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PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN GENTLEMAN A LATE LOUIS XIV GILTWOOD AND VERRE ÈGLOMISÈ MIRROR CIRCA 1715 THE

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:120,000.00 - 150,000.00 USD
PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN GENTLEMAN A LATE LOUIS XIV GILTWOOD AND VERRE ÈGLOMISÈ MIRROR CIRCA 1715 THE
Property of a european gentleman A LATE LOUIS XIV GILTWOOD AND VERRE ÈGLOMISÈ MIRROR Circa 1715 The rectangular plate within a frame with rounded dentilled sight edge and ogee-molded leaftip outer edge, centering a BÈrainesque network of acanthus-sheathed scrolls set with masks, figures, birds and musical trophies, the upper and lower sections each set with two musicians playing the flute and drum, flanked by birds, each side element centered by a dancing female figure, each corner set with a pierced clasp centered by an Apollo or Diana mask, the whole surmounted by an acanthus-sheathed, scrolled and arched cresting draped with trailing husks and centered by a strapwork cartouche set with a plumed mask, inset with a panel decorated with a dancing figure 731?2 x 401?4 in. (187 x 102 cm) $120,000-150,000 The present piece is a rare example of the verre ÈglomisÈ process as applied to mirrors. The use of this technique was current, though not common, amongst the most accomplished voir Royal marchand-miroitiers active during the last quarter of the reign of Louis XIV. exiled Hugenots produced equally impressive mirrors in London by 1700, two of which are in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum. (Herbert F. Schiffer, The Mirror Book. Exton, PA, 1993, figs. 73-74.) five other examples are known, all with pierced clasps to the corners and three with decoration inspired by the engravings of Jean I BÈrain (1640-1711) to the surrounds: the first is larger, has blue glass, a similar cresting, and ormolu not giltwood decoration (Palais Galliera Paris, June 12, 1973, resold Sotheby Parke Bernet Monaco, February 13, 1983, lot 430). the second is smaller, has red glass, and no longer retains its cresting (Sotheby’s Parke Bernet Monaco, 24-25 June 1984, lot 3046). The third and fourth , again with red glass, no longer retaining its cresting, and with chinoiserie decoration, were sold ader picard tajan, drouot rive gauche, paris, april 20, 1979, no. 87 and formerly in the collection of RenÈ Weiller (sold Sotheby’s Monaco, June 15, 1996, lot 129, FF1,076,500). The fifth, with black glass, heads to the pierced clasps to the corners, and a similar arched cresting was formerly in the ch‚teau de Bouche-d’Aigre, Loir-et-Cher (sold VendÙme, November 12, 1988). A particularly interesting feature of the present mirror is the verre ÈglomisÈ, and particularly the surround of the cresting, was decorated to imitate red tortoiseshell. This effect, when further heightened with the gilt decoration on the glass and the giltwood surrounds, themselves imitating ormolu, must have been intended to imitate premiËre-partie Boulle marquetry. Although the technique of applying gold leaf to the reverse of glass for decorative effect is an ancient one, the term verre ÈglomisÈ takes its name from Jean-Baptiste Glomy (1711-1786), maÓtre in 1736, a Parisian framer, expert and dealer of drawings and engravings, and the author of the first catalogue raisonnÈ of the engravings of Rembrandt (1606-1669) in 1751. he applied gold to the reverse of the glass used to frame prints and drawings, The thin gold lines often corresponding to watercolor or ink lines inscribed on the matte beneath, but once the matte had faded or a different framing was desired, the glass with its gold intact could be reused. His account book from the years 1753-1761 survives and his client list reads like a who’s who of the day: Pierre-Louis-Paul Randon de Boisset (1708/10-1776), FranÁois Boucher (1703-1770), the duc de Tallard, FranÁois-Thomas Germain (1726-1791), the Dauphine, Mme de Pompadour (1721-1764), Laurent Grimod de La ReyniËre (1734-1793), Jean-Henri Eberts (act. 1757-1788, the creator of the athenienne), Gabriel Huquier (1695-1772), Charles-Nicolas Cochin (1715-1790), the marquis de Marigny (1725/27-1781), Charles de Wailly (1730-1798), etc.