Lot n° 120
Estimation :
6000 - 8000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 9 789EUR
Rare terracotta crib with lead glaze. Under a construction r - Lot 120
Rare terracotta crib with lead glaze. Under a construction representing an open thatched cottage, Mary and Joseph are kneeling, two young children holding a stick in one hand and an urn in the other also kneeling, an angel standing with open hands, a donkey is lying in front. All are adoring the Child Jesus who lies in a cradle. The interior is richly decorated with foliage and shells, a wall is drawn on the outside forming the base of the thatched barn.
Paris (or Avon ?), probably workshop of Antoine Clarissy, first half of the 17th century
H. 24 cm - W. 33,5 cm - D. 21,8 cm
(accidents, missing parts and restorations)
Label of the Bernard Palissy collection n°7
Provenance : Probably former collection Pierre-André Mordret, Angers, sale of Wednesday April 20, 1881, lot 207.
Collection J. Baur, bookseller of the French Art History Society
This crib seems to be a unique piece in the production of 17th century glazed earthenware. Nothing similar is known. In an article in the 2019 journal Techné, reporting on research into Palisséan and post-Palisséan ceramics, the archives studied have allowed us to better situate the 17th century ceramics in their time and place of production. A character emerges from this study and could very well be the author of this sculpture presented here: Antoine Clarissy who was the head of a ceramic factory in Paris and produced small figures in "terre sigillée". It was in 1612 that Antoine Clarissy, coming from Marseille, arrived in Paris, called by the king. He obtained a place in the Tuileries Palace in 1616 and took the title of "King's worker in terra sigillata". The study of numerous inventories after death indicates that the figures made by Antoine Clarissy were in the collections of powerful men such as the Cardinal of Richelieu and the chancellor Pierre Seguier. These precious objects are therefore luxury items, responding to precise and prestigious orders.
A certain number of these small objects are preserved in the national collections, notably in the Louvre Museum, and a comparison with the crib shown here allows us to make a comparison with the Parisian or Avon workshops. Let us quote the Nurse (MR2353), the hurdy-gurdy player (OA4042) (fig a) whose enamel colors are very close, but also the Child with a dog (fig b) whose foliage of the terrace is almost similar to those of the background of the thatched cottage of our crib. Research on post-Palissy faience shows that Palissy's followers, who were linked to the Avon workshop, had important ramifications and activity in Paris. And attributing this crib to the workshop of Antoine Clarissy may be an opening for research.
Labels appear below the support, indicating that this crib belonged to several collections and was offered for sale at least twice. It was found in the catalog of the sale of the Mordret collection in Paris in 1881 (Paris Drouot sale, Me Charles Pillet, 20-21-22 and 23 April 1881, room 8), lot 207 "group from the suite of Bernard Palissy, representing the Crib. This scene is placed under a rocky and leafy background and the whole is enamelled in colors", bought 365 francs by Mr Baur, bookseller in Paris and publisher of numerous works of art history.
Book consulted : Jessica Denis-Dupuis, Bernard Palissy : nouveaux regards sur la céramique française aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles, in revue Techné n°47, 2019 pp 63-71
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