Lot n° 21
Estimation :
30000 - 40000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 37 700EUR
Silver centerpiece. - Lot 21
Silver centerpiece.
Veuve Flament & Léon Champenois, Paris, 1890-1894.
In the Louis XV style, decorated with a nacelle richly chased and openworked with rocaille motifs, adorned with a chimera-headed prow surmounted by a triton blowing into a conch, animated by a putto holding the dolphin-shaped rudder at the stern. The nave appears to be sailing on a curved oval plateau featuring a profusion of wavelets, shells and waterfalls. The structure rests on six feet, four of which are scrolled and engraved with scales.
Removable silver interior.
Title hallmarks: Minerve, Paris, 1890-1894.
Goldsmith's hallmark: Veuve Flament & Léon Champenois.
Age wear, small chips and accidents.
L.: 58.5 cm - H.: 33.5 cm - W.: 35 cm.
Weight : 11,6 kg.
History : The centerpiece, known as the "surtout de table", is the heir to the automata found at the great banquets of the Middle Ages.
The first description of a surtout appears in an issue of the Mercure
Galant in 1681: "In the middle of the table there was a large gilded vermeil surtout or centrepiece. It's not long since these kinds of works were invented. They remain on the table throughout the meal. They are made in several different planes. They are often enriched with figures and bear a quantity of things for table use, so that you can't wish for anything necessary for a meal that you don't find there". At the time, these objects played a utilitarian role, allowing sugar, salt and oil shakers to be placed at the center of the table, followed later by candles, fruit and floral decorations. From then on, the royal courts of Europe and abroad commissioned French silversmiths, who competed in elegance and originality to make the table and its style a world reference. Thomas Germain (1673-1748), son of the famous silversmith Pierre Germain (1645-1684), supplied Louis XV at Versailles, as well as the courts of Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Russia. Under the First Empire, a model similar to our gondola-shaped centerpiece was produced in vermeil by Maison Odiot, a symbol of opulence and prestige, for the second marriage of Napoleon I to Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria.
Louise of Austria on April 2, 1810. The reference model contained the Emperor's and Empress's eating utensils and napkins, as was customary at the French court under King Louis XIV. Thereafter, the centerpiece retained only its decorative aspect, often embellished with a pair of torches, goblets and decorative elements, as illustrated by the "aux fritillaires" commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III from the goldsmith Émile Froment-Meurice.
Émile Froment-Meurice (1837-1913), now in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (14338).
Biography: Léon Champenois was a French silversmith listed in Paris at 140 rue du Temple between 1894 and 1895. His collaboration with Madame Veuve Flament is characteristic of the historicism of the late 19th century, which drew inspiration from past eras, in this case the rocaille style of the reign of Louis XV.
Reference: A similar centerpiece made by the same silversmiths as our model was presented at Sotheby's in Beijing, during the sale of the Koopman collection (a dealer specializing in antique silverware since 1952) on November 27, 2014, under lot no. 35.
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