A near pair of gilt-bronze mounted lapis-lazuli vases, possibly Russian, circa 1800

Pierre Nicholas Hoorn van Vlooswyck, Baron de Hoorn (1743-1809) Paris, 22 November 1809, lot 350;

Galerie Steinitz, Paris;

Christie's London, Important European Furniture and Sculpture, 10 July 2008, lot 16.

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Pierre Nicholas Hoorn van Vlooswyck, Baron de Hoorn (1743-1809) Paris, 22 novembre 1809, lot 350;

Galerie Steinitz, Paris;

Christie's Londres, Important European Furniture and Sculpture, 10 juillet 2008, lot 16.

Once part of one of the most relevant collections of the turn of the 18^th century in Paris, - that of Baron de Hoorn (1743-1809) - these exquisite vases are very early examples of the use of Russian lapis lazuli from the region of Lake Baikal, discovered in 1794.

Described in the Baron de Hoorn’s Inventaire après décès as “deux vases en lapis de Sibèrie, élévés sur socles à panneaux garnix en bronze doré en mate et cage de verre” these were part of a large group of objects in hardstones and marbles in the Baron’s collection, which underline his particular taste for these materials, following the footsteps of renowned collectors a generation earlier, such as the Duc d’Aumont.

Pierre Nicholas Hoorn van Vlooswyck was born in the Netherlands into a wealthy Amsterdam family that had made their fortune in trade with Italy and the Orient and other different investments. Having sold his family business share to his brother, in 1789 he embarks on a Grand Tour that see him following the steps of so many admired anticomanes, and meeting along the way some of the tastemakers of the period. Starting with an important collection of gems, the building of his collection seems to have been his lifelong passion. In 1797 he moves from Italy to Paris, where he dies in 1808 whilst residing at hôtel de Vendôme, formerly the residence of the ducs de Chaulnes.

It is here that his Inventaire après décès was done, which, together with the auction sale catalogue of 1809, gives us a clear picture of what the collection, thoroughly analysed by Alexandre Pradère. A collection of a true amateur, with an eclectic and exquisite taste ahead of his time, it comprised Antiquities both Greco Roman and Egyptian, Chinese and Indian bronzes, Medieval and Renaissance works of art, an important group of gold boxes, pre-Columbian and ethnographic objects from the Caribbean, Peru and Tibet and a treasury of cups and vases in onyx and other precious stones, all framed by his superb collection of Boulle furniture.

His collection of precious and rare stones was celebrated throughout Europe and had a dedicated section in the sale catalogue - Antiquités, Matières Antiques - with several busts and a larger group of vases in different marbles and hardstones, some with important provenances such as those of the Prince Charles of Lorraine, Bailly de Breteuil, Prince de Conti and duc d’Aumont.

“For the display of these vases, van Hoorn had assembled in his apartment around thirty columns in precious marbles (rosso antico, nero antico, Egyptian granite), for the most part with gilt bronze capitals and bases. In a neoclassical spirit redolent of 1770’s interiors, this assemblage was complemented by table slabs of precious marble (lumacchelo, oriental granite, green porphyry, Portor, Siena, and flowered jasper). (…) There were thirteen pieces (…) in lapis lazuli, at this time a very rare material reputed to come from Persia, the most expensive being a pair of vases, valued at 1855 francs (…). Van Hoorn clearly had a particular fondness for lapis lazuli (Pradère, p. 209)” with clocks, paintings and other objects incorporating this exquisite stone.

The present pair of vases was the most valuable of this section of vases and described as 'Deux grands et beaux vases de lapis de Perse, forme d'urne, avec couvercles, piédouches & doubles socles, placés sur leurs piédestaux, ornés chacun de quatre plaques rondes & de quatre plus petites & longues en lapis; le tout enrichi d'ornements dorés au mat; élevés sur socles plaqueés du même lapis et posés sur leurs socles de granit oriental rose de 8 po. de diam., entourés d'un tore à feuilles de laurier, dorés au mat et recouverts de leurs cages de verre'.

The bold ovoid urn design and crisp cutting follow known drawings made for the Russian imperial lapidary workshops (see for example, N.Mavrodina, The Art of Russian Stone Carvers 18^th-19^th Centuries, The State Hermitage Museum ,2007, K5, p.307) and the unusual bases with open reserves showing further lapis lazuli, underline the preciousness of the material. It is likely therefore that these exquisite vases were produced in the Imperial Kolyvan Lapidary Works and later mounted in Paris.