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n New York, between 1905 and 1920, there was a revival of
interest in 18th century French art in all disciplines. Writers,
architects, art dealers and interior decorators introduced
the painting, sculpture, architecture, furniture, and objets
d’art of that period to American patrons. It was during
this time that Mrs. Post began her life-long fascination with,
and appreciation for, French art. Under the tutelage of art
dealer Sir Joseph Duveen, she began collecting important antique
furniture, tapestries, and porcelain from the 18th century
and throughout her life as a collector, these formative years
with Duveen would remain a major influence. In fact, her love
of Russian imperial art was initially inspired by the fact
that it complemented her growing collection of French decorative
arts.
Highlighted below are a few exemplary pieces
from Hillwood’s celebrated collection of French Decorative
Arts.
Sèvres
The porcelain factory at Sèvres
has been in existence for two and half centuries. Since its
beginning, the factory has produced some of the finest porcelain
in Europe, characterized by brightly colored – most notably
blue, yellow or pink – grounds, with areas of white for
polychrome painting and lavish application of gilding to frame.
The Sèvres collection at Hillwood, which includes outstanding
vases as well as tablewares with royal provenances, spans
the early years of manufacture at Vincennes (1749) through
the factory’s induction as the Royal Manufactory in Sèvres
(1759) and culminates with several fine examples from the
time of the French Revolution. The extensive collection features
a range of shapes and decorations, but consistently reflects
Mrs. Post’s personal affinity for turquoise and pink
wares.
One of the collection’s most valuable
pieces is a rococo-shaped Vase (cuvette "Mahon")
from 1757, attributed to Jean-Claude Duplessis. With a sinuous
outline and bombé sides ending in scroll feet, the
long sides of the vase are framed with a band of pink ribbon
edged in gold that forms a loop at the center. One panel created
by the loops is decorated with a basket filled with grapes
and the other with a cluster of flowers. The Vase is extremely
rare (only fifteen are known to be in existence) and was produced
in the same year that the pink color, called roze, was introduced.
It is believed to have been initially sold to the Duc d’
Orléans at one of Louis XV’s annual exhibitions
of Sèvres wares at Versailles during the Christmas
season.
Furniture
Louis the XIV (1643-1715), one of the first
French monarchs to advocate artistic superiority, attracted
the best craftsman and artists from all over Europe to create
decorative objects for his many residences. His successors,
Louis XV (1715-74) and Louis XVI (1774-92) would carry on
this tradition through the end of the eighteenth century when
France was the wealthiest country in Europe. Cabinet makers
and upholsterers at this time outdid themselves inventing
new designs for the Parisian market. In the Hillwood collection
is a Commode with Pastoral Marquetry attributed to Jean-Henri
Riesener (1734-1806), who was considered the finest cabinet
maker of the Louis XVI period. The Commode, almost identical
to one Riesener designed for the king’s bechamber at
Versailles, is rectangular in shape with a façade divided
into three pictorial marquetry panels surrounded by highly
sculpted bronze frames. The corners bear draped female busts
crowned with laurel leaves and the bottom center panel has
a bearded man flanked by ornamental leaves. The legs end in
gilt bronze lion paws and the top of the commode is polished
marble.
Tapestries
French nobility during the first half of
the 18th century encouraged the development of a more refined
and light-hearted society with intimate spaces filled with
objets de vertu (small precious objects), wall hangings and
paintings that exhibited frivolous scenes. Hillwood has three
tapestries woven at Beauvais based on preliminary sketches
by François Boucher, the major arbiter of the French
Rococo. Idealized peasants and elegant courtiers are featured
in his designs for Les Fêtes Italiennes (1736), which
combines two scenes, L’Operateur (The Quack Doctor) and
La Curiosité (the Peep Show). The two smaller tapestries
are from another series called Les Amours des Dieux, designed
by Boucher in 1749. One is titled Bacchus et Ariadne and the
other is Jupiter et Antiope.
Objets de Vertu
Valuable objets de vertu were accumulated
and displayed in the nobility’s elegant interiors in
18th century France. In a similar spirit, Mrs. Post had a
penchant for small luxury objects and wares and displayed
her collections in table vitrines and glass cases at Hillwood.
Among the numerous precious objects is a shell-shaped snuff
box from 1723. The gold case’s top and bottom are covered
in mother-of-pearl. An applied vase at the center holds flowers
in gold with petals enameled in white and pink and leaves
in green. The inventory of the Duchesse d’ Orléans,
drawn up in 1723, mentions several gold snuff boxes, including
four à coquille, such as this one.
Other remarkable objets de vertu are two
small cylindrical heart-shaped gold and enamel boxes, of which
no other examples are known. The heart form suggests that
these boxes may have been intended as token of love, or wedding
gifts. Attributed to goldsmith François-Guillaume Tiron,
the boxes are decorated very differently. One has four painted
enamel panels with bouquets of polychrome flowers and leaves.
Each panel is surrounded in rococo scrolls in chased gold.
The other box has similar chased gold framed sections, but
features tavern scenes based on the work of Flemish painter
David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690).
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