34 - Lapis lazuli bas-relief depicting Poetry and Music

Lapis lazuli bas-relief depicting Poetry and Music Based on a marble bas-relief by Jean Rousselet (1656–1693) from 1686 depicting Poetry and Music celebrating the glory of King Louis XIV Italy or France, late 17th–18th century A carved lapis lazuli depicting Poetry and Music After a marble bas-relief by Jean Rousselet (1656–1693), dated 1686, depicting Poetry and Music celebrating the glory of King Louis XIV Italy or France, late 17th–18th century Mounted on a slate plaque; set within a later gilt-wood frame. Plaque dimensions: 20 cm high, 15 cm wide With frame: 44.5 cm high, 38 cm wide Footnotes: The bas-relief presented here is based on the reception piece created by the sculptor Jean Rousselet in 1686 for the Académie royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, now in the Louvre (inv. MR 2764, N 15415). The sculptor nevertheless adapted certain elements of the original composition, most notably replacing the portrait of the king with a decorative vase set upon a column. Regarded as an exceptionally precious and rare material, lapis lazuli is a stone whose principal historical sources are located in the mountains of Badakhshan, in northeastern Afghanistan, where it has been mined since antiquity. Transported to Europe along distant trade routes, it became highly prized from the Renaissance onward for its deep, luminous blue, as well as for the golden inclusions of pyrite that can be found within the stone. When ground into powder, lapis lazuli produced the precious pigment natural ultramarine, one of the most expensive pigments used in European painting; as a stone, it was used to create luxury objects, vases, cabinets, tables, jewelry, and reliefs. From the 16th century onward—and especially under the Medici in Florence, and subsequently at the French court under Louis XIV—lapis lazuli became one of the favored materials for pietre dure, associated with prestige, magnificence, and the European courts’ fascination with the rarest and most precious materials. Cardinal Mazarin, like Richelieu before him, was a great patron and collector of pietre dure. Louis XIV continued this tradition and, in 1668, brought Florentine lapidaries to Paris to work at the Gobelins and to train French craftsmen. Comparative Literature Carpentier-Vanhaverbeke, Valérie; Scherf, Guilhem, Sculpteurs du roi. Les morceaux de réception à l'Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (1657–1791), Sculpteurs du roi. The Admission Pieces at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture (1657–1791), Mare et Martin, October 2025, pp. 200–203, p. 201 (ill.), cat. 37. The Crown Jewels, exhibition catalog, Paris, Musée du Louvre, April 27–July 23, 2001, Paris, RMN, 2001/ S. Casteluccio, Louis XIV’s Hardstone Furniture and the Gobelins Workshop, Dijon, Faton, 2007. For further information on this lot, please visit Bonhams.com