Description
COUPLE OF ORIENTALS, THE SULTAN AND THE SULTANE Manufacture de Mennecy-Villeroy, circa 1750-1760 Glazed soft-paste porcelain The sultana's plume reattached, that of the sultan redone H. 29 cm Mark DV in hollow Provenance Private collection, Paris, since 2010 Exhibition Union centrale des Arts Décoratifs, 1929, La Porcelaine française de 1673 à 1914 Considered a milestone in the history of French porcelain by the Union des Arts Décoratifs (fig. 1), this pair of statuettes depicts a couple dressed in oriental fashion. They are wearing egrets, long fur coats and slippers. The man's costume is more characteristic, with a turban, waistcoat and baggy trousers, in keeping with the image that people had of him in the West at the time. The visit of the ambassador Mehmet Effendi in 1721 and the success of the Persian Letters (1721), which contain lengthy exchanges on clothing fashions, will have stimulated the imagination of artists. The Mennecy-Villeroy factory thus produced a series of oriental couples with varying postures, as shown in the brightly coloured example in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (fig. 2). Ours, made of white-glazed soft-paste porcelain, is more like Saxon-Meissen porcelain. The subject matter here is more elaborate. The figures standing on a rocky knoll, leaning on a flowery column, are set in a frame reminiscent of the chinoiseries of Jean-Baptiste Pillement or the tapestries of Aubusson. The next five lots are soft-paste porcelains from the first production of the Mennecy-Villeroy factory, between 1735 and 1750. The DV mark, painted or engraved, is a reminder of the patronage of the Duke of Villeroy (D.V.), who welcomed François Barbin (1689-1765), a soft-paste porcelain manufacturer in Paris, to his estate and allowed him to establish the manufactory there. The factory was transferred to the Mennecy side in 1748, following the redevelopment of the estate by Louis François Anne de Neufville (1685-1766), duke of Villeroy, peer of France, captain of the bodyguard of Louis XV and marshal of camp. François Barbin joined forces with his son-in-law Louis Evrard and his son Jean-Baptiste to meet the demands of his wealthy Parisian clients. Sold in 1765, the Manufacture de Mennecy- Villeroy ceased all activity in 1773. Additional information given by the collector is accessible by QR Code in the PDF.
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COUPLE OF ORIENTALS, THE SULTAN AND THE SULTANE Manufacture de Mennecy-Villeroy, circa 1750-1760 Glazed soft-paste porcelain The sultana's plume reattached, that of the sultan redone H. 29 cm Mark DV in hollow Provenance Private collection, Paris, since 2010 Exhibition Union centrale des Arts Décoratifs, 1929, La Porcelaine française de 1673 à 1914 Considered a milestone in the history of French porcelain by the Union des Arts Décoratifs (fig. 1), this pair of statuettes depicts a couple dressed in oriental fashion. They are wearing egrets, long fur coats and slippers. The man's costume is more characteristic, with a turban, waistcoat and baggy trousers, in keeping with the image that people had of him in the West at the time. The visit of the ambassador Mehmet Effendi in 1721 and the success of the Persian Letters (1721), which contain lengthy exchanges on clothing fashions, will have stimulated the imagination of artists. The Mennecy-Villeroy factory thus produced a series of oriental couples with varying postures, as shown in the brightly coloured example in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (fig. 2). Ours, made of white-glazed soft-paste porcelain, is more like Saxon-Meissen porcelain. The subject matter here is more elaborate. The figures standing on a rocky knoll, leaning on a flowery column, are set in a frame reminiscent of the chinoiseries of Jean-Baptiste Pillement or the tapestries of Aubusson. The next five lots are soft-paste porcelains from the first production of the Mennecy-Villeroy factory, between 1735 and 1750. The DV mark, painted or engraved, is a reminder of the patronage of the Duke of Villeroy (D.V.), who welcomed François Barbin (1689-1765), a soft-paste porcelain manufacturer in Paris, to his estate and allowed him to establish the manufactory there. The factory was transferred to the Mennecy side in 1748, following the redevelopment of the estate by Louis François Anne de Neufville (1685-1766), duke of Villeroy, peer of France, captain of the bodyguard of Louis XV and marshal of camp. François Barbin joined forces with his son-in-law Louis Evrard and his son Jean-Baptiste to meet the demands of his wealthy Parisian clients. Sold in 1765, the Manufacture de Mennecy- Villeroy ceased all activity in 1773. Additional information given by the collector is accessible by QR Code in the PDF.
