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#213: By Ian Wardropper, Director Transcript

As a consequence of King Louis XIV’s need for gold to fund his ongoing and expensive wars at the beginning of the eighteenth century, gilt bronze started to replace gold and silver as the primary material of French metalworkers. Parisian marchands-merciers—the intermediaries between artisans and collectors—contributed to the development of a taste for gilt bronze by selling porcelain wares enriched with gilt-bronze mounts. For them, gilt bronze was a way to increase the value of, and boost the demand for, their unsold porcelain. In general, precious gilt-bronze mounts were made to fit porcelain vases and not vice versa. Gouthière was proud of his skill in affixing gilt bronze with no visible means of attachment and no drilling holes.

These two vases—one of which was substituted in the nineteenth century—originally belonged to the Duke of Aumont and are a rare example of the earliest white porcelain produced in Europe. They were likely inspired by a Chinese vase from Dehua that belonged to Augustus the Strong—the Elector of Saxony who promoted the establishment of the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory. Far from common wares, such vases were perceived as extremely valuable and therefore suited for extraordinary mounts.

The ornamental and functional gilt-bronze mounts on the Frick’s pair of candelabras include cornucopias, goat heads, deer hooves, vine leaves with grapes, and in the center a thyrsus staff topped with a pinecone and covered with ivy leaves. These motifs are directly associated with Arcadia, the idyllic mythological region in Greece that was home to Pan, the god who looks after shepherds and their flocks. Superbly chiseled and painstakingly made, these two vases exemplify the exquisite, if not profligate, taste of the French nobility.

The Arcadian motifs of the eighteenth-century candelabras contrast sharply with the reality of social disharmony and imminent revolution toward the close of the eighteenth century. In 1787, soon after the candelabras were made, the gilder Pierre Gouthière filed for bankruptcy, not least because his aristocratic clientele was exiled or executed during the French Revolution.

Pair of Candelabra

 (French, 1732–1813)
 (German, act. 1710−present)
Date1782
MediumGilt-bronze mounts and hard-paste porcelain; one vase, Meissen Manufactory, ca. 1720; the other, a later replacement
DimensionsEach: 17 1/8 × 6 7/8 × 6 7/8 in. (43.5 × 17.5 × 17.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Sidney R. Knafel, 2016
Accession number2016.6.01
Commentary

These candelabra, among Gouthière’s last commissions for the Duke of Aumont, are a true tour de force. The extremely detailed chasing lends a naturalistic appearance to the swirling ivy and grapevines decorating the vases’ shoulders, as well as to the individual pomegranates, pears, and other fruits that spill from the cornucopias that form each candleholder. At the same time, the rough texture of the goats’ ridged horns contrasts with the silky appearance of their wool. Gouthière’s superb chasing was embellished by his unique gilding techniques, which included dorure au mat, or matte gilding, that can be seen here on the goat’s heads and on the many leaves on the candleholders. What distinguishes these candelabra is the contrast of the bronzes made by Gouthière—whose craftsmanship is comparable to that of a goldsmith—with the simplicity of the white vases. These were considered in the Aumont sale catalogue to be of Meissen porcelain, although they appear in the section titled “old white Japanese porcelain.” Regardless of what Aumont knew about the porcelain, he valued these vases highly enough to have commissioned such exquisite mounts for them.

These works were included in the exhibition Pierre Gouthière: Virtuoso Gilder at the French Court.

Not On View
Blue Marble Side Table with Neoclassical Gilt-Bronze Mounts
Pierre Gouthière
1781
Porcelain vase in blue and white with figures of children
Vincennes Porcelain Manufactory
1753–54
Porcelain vase in blue and white with figures of children
Vincennes Porcelain Manufactory
1753–54
Porcelain pot-pourri vessel in purple and green with landscape scene
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
ca. 1762
Porcelain pot-pourri vessel with gilt bronze mount
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
1760
Porcelain pot-pourri vessel in purple and green with landscape scene
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
ca. 1762
Porcelain pot-pourri vessel in purple and green with landscape scene
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
ca. 1762
male figure with bird on a gilt-bronze mount
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
ca. 1728–30
two male and female porcelain figures standing on a gilt-bronze base with metal tree
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
ca. 1740−45
Porcelain inkstand in blue and gold in open red case
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
18th century
two bottles with elaborate gold decoration
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
ca. 1720-25
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