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Lot Essay
This magnificent jewel casket displays extraordinarily rich mounts which rise above the level of mere ornamental gilt bronzes and reflect the involvement of the celebrated orfèvre Henri Auguste (1759-1816). The luxurious use of materials, the exquisite workmanship and the refined à l’antique design place it in that fascinating stylistic moment in the 1790s when the luxury makers of Paris looked abroad to new foreign clients such as the Russians and the English. The pieces produced in this period marked the transition from the taste of the last years of the ancien régime to the new styles of the Directoire and Empire periods, and were interestingly often designed and executed by silversmiths.
THE COMMISSION
The history of the casket is equally fascinating, as it is was originally commissioned for the celebrated connoisseur and patron of the arts William Beckford (1760-1844). Beckford’s fame as a collector rests not only on the extraordinary treasures which he assembled, but also on the remarkable amount of pieces which he directly commissioned from the finest craftsmen of the day in the latest fashion. The casket is based on a drawing for a piece with an identical stand and frieze, but with variations to the ornament of the sides of the casket, by the Parisian designer Jean Guillaume Moitte (1746-1810), and which is inscribed ‘diamantaire de Lord Becford [sic]’ and ‘h. auguste’ (illustrated here). This drawing came from the archive of Odiot, who in 1810 had acquired all of Auguste’s designs following the latter’s bankruptcy.
Moitte was an innovative designer in the fashionable ‘antique’ style of the 1780s and 1790s and worked extensively for Auguste, supplying designs not only for silver but also for furniture. Lebreton wrote in a biographical note on Moitte in 1812
‘…[Moitte] dessina à la plume plusieurs grands frises d’un beau style et qui firent sensation parmi les artistes…M. Auguste orfèvre du Roi se l’attacha pour en avoir des dessins qui servaient de modèles à ses plus beaux ouvrages…’ (see exhibition catalogue Le Néoclassicisme Français des Musées de Province, Paris, 1974, p. 101).
Two further designs by Moitte are illustrated here, one for a frieze and one for a table base (dated an trois for 1795), both closely related to the offered casket.
BECKFORD AND AUGUSTE
Beckford’s admiration for the work of Moitte and Auguste was established as early as 1787 when, on a visit to Madrid, he saw the toilet service supplied by Auguste to Madame d’Arauda, which Beckford admiringly described in his journal as ‘designed by Moitte the sculptor and executed by Auguste, by far the most exquisite chef d’oeuvre of the kind I ever saw’. Between 1788 and 1793 and 1801-1803 Beckford visited Paris several times and commissioned a number of pieces of both silver and furniture by Auguste after designs by Moitte, inspiring him to write to William Hamilton in 1792.
‘Si le Roi de Naples est desireux d’avoir de beaux ouvrages d’or ou de bronze, c’est à Auguste qu’il doit s’addresser…Vous serez enthousiaste devant les meubles que je fais faire sous sa direction dans le pur esprit de Corinthe et d’Athènes’.
The famous sales of his collection at Fonthill in 1822 and 1823 included a number of pieces by Moitte and Auguste, including lot 1139 in 1823 a Japan bowl '...on an ormolu pedestal after the antique by Moitte and Auguste of Paris' and lot 96 in the 1822 sale a 'superb cabinet of gold japan...made by Auguste'. This last cabinet is probably the same as that sold in the legendary Hamilton Palace sale in 1882 (the Duke of Hamilton was Beckford's son-in-law and inherited much of his collection through his wife) as lot 293 (now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts) , which along with a pair of lacquer cabinets lots 172 and 173 (now at Elton Hall, Cambridgeshire) were described as having 'richly chased metal-gilt mounts by Auguste…’
A CHANGE IN HEART?
The Moitte Auguste design, with its diagonal and oval 'Etruscan' medallions and rather restrained classical mounts, evidently shows variations with the casket as actually executed, which features blue and grisaille panels (attributed to the painter Sauvage) surrounded by floral garlands of extraordinary richness and startling naturalism. These recall the mounts on the finest pieces made by Riesener in the 1780s which have been suggested were executed by the bronzier François Rémond (for instance on the celebrated lacquer commode and secretaire delivered to Marie-Antoinette in 1783, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art). The floral mounts on the casket were evidently executed by a different hand from the mounts of the frieze and the stand, which display an extraordinary precision of detail and precision of execution typical of the work of the finest silversmiths. Given that the mounts on the frieze and stand also feature in Moitte's design, it is therefore probable that they were executed by Auguste. It is important to note however that both sets of bronzes display the same sumptuous matte gilding, showing that the final treatment of all the gilt bronzes was completed at the same time.
The casket does not appear in any of Beckford's inventories or the extensive sales of his collection and those of his son-in-law the Duke of Hamilton. It has been suggested therefore that the casket was indeed originally commissioned by Beckford but not ultimately delivered to him and was perhaps then completed for another as yet unknown client. This could be further explained by the fact that Beckford was unable to visit Paris between 1793 and 1801 when the peace of Amiens led to a temporary cessation of hostilities between England and France - perhaps having ordered it circa 1792 he changed his mind when seeing it in the workshop on his return in 1801. This hypothesis is supported by other precedents in Beckford's collecting patterns at this time, for instance a silver-gilt ewer and basin by Auguste which is hall marked for 1787-8 but which was not actually delivered to Beckford until 1802 (see Hewat-Jaboor op. cit., pp. 333-4).
With this in mind it is instructive to note two documents describing a 'meuble de boudoir pour servir de secrétaire' made by Sauvage for Beckford. The first document is dated to October/November 1793 and records Beckford's order from Sauvage. The dimensions are almost exactly the same as the offered casket ('2 pieds de large [65cm] 3 pieds et demi de haut [114 cm]) but it is also described as being ornamented with '56 morceaux de peintures en camee et autre', which is evidently a still different design from either the Moitte drawing or the casket offered here. Sauvage goes on to list payments to the 'doreur sizelleur [sic]' citoyen Raymond' (presumably Francois Rémond) and to the cabinet-maker Weisweiler.
In 1801 Sauvage placed an announcement in the Journal de Paris describing how he had recently completed 'un secrétaire pour M. Beckfort [sic]' but went on to describe how it was 'plus précieux en marbres, agathes et crystaux', which seems to reflect a still further variation of design. In a further announcement later that year he again credited Rémond for the bronzes and Weisweiler for the cabinet work, although added the name of the architect ‘Raymond’ for the design.
If these documents do indeed refer to our casket, it is curious that there is no mention of either Moitte or Auguste being involved in either the design or the manufacture of the piece. Either these announcements refer to an altogether different piece (or pieces) made for Beckford by Sauvage, or they could indicate that he took over an existing project of Auguste's and wished to claim the credit himself as the creator. What is certainly instructive in these documents is the indication of the close involvement of both Weisweiler and Rémond in the creation of these jewel-like pieces. That Sauvage was involved in the creation of works of art of the highest quality is further evidenced by a table in the Spanish Royal collection with a porcelain top by Dihl and Guérhard dated 1804, including a series of grisaille panels signed by Sauvage, depicting playful putti of similar inspiration to those on this casket, which was reputedly a gift from Napoleon to Charles IV of Spain, whose wife Marie Louise was the niece of Louis XV (illustrated R. De Plinval de Guillebon, Faïence et Porcelaine de Paris, Dijon, 1995, p. 294, fig. 276).
Whatever its ultimate destination, this casket is a superb example of the remarkable works of art being produced in this fascinating period, when innovative designs and the finest craftsmanship reigned supreme.
THE COMMISSION
The history of the casket is equally fascinating, as it is was originally commissioned for the celebrated connoisseur and patron of the arts William Beckford (1760-1844). Beckford’s fame as a collector rests not only on the extraordinary treasures which he assembled, but also on the remarkable amount of pieces which he directly commissioned from the finest craftsmen of the day in the latest fashion. The casket is based on a drawing for a piece with an identical stand and frieze, but with variations to the ornament of the sides of the casket, by the Parisian designer Jean Guillaume Moitte (1746-1810), and which is inscribed ‘diamantaire de Lord Becford [sic]’ and ‘h. auguste’ (illustrated here). This drawing came from the archive of Odiot, who in 1810 had acquired all of Auguste’s designs following the latter’s bankruptcy.
Moitte was an innovative designer in the fashionable ‘antique’ style of the 1780s and 1790s and worked extensively for Auguste, supplying designs not only for silver but also for furniture. Lebreton wrote in a biographical note on Moitte in 1812
‘…[Moitte] dessina à la plume plusieurs grands frises d’un beau style et qui firent sensation parmi les artistes…M. Auguste orfèvre du Roi se l’attacha pour en avoir des dessins qui servaient de modèles à ses plus beaux ouvrages…’ (see exhibition catalogue Le Néoclassicisme Français des Musées de Province, Paris, 1974, p. 101).
Two further designs by Moitte are illustrated here, one for a frieze and one for a table base (dated an trois for 1795), both closely related to the offered casket.
BECKFORD AND AUGUSTE
Beckford’s admiration for the work of Moitte and Auguste was established as early as 1787 when, on a visit to Madrid, he saw the toilet service supplied by Auguste to Madame d’Arauda, which Beckford admiringly described in his journal as ‘designed by Moitte the sculptor and executed by Auguste, by far the most exquisite chef d’oeuvre of the kind I ever saw’. Between 1788 and 1793 and 1801-1803 Beckford visited Paris several times and commissioned a number of pieces of both silver and furniture by Auguste after designs by Moitte, inspiring him to write to William Hamilton in 1792.
‘Si le Roi de Naples est desireux d’avoir de beaux ouvrages d’or ou de bronze, c’est à Auguste qu’il doit s’addresser…Vous serez enthousiaste devant les meubles que je fais faire sous sa direction dans le pur esprit de Corinthe et d’Athènes’.
The famous sales of his collection at Fonthill in 1822 and 1823 included a number of pieces by Moitte and Auguste, including lot 1139 in 1823 a Japan bowl '...on an ormolu pedestal after the antique by Moitte and Auguste of Paris' and lot 96 in the 1822 sale a 'superb cabinet of gold japan...made by Auguste'. This last cabinet is probably the same as that sold in the legendary Hamilton Palace sale in 1882 (the Duke of Hamilton was Beckford's son-in-law and inherited much of his collection through his wife) as lot 293 (now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts) , which along with a pair of lacquer cabinets lots 172 and 173 (now at Elton Hall, Cambridgeshire) were described as having 'richly chased metal-gilt mounts by Auguste…’
A CHANGE IN HEART?
The Moitte Auguste design, with its diagonal and oval 'Etruscan' medallions and rather restrained classical mounts, evidently shows variations with the casket as actually executed, which features blue and grisaille panels (attributed to the painter Sauvage) surrounded by floral garlands of extraordinary richness and startling naturalism. These recall the mounts on the finest pieces made by Riesener in the 1780s which have been suggested were executed by the bronzier François Rémond (for instance on the celebrated lacquer commode and secretaire delivered to Marie-Antoinette in 1783, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art). The floral mounts on the casket were evidently executed by a different hand from the mounts of the frieze and the stand, which display an extraordinary precision of detail and precision of execution typical of the work of the finest silversmiths. Given that the mounts on the frieze and stand also feature in Moitte's design, it is therefore probable that they were executed by Auguste. It is important to note however that both sets of bronzes display the same sumptuous matte gilding, showing that the final treatment of all the gilt bronzes was completed at the same time.
The casket does not appear in any of Beckford's inventories or the extensive sales of his collection and those of his son-in-law the Duke of Hamilton. It has been suggested therefore that the casket was indeed originally commissioned by Beckford but not ultimately delivered to him and was perhaps then completed for another as yet unknown client. This could be further explained by the fact that Beckford was unable to visit Paris between 1793 and 1801 when the peace of Amiens led to a temporary cessation of hostilities between England and France - perhaps having ordered it circa 1792 he changed his mind when seeing it in the workshop on his return in 1801. This hypothesis is supported by other precedents in Beckford's collecting patterns at this time, for instance a silver-gilt ewer and basin by Auguste which is hall marked for 1787-8 but which was not actually delivered to Beckford until 1802 (see Hewat-Jaboor op. cit., pp. 333-4).
With this in mind it is instructive to note two documents describing a 'meuble de boudoir pour servir de secrétaire' made by Sauvage for Beckford. The first document is dated to October/November 1793 and records Beckford's order from Sauvage. The dimensions are almost exactly the same as the offered casket ('2 pieds de large [65cm] 3 pieds et demi de haut [114 cm]) but it is also described as being ornamented with '56 morceaux de peintures en camee et autre', which is evidently a still different design from either the Moitte drawing or the casket offered here. Sauvage goes on to list payments to the 'doreur sizelleur [sic]' citoyen Raymond' (presumably Francois Rémond) and to the cabinet-maker Weisweiler.
In 1801 Sauvage placed an announcement in the Journal de Paris describing how he had recently completed 'un secrétaire pour M. Beckfort [sic]' but went on to describe how it was 'plus précieux en marbres, agathes et crystaux', which seems to reflect a still further variation of design. In a further announcement later that year he again credited Rémond for the bronzes and Weisweiler for the cabinet work, although added the name of the architect ‘Raymond’ for the design.
If these documents do indeed refer to our casket, it is curious that there is no mention of either Moitte or Auguste being involved in either the design or the manufacture of the piece. Either these announcements refer to an altogether different piece (or pieces) made for Beckford by Sauvage, or they could indicate that he took over an existing project of Auguste's and wished to claim the credit himself as the creator. What is certainly instructive in these documents is the indication of the close involvement of both Weisweiler and Rémond in the creation of these jewel-like pieces. That Sauvage was involved in the creation of works of art of the highest quality is further evidenced by a table in the Spanish Royal collection with a porcelain top by Dihl and Guérhard dated 1804, including a series of grisaille panels signed by Sauvage, depicting playful putti of similar inspiration to those on this casket, which was reputedly a gift from Napoleon to Charles IV of Spain, whose wife Marie Louise was the niece of Louis XV (illustrated R. De Plinval de Guillebon, Faïence et Porcelaine de Paris, Dijon, 1995, p. 294, fig. 276).
Whatever its ultimate destination, this casket is a superb example of the remarkable works of art being produced in this fascinating period, when innovative designs and the finest craftsmanship reigned supreme.