Highlights
from the French Decorative Arts
In New York, between 1905 and 1920, there was a revival of interest in 18th
century French art in all disciplines. Writers, architects, art dealers and interior
decorators introduced the painting, sculpture, architecture, furniture, and objets
d’art of that period to American patrons. It was during this time that Mrs. Post
began her life-long fascination with, and appreciation for, French art. Under the tutelage
of art dealer Sir Joseph Duveen, she began collecting important antique furniture,
tapestries, and porcelain from the 18th century and throughout her life as a
collector, these formative years with Duveen would remain a major influence. In fact, her
love of Russian imperial art was initially inspired by the fact that it complemented her
growing collection of French decorative arts.
Highlighted below are a few exemplary pieces from Hillwood’s celebrated collection
of French Decorative Arts.
Sèvres
The porcelain factory at Sèvres has been in existence for two and half centuries.
Since its beginning, the factory has produced some of the finest porcelain in Europe,
characterized by brightly colored – most notably blue, yellow or pink – grounds,
with areas of white for polychrome painting and lavish application of gilding to frame.
The Sèvres collection at Hillwood, which includes outstanding vases as well as tablewares
with royal provenances, spans the early years of manufacture at Vincennes (1749) through
the factory’s induction as the Royal Manufactory in Sèvres (1759) and culminates
with several fine examples from the time of the French Revolution. The extensive
collection features a range of shapes and decorations, but consistently reflects Mrs.
Post’s personal affinity for turquoise and pink wares.
One of the collection’s most valuable pieces is a rococo-shaped Vase
(cuvette "Mahon") from 1757, attributed to Jean-Claude Duplessis. With a
sinuous outline and bombé sides ending in scroll feet, the long sides of the vase are
framed with a band of pink ribbon edged in gold that forms a loop at the center. One panel
created by the loops is decorated with a basket filled with grapes and the other with a
cluster of flowers. The Vase is extremely rare (only fifteen are known to be in
existence) and was produced in the same year that the pink color, called roze, was
introduced. It is believed to have been initially sold to the Duc d’ Orléans at one
of Louis XV’s annual exhibitions of Sèvres wares at Versailles during the Christmas
season.
Furniture
Louis the XIV (1643-1715), one of the first French monarchs to advocate artistic
superiority, attracted the best craftsman and artists from all over Europe to create
decorative objects for his many residences. His successors, Louis XV (1715-74) and Louis
XVI (1774-92) would carry on this tradition through the end of the eighteenth century when
France was the wealthiest country in Europe. Cabinet makers and upholsterers at this time
outdid themselves inventing new designs for the Parisian market. In the Hillwood
collection is a Commode with Pastoral Marquetry attributed to Jean-Henri
Riesener (1734-1806), who was considered the finest cabinet maker of the Louis XVI period.
The Commode, almost identical to one Riesener designed for the king’s
bechamber at Versailles, is rectangular in shape with a façade divided into three
pictorial marquetry panels surrounded by highly sculpted bronze frames. The corners bear
draped female busts crowned with laurel leaves and the bottom center panel has a bearded
man flanked by ornamental leaves. The legs end in gilt bronze lion paws and the top of the
commode is polished marble.
Tapestries
French nobility during the first half of the 18th century encouraged the
development of a more refined and light-hearted society with intimate spaces filled with objets
de vertu (small precious objects), wall hangings and paintings that exhibited
frivolous scenes. Hillwood has three tapestries woven at Beauvais based on preliminary
sketches by François Boucher, the major arbiter of the French Rococo. Idealized peasants
and elegant courtiers are featured in his designs for Les Fêtes Italiennes (1736),
which combines two scenes, L’Operateur (The Quack Doctor) and La Curiosité
(the Peep Show). The two smaller tapestries are from another series called Les
Amours des Dieux, designed by Boucher in 1749. One is titled Bacchus et Ariadne
and the other is Jupiter et Antiope.
Objets de Vertu
Valuable objets de vertu were accumulated and displayed in the nobility’s
elegant interiors in 18th century France. In a similar spirit, Mrs. Post had a
penchant for small luxury objects and wares and displayed her collections in table
vitrines and glass cases at Hillwood. Among the numerous precious objects is a
shell-shaped snuff box from 1723. The gold case’s top and bottom are covered in
mother-of-pearl. An applied vase at the center holds flowers in gold with petals enameled
in white and pink and leaves in green. The inventory of the Duchesse d’ Orléans,
drawn up in 1723, mentions several gold snuff boxes, including four à coquille,
such as this one.
Other remarkable objets de vertu are two small cylindrical heart-shaped gold and
enamel boxes, of which no other examples are known. The heart form suggests that these
boxes may have been intended as token of love, or wedding gifts. Attributed to goldsmith
François-Guillaume Tiron, the boxes are decorated very differently. One has four painted
enamel panels with bouquets of polychrome flowers and leaves. Each panel is surrounded in
rococo scrolls in chased gold. The other box has similar chased gold framed sections, but
features tavern scenes based on the work of Flemish painter David Teniers the Younger
(1610-1690). |
