A Louis XVI gilt-bronze inkstand, circa 1775, with the coat of arms of the Royal House of Savoy

This inkstand was commissioned by the royal family of Savoy or by the French royal family as a dowry or diplomatic gift. The coat of arms of the House of Savoy surmounted by a closed crown corresponds to Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia and Savoy (1726-1796) or his son Charles-Emmanuel, future King of Sardinia and Savoy (1751-1819);

Possibly the inkstand mentioned in the inventory of Prince Juste de Beauvau (1793-1863) drawn up in 1864;

Then sold at auction following his death, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 21 April 1865, lot 22 (5,800 Fr);

Probably acquired at this sale by the Rothschild family, Alphonse de Rothschild collection, New York, circa 1966.

Galerie Perrin, Paris.

RELATED LITERATURE

S. Eriksen, Early Neo-Classicism in France, 1974, pp. 352, 390-1, pl. 205 and 209.

P. Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés Français du XVIIIeme Siecle, Paris, 1987, p. 138.

C. Vignon and C. Baulez, Pierre Gouthière, The Frick Collection, New York, 2016.

F.J.B Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, vol. II, New York, 1966, no. 205, p. 391.

This rare inkstand belongs to a group of only three known examples from the same workshop, probably Pierre Gouthière, given the quality of the work, with a very naturalistic vision of the details, particularly in the carving of the eagles, and exceptional chasing. Probably commissioned by the French royal family as a gift to the House of Savoy as a symbol of a lasting union, this object has a highly prestigious original provenance.

Attribution and provenance in question

The exceptional nature of this object suggests the hand of the greatest bronze-makers of the period, including Pierre Gouthière. The matt gilding technique - or two-tone gilding - is typical of his style, although it is impossible to say that he is the sole master. The eagles flanking the four sides are reminiscent of those found on the pair of andirons commissioned by the Duchesse de Mazarin. However, certain neoclassical motifs, including eagles, appeared earlier in the 18th century, notably by the architect Victor Louis and the master sculptor Jean-Louis Prieur, for King Stanislas-Auguste of Poland.

A number of clues suggest that the master of the period executed a writing desk described as ‘no. 99 ecritoire en bronze dore (par Gouthiere) 4000 francs’ in the inventory following the death of Prince Charles Juste de Beauvau in 1864. This same object was sold at Drouot on 21 April 1865 (lot 22) for 5,800 francs and was then described as: ‘Très-bel encrier du temps de Louis XVI. en bronze [...] se trouve les armes couronnées de la maison de Savoie. Remarkable work attributed to Gouthières. Width 30 cent; depth 22 cm’. It is therefore possible to establish that Pierre Gouthière made a gilt-bronze inkstand in his lifetime bearing the coat of arms of the Royal House of Savoy, the dimensions of which are more or less the same as those shown here, but it is not easy to confirm that the copy in the Prince de Beauvau's collection is actually ours. Just as it is impossible for us to say the opposite.

Identical in quality of execution and therefore probably from the same workshop, this object cannot be presented without reference to its counterparts. Two inkstands, known to date, exist with a few variations:

- One was part of the former collection of the Marquis de Galard and later in the Charles and Jayne Wrightsman Collection (fig. 3), but our lid has been replaced in the centre by a small bell. Similarly, in this model, between the inkstand and the hourglass, there is a compartment with a cartouche in the centre for a symbol, or coat of arms, but no coat of arms has been affixed. It is illustrated by Francis Watson and Pierre Verlet. This inkstand was sold without attribution at Christie's New York on 30 October 1993, lot 272.

- The other inkstand, of a very similar model, was sold at two successive sales at Christie's (fig. 4): Christie's New York, Meyer Collection, 26 October 2001, lot 10; Christie's, London, 6 July 2023, lot 3. This inkstand was first sold without attribution, then with an attribution to Pierre Gouthière at the second auction. The coat of arms of the House of Savoy is present on this example, but the central ornament also differs here with a flamed urn instead of a lid in the central rear section of the present inkstand. It was then presented as the inkstand from the collection of the Prince de Beauvau, sold at Hôtel Drouot in 1865 and acquired by the Rothschild family in around 1966.

Therefore, several inkstands seem to correspond to the same provenance and certainly to a single master bronze-maker's workshop, but this does not mean that the debate can be settled with any certainty. There are some mysteries that are still difficult to unravel, and this inkstand is one of them in terms of its origins and history, right up to its discovery within this collection. Restraint is called for when researching so far back in time through documentation that is somewhat lacking in precise descriptions. On the other hand, there can be no doubt about its aesthetic and the perfect mastery of its rich and harmonious decoration. The base with laurel branches, centered by rosettes, evokes the rustle of leaves in the countryside. The eagles, displayed in pairs, echo the most beautiful life-size sculptures, even though their size is infinitely reduced here. It's a testament to the attention to detail and the finesse of the chasing. Bronze-makers of the period found much to exercise their talent in these small accessories; the ingenuity required to conceal compartments is particularly evident in our example. For example, the central button on the rosette opens a secret compartment hidden in the frieze of the base.

An object closely linked to the House of Savoy

The son and successor of Charles-Emmanuel III, Victor-Amédée III (fig. 5) was King of Sardinia, Prince of Piedmont and Duke of Savoy from 1773. He devoted the first years of his reign to the internal administration of his states and then reorganized his army according to the Prussian model. An opponent of the French Revolution, he opened his states to émigrés and refused to receive the embassy of the French Republic. Defeated by Bonaparte, he had to relinquish Savoy and Nice under the Treaty of Paris of 15 May 1796. He survived this defeat by only a few months.

The years between 1771 and 1775 saw three dynastic marriages between the Royal siblings of France and Savoy. The Comte de Provence married Marie Joséphine de Savoie in 1771, followed by the marriage of his brother, the Comte d'Artois, to her sister Marie Thérèse de Savoie and, in 1775, the marriage of the Comte's sister, Clotilde, to the brother of the Savoie princesses, the heir to the Kingdom of Sardinia, Charles Emmanuel (future King of Sardinia from 1796). As the French Royal family commissioned many pieces from Pierre Gouthière, it is likely that this inkstand was commissioned as a Royal gift or as part of a dowry for a Royal wedding. We do not know when the inkstand left the Italian Royal collections, or what happened to it afterwards, unless of course we consider that our example is indeed from the Prince de Beauvau's collection.