The Beauty of 18th Century Chinese Cloisonné

A pair of Chinese cloisonné enamelled figures of elephants, probably Jiaqing period

It is likely that the techniques employed in Chinese cloisonné came from the Near East. The tradition of enriching metal objects by fusing a composition of ground up multi-coloured glass under heat stretches back over some 3000 years.

Enamel decoration reached its heights in Byzantium and European sacred art of the early and high Middle Ages. The term cloisonné describes the method of creating compartments on a metal object using raised wirework borders, known as cloisons in French. These thin borders remain visible on the finished object separating the compartments of variously coloured enamels. The enamelled powder is worked into a paste to allow its application before being fired in a kiln. It is likely that these techniques reached China from the Middle East in the 14th century. Byzantium also influenced these developments especially after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 when refugees, in all likelihood, brought their knowledge of enamelling to China.

A Chinese cloisonné enamel and gilt copper ewer, mark and period of Qianlong

In China high quality enamelling becomes apparent from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) onwards. Importantly this branch of artistic endeavour received the patronage of the Imperial Court in China. In the 18th century the emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) surrounded himself with resplendent enamel works in his summer residence. Measuring 18.5cm the Chinese cloisonné enamel and gilt copper ewer had the mark of Qianlong and was of the period. It’s beautifully conceived pear-form body was decorated with blue, red, yellow, white and pink prunus on a ‘cracked ice’ turquoise ground. The gilded neck was also decorated with prunus above a stiff leaf collar and band of ruyi heads uniting the gilt domed cover with its Buddhistic lion knop finial and the chimera mouth scroll spout with the foliate capped scroll handle.

The pair of Chinese cloisonné enamelled figures of elephants probably dated from the Jiaqing period (1796–1820) and were 40cm high. Each caparisoned beast was decorated with colourful trappings and draped in a saddle cloth, brightly enamelled with a hanging chime and vapours above crashing waves on a turquoise ground. The elephant in China is one of the seven Buddhist sacred treasures and symbolizes peace. The combination of an elephant supporting a vase on its back is a reference to peaceful times (taiping youxiang). The decorative motif and symbolism was used on the Imperial throne. These two fine examples of the art of Chinese cloisonné were sold for £13,000 and £15,000 respectively in Toovey’s specialist sales of Chinese and Asian Art reflecting its continuing allure to collectors today.

Picasso in Provence

A collection of Picasso Madoura editions ceramics

Amongst the towering giants of 20th century art was Pablo Picasso. After living under the Nazis in his Paris studio Picasso journeyed south to Provence. Provence, as much an idea as a place, has gathered diverse peoples to her over millennia. Each have added to her richness and, in their turn, have been shaped by this remarkable land and her people.

In 1946, Pablo Picasso visited the annual potter’s exhibition in the provincial town of Vallauris. There he met Suzanne and Georges Ramié, the founders of the Madoura workshop, who were keen to persuade him to come to Vallauris. Picasso returned in July 1947 bringing his extraordinary imagination and creative energy to ceramics. Picasso took the everyday and transformed it in to high art painting and incising with a richness of expression which still causes my heart to race. Favourite themes included figures, bullfights and still lifes as depicted on the jug and plates illustrated here. In each you see the free, graphic rhythm which typifies Picasso’s ceramics. These pieces are Picasso Madoura editions and are authentic replicas of the original work. They sold for a total of £8200 at Toovey’s. Like a handmade print their close connection with Picasso’s hand attracts the attention of an international group of collectors. Picasso’s relationship with Madoura and the Ramiés grew and he lived at Vallauris before moving to Cannes.

Rupert Toovey in the square outside the Musée National Picasso, Vallauris

Picasso resurrected the ancient tradition of the all-round artist exploring painting, sculpture, graphic art, engraving and ceramics. Picasso delighted in the craft of the ceramicist and quickly began to talk with the Ramiés using the technical language of the potter. The Ramiés indulged Picasso’s often extremely unorthodox practices which included his methods of firing, glazes and form. Take for example the plate ‘Bunch with Apple’, made in 1956, in an edition of 400 which was decorated with oxidized paraffin.

You approach the Musée National Picasso at Vallauris in Provence through a square filled with shops and restaurants. Amidst the life of the village stands the bronze L’homme au mouton given by the artist in 1949. Inside the museum there is a jewel like array of original ceramics made by Pablo Picasso which is guarded fiercely by the museum staff. The pieces capture the spirit of Provence in a way which speaks of a joy and freedom after the artist’s years under Nazi occupation in Paris. You sense the effect that the light and warmth of Provence had on Picasso expressed in his ceramics in the post-war years.

Unseen Millet Discovered by Toovey’s

Two women resting after their labour – Jean François Millet

Toovey’s are delighted to offer an original crayon noir on laid paper by Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) in their forthcoming Fine Art auction on 27th November. The work was previously unseen and untraced for 74 years.

This work is a study for Millet’s The Faggot Gatherers in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland which can be seen online by clicking here. Acquired by Augustus Philip Brandt at some point in the late 19th/early 20th century, the present work has remained within the family until the present time.

In 1851, Millet left Paris for Barbizon with his family, drawn to the rural village on the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau. There, he was profoundly affected by the sight of local women who gathered bundles of sticks, or faggots, to sell as firewood—work that typically fell to the poorest members of society, often older women. As a child of a farming family, Millet felt a deep connection to these scenes of rural hardship, making the figure of the faggot gatherer a recurring motif in his body of work., Millet wrote to his friend and future biographer, Alfred Sensier, describing his first interactions with the local peasant labourers.

Jean François Millet (French 1814-1875), The Faggot Gatherers, crayon noir on laid paper

You are seated under the tree experiencing all the well-being, and the tranquillity that you can enjoy; then you catch sight, coming down a little footpath, of a poor figure laden with a faggot. The unexpected and always striking way in which this figure appears before you takes you back unwillingly to the unhappy condition of mankind, to the fatigue. It always gives an impression like that La Fontaine expresses in his fable of the woodcutter: ‘What pleasure has he had since he was born? Is there a poorer man on this round earth?’

This theme permeated many of Millet’s sketches and paintings from the period of around 1850 to 1855. The present work captures two women resting after their labour: the bare, shoeless feet of the younger woman signal her poverty, while the older woman’s bent posture and claw-like hands
suggest years of gruelling toil. Millet’s dedication to Realism shines through, reflecting his moral sensitivity to the suffering and despair he witnessed in the peasant community. The drawing exemplifies unflinching realism, observed directly from life, yet Millet elevates the scene to an allegory on the passage of time, in which the young figure looks down at the elder as if confronted with her own inevitable fate.

Differences between the present work and the oil on panel at the National Galleries of Scotland include the placement of the faggot bundle, and the hand positions of the figures. The wood in the background, likely the Bas Breau area of the forest of Fontainebleau, is more imposing in the final work, the shadows of which form a chiaroscuro foundation for the figures to be lit from a single light source emanating off canvas.

Details from Loan Exhibition Catalogue

In 1950 the present work was exhibited alongside the oil version in ‘A Loan Exhibition of the School of 1830 in France’ organised by Wildenstein & Co. as catalogue number 54, where it was leant by ‘a Private Collector, London’, Augustus Philip Brandt (1871-1952).

Augustus Philip Brandt, the eldest of four brothers, was born in London on April 15, 1871, to Augustus Ferdinand Brandt of Hamburg and Elizabeth von Oesterreich of St. Petersburg. In 1895, he became a partner in his family’s merchant banking firm, Wm. Brandt’s Sons & Company, originally founded by his ancestor Emmanuel Brandt in 1805 and transformed into a banking business by his father in 1859. Augustus took on the responsibility for the bank’s American interests. The firm itself was multifaceted, encompassing banking, timber, commodities, and insurance.

During a trip to Egypt, Augustus met and fell in love with Jean Champion Garmany of Savannah, Georgia. They wed in May 1898 and had two daughters: Jean, born in 1900, and Gwendolen, born in 1904. Augustus, reserved and private, was a striking contrast to his sociable wife, who hosted grand gatherings at their home, Castle Hill, Bletchingley.

Jean-François Millet’s signature

At Castle Hill, Augustus enjoyed seclusion in his small studio, a workshop he crafted from part of the stables, where he engaged in woodworking and cabinet making. The garden was another haven for him, where he would spend hours taking in the sweeping views over the Weald. Whenever possible, he set out on walking expeditions in the Bavarian Alps, often accompanied by his daughter Gwen. Augustus collected artworks by European artists, and in 1927 he commissioned Philip de László to paint members of his family, including himself. Augustus died at Bletchingley in 1952.

Toovey’s would like to thank Aidan Weston-Lewis, Joe Tursellino, Professor Frances Fowle, Hannah Brockhurst, and Tim Williams for their assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.

Remembrance, Courage, Sacrifice and Hope

The Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall

Families, communities and nations are shaped and bound together by their common stories. Stories of both joys and sorrows.

There are moments in the procession of the our long island history which in their re-telling have become the stuff of legend and which define the character of our island people. They have inspired our writers, artists and leaders. King Alfred hiding from the Viking hoards in the marshes of Athelney in Somerset emerging to defeat their armies. The rescuing of almost all of the British Expeditionary Force, some 338,000 men, from the beaches of Dunkirk by a flotilla of more than 800 civilian pleasure craft in the May of 1940. This year we have marked the 80th Anniversary of D-day and the stories of courage and sacrifice in the cause of freedom, justice and the defence of our shared values, our way of life have been told by a dwindling band of men and women who took part in these momentous events. As I watched the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall I was struck by power of their first hand witness to the events they had lived through. It was as though their memories were ours too. As this remarkable generation fades these stories may well become the stuff of legend. But there is a risk that when history becomes legend there is a danger that we may forget the lessons of our past – that freedom, justice and hope, our way of life and shared values, democracy, are all hard won and must be defended strongly in times of peace as well as conflict.

Richard Shenton, Brigadier Willie Shackell and Des Knight at the Royal British Legion Act of Remembrance at St Mary’s, Storrington

Hope is an important corner stone of a Christian life, in fact a good life however we are inspired whether our hearts be sacred or secular. But today 24/7 news, social media and fake-news unceasingly breaks into our lives with a catalogue of tragedy, war, fear, climate change and suffering. In the face of this our sense of hope, our agency, is diminished and evil is emboldened persuading us that we are powerless to effect change. I think it was my mother who once said to me “You can’t change the world but you can change your corner of it.” This profoundly hopeful statement has much to commend it. Each of us, if we turn our attention from the digital media for a moment, will bear witness to extraordinary hope filled acts of human kindness and generosity all around us, especially in response to suffering and need.

A Revival of English Country House Taste

A pair of George III Chippendale period giltwood pier mirrors from the collection of the late Michael Rawlins of Wakefords, Easebourne

I much prefer a rich, textural English Country House interior over the austerity of minimalism. English Country House Taste is layered and eclectic always reflecting the taste and interests of a family and often the patchwork quilt of a family’s stories and interests over generations. It is unpretentious, layered and evolving.

My Grandparents home made a great impression on me. They had lived through the Second World War and they created a gathering interior. Their home was generous but not grand, rich, eclectic and beautifully conceived. Although quite open in design it was made up of a series of spaces to gather and enjoy the company of friends and family. Two sofas enfolded the fireplace with flanking armchairs and a Regency single-pedestal Pembroke table, the draw always smelt of pipe tobacco and 2B pencils. Chinese porcelain vases served as table lamps with crisp pleated shades, the walls filled with paintings and a bookcase because outward facing lively minds mattered. In the dining room a George V oak gateleg dining table reflected the light from the garden on its richly bees-waxed top surrounded by Georgian chairs. And to the side a chrome and red lacquer drinks trolley held a decanter of Madeira with an assortment of favourite glasses. These two areas were defined by a mahogany bureau which sat confidently against a wall between them.

A rich composition of furniture, paintings and objects in the English Country House taste

The late Michael Rawlins’s interiors were more formal and the collections reflected a glamorous taste. Michael built his home Wakefords at Easebourne when he moved from River. It beautifully demonstrates how English antique paintings, objects and furniture compliment the interior of a home from any period. The windows were framed by chintz curtains and the sofas and armchairs, which framed the fireplace in the drawing room, were upholstered in bright colours reflecting the influence of Colefax and Fowler and the interior designer John Fowler on a post-war generation. The furniture from Michael’s collection has just gone under the hammer at Toovey’s. The George III Chippendale period giltwood pier mirrors realised £3700. They formed part of a layered composition of paintings, furniture lights and objects typical of English Country House taste. There is a revival of intertest in the comfortable and timeless taste of the English country house. And today the quality of antique furniture, its beauty and exceptional value is beginning to attract the attention of decorators and collectors once again.