1878-1880 and inscribed 'Hand of Paul Legrand'. Although seemingly unpublished in exhibition catalogues, the vase’s inventive and unique inclusion of patina and glass combined with its grand scale and complex construction suggest that this piece was very likely designed for the Exposition Universelle in either 1878 or 1880. Accordingly, the majority of known large scale works by Boucheron submitted to the 1878 Exposition Universelle are identically engraved Fic Boucheron Paris and marked for Charles Glachant. Presumably Boucheron contracted Glachant to execute works too large for the firm’s jewelry workshop. Glachant was a highly skilled silversmith who had apprenticed under Lenglet and Turquet and later worked for Froment-Meurice. He was in partnership with Crossville from 1861-1867 and then worked on his own until 1892.
INSPIRED BY THE ANCIENT
Although Legrand is most well-known for his layered Japanese-influenced creations dating from the late 1870’s, the stylistic departure of the present lot serves as a testament to his inventiveness and range as a designer. Boucheron archives indicate that the present vase was inspired by the amphora vases created by the Greek potter Nikosthenes from 550-510 BC. The Nikosthenic Amphora vases are a form of Attic vase recognized for their angular amphora form with broad flat handles. Potted of bright orange-red clay, the vases are decorated with plant and animal motifs contained within distinct friezes. The most significant defining factor of the Nikosthenic Amphora vases is the black figure painting, often highlighted with white accents. For the design of the present lot, Legrand was clearly attempting to re-imagine the striking contrast of the black figures against a warm ground through the deliberate use of patina and gilding. His inventive use of piercing and double-wall construction create additional levels of texture and depth throughout the body. While little is known about Legrand’s ancient-inspired designs, the same combination of ornament cut through to expose an inner wall was employed in a ewer designed by Legrand in 1880 in the Islamic taste (Christie’s, New York, 22 October 2009, lot 77).
Edmé Bouchardon (1698-1762), royal sculptor to Louis XV, may have provided Legrand with inspiration for the iconography of the present lot. The panel featuring bacchic infants taunting a rearing goat is very similar to a bas relief representation of Winter designed by Bouchardon for the Fontaine des Quarte-Saisons on rue de Grenelle, Paris. Bouchardon unveiled his plaster model for the bas relief in 1741; the fountain was completed in 1745.
TAMER OF LIONS AND OTHER BEASTS
According to Boucheron’s archives, an inscription on the reverse of an archival photo states that the present lot was given by ‘Monsieur X’ to ‘Pez the tamer of lions and other beasts.’ Presumably Pez refers to Jean-Baptiste Pezon (1827-1897), a celebrated Parisian lion tamer, and patriarch of the Ménagerie Pezon. Pezon was born in Lozère, and spent his youth as a farm hand. At the age of seventeen he set off for Paris with a wild wolf he had captured and trained in order to pursue a future as an animal tamer. In 1848 he purchased his first lion, and then expanded his growing menagerie to include wild horses, elephants and bears.
Pezon believed that lions could be trained like hawks, through deprivation and sleep followed by ample feeding. He also employed electricity in his training techniques, rigging live wires between himself in the beast and subjecting the lions to paralyzing shocks when they attempted to lunge at him.
By 1880 Ménagerie Pezon owned thirty lions and Pezon had become the most famous animal tamer in France. His theater, which was based at 6 rue Gutenberg in Montreuil, was visited and sketched numerous times by Henri Toulouse Lautrec; a sketch of Pezon’s lioness, Bellone, dated 16 April 1883, was sold at auction in 2002. Sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi, designer of the Statue of Liberty, based his colossal redstone sculpture, the Lion of Belfort at the base of Belfort Castle, on Pezon’s lion Brutus.
After being nearly mauled to death by a white bear, Pezon retired from animal training and left the menagerie to his sons to carry on. He died of a heart attack at Montmartre Fair on 13 November 1897. Although he had amassed considerable wealth and owned multiple residences, Pezon preferred to live in a caravan. He is buried in the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where his monumental tomb is surmounted by a sculpture of him riding his lion Brutus.
The firm Boucheron, founded by the celebrated jeweler Frédéric Boucheron in 1858, was known not only for jewellery of exceptional quality and rarity but also for extraordinary objets-de-fantasie designed in a myriad of styles. The avant-garde artist Paul Legrand (1840-1910) joined the young firm in 1867 and is widely regarded as the creator of some of their most inventive pieces. He was acknowledged by Boucheron to be the designer of the Japanese-inspired pieces made by the firm in the late 1870s, as noted in a report made to the jury of the Exposition Universelle in 1878, for which Boucheron won a grande medaille for joaillerie-bijouterie. Boucheron wrote of Legrand, 'He is a born colorist and loves inventiveness – he has always worked at achieving effects of light, different patinas or gilding in his creations, [through] the use of openwork, enameling and rock crystal; and they have always conferred considerable success on my firm’ (Gilles Néret, Boucheron, Four Generations of a World-Renowned Jeweler, New York, 1988, p. 47). The present vase with its surfaces of silver, patination and gilding, is a virtuoso demonstration of Legrand’s colorist design principles, executed in the medium of silver.
The present lot corresponds to archival photographs preserved in the Boucheron archives dating 1878-1880 and inscribed 'Hand of Paul Legrand'. Although seemingly unpublished in exhibition catalogues, the vase’s inventive and unique inclusion of patina and glass combined with its grand scale and complex construction suggest that this piece was very likely designed for the Exposition Universelle in either 1878 or 1880. Accordingly, the majority of known large scale works by Boucheron submitted to the 1878 Exposition Universelle are identically engraved Fic Boucheron Paris and marked for Charles Glachant. Presumably Boucheron contracted Glachant to execute works too large for the firm’s jewelry workshop. Glachant was a highly skilled silversmith who had apprenticed under Lenglet and Turquet and later worked for Froment-Meurice. He was in partnership with Crossville from 1861-1867 and then worked on his own until 1892.
INSPIRED BY THE ANCIENT
Although Legrand is most well-known for his layered Japanese-influenced creations dating from the late 1870’s, the stylistic departure of the present lot serves as a testament to his inventiveness and range as a designer. Boucheron archives indicate that the present vase was inspired by the amphora vases created by the Greek potter Nikosthenes from 550-510 BC. The Nikosthenic Amphora vases are a form of Attic vase recognized for their angular amphora form with broad flat handles. Potted of bright orange-red clay, the vases are decorated with plant and animal motifs contained within distinct friezes. The most significant defining factor of the Nikosthenic Amphora vases is the black figure painting, often highlighted with white accents. For the design of the present lot, Legrand was clearly attempting to re-imagine the striking contrast of the black figures against a warm ground through the deliberate use of patina and gilding. His inventive use of piercing and double-wall construction create additional levels of texture and depth throughout the body. While little is known about Legrand’s ancient-inspired designs, the same combination of ornament cut through to expose an inner wall was employed in a ewer designed by Legrand in 1880 in the Islamic taste (Christie’s, New York, 22 October 2009, lot 77).
Edmé Bouchardon (1698-1762), royal sculptor to Louis XV, may have provided Legrand with inspiration for the iconography of the present lot. The panel featuring bacchic infants taunting a rearing goat is very similar to a bas relief representation of Winter designed by Bouchardon for the Fontaine des Quarte-Saisons on rue de Grenelle, Paris. Bouchardon unveiled his plaster model for the bas relief in 1741; the fountain was completed in 1745.
TAMER OF LIONS AND OTHER BEASTS
According to Boucheron’s archives, an inscription on the reverse of an archival photo states that the present lot was given by ‘Monsieur X’ to ‘Pez the tamer of lions and other beasts.’ Presumably Pez refers to Jean-Baptiste Pezon (1827-1897), a celebrated Parisian lion tamer, and patriarch of the Ménagerie Pezon. Pezon was born in Lozère, and spent his youth as a farm hand. At the age of seventeen he set off for Paris with a wild wolf he had captured and trained in order to pursue a future as an animal tamer. In 1848 he purchased his first lion, and then expanded his growing menagerie to include wild horses, elephants and bears.
Pezon believed that lions could be trained like hawks, through deprivation and sleep followed by ample feeding. He also employed electricity in his training techniques, rigging live wires between himself in the beast and subjecting the lions to paralyzing shocks when they attempted to lunge at him.
By 1880 Ménagerie Pezon owned thirty lions and Pezon had become the most famous animal tamer in France. His theater, which was based at 6 rue Gutenberg in Montreuil, was visited and sketched numerous times by Henri Toulouse Lautrec; a sketch of Pezon’s lioness, Bellone, dated 16 April 1883, was sold at auction in 2002. Sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi, designer of the Statue of Liberty, based his colossal redstone sculpture, the Lion of Belfort at the base of Belfort Castle, on Pezon’s lion Brutus.
After being nearly mauled to death by a white bear, Pezon retired from animal training and left the menagerie to his sons to carry on. He died of a heart attack at Montmartre Fair on 13 November 1897. Although he had amassed considerable wealth and owned multiple residences, Pezon preferred to live in a caravan. He is buried in the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where his monumental tomb is surmounted by a sculpture of him riding his lion Brutus.