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A very fine pair of Louis XVI rock crystal and gilt bronze mounted cassolettes attributed to Antoine-Philippe Pajot, each shaped as tripod athéniennes, the domed cover surmounted by a pineapple finial, above a foliate pierced rim above three female term supports holding swags of chains with tasselled drapery, on a stiff-leaf cup and shaped central shaft with a ring connecting the three monopodiae supports with cloven feet, on a circular white marble base with gilt beaded border, on three bun feet
Paris, date circa 1775-80
Height 37 cm. each.
Rock crystal, a precious mineral, is a transparent colourless quartz and was reserved for the creation of the most luxurious objects, particularly so as it was very hard and could only be carved with considerable difficulty, usually using a lapidary’s wheel. Popular during sixteenth century Italy it was also favoured in eighteenth century France, particularly so during Louis XVI’s reign. One of the main Parisian craftsmen to specialise in creating mounts for rock crystal objects, as well as those in glass, was the fondeur-ciseleur Antoine-Philippe Pajot (circa 1730-1781), whose 1777 inventory of the contents of his workshop lists ‘dix sept pièces en cristal de roches destinés a former trois vases’, for the marchand-mercier Antoine Magnien. The inventory also listed a considerable amount of mounts for porcelain, such as for three blue glass vases sent by the marchand-mercier Jean-Bertin Tesnier. In addition to mounts for rock crystal, porcelain, glass and hardstones, Pajot created a number of bronzes d'ameublement and as such supplied some of the leading Parisian ébénistes of his day, notably Adrien Delorme, Antoine Gosselin, Jean-François Leleu, Pierre Macret and Pierre Pioniez.
Among the very few known works bearing Pajot’s stamp is a pair of vases with faceted cut-glass bodies, which came from the Elizabeth Firestone collection, (sold by Christie’s New York, 22-23 May 1991, lot 868). His oeuvre is also closely related to a pair of vases with precious rock crystal bodies, mounted with swan-shaped handles, which were probably made for the Russian market. As such the model subsequently became particularly fashionable in Russia during the early years of the nineteenth century, and was copied by the Imperial Glass Factories, where, between 1819 and 1848, Ivan Ivanov was its principal designer (as noted in N. Thon, “St. Petersburg um 1800”, 1990, pp. 395 and 398, no. 344). It is probably that the present cassolettes were also made for the Russian market which would explain why another very similar pair made of malachite rather than rock crystal but with the same distinctive outward leaning female term supports, tassel hung beads and pineapple finial have recently been identified as early nineteenth century Russian and probably the work of Friedrich Bergenfeldt (1760-1814).
A cassolette, known in the later nineteenth century as a brûle-parfum, was a small brazier in which one could burn aromatic pastilles or evaporate liquid perfumes in order to scent a room. They were very fashionable items among the wealthy sectors of society who could not only enjoy their beauty but benefited from their practical use. Their design was based on Antique tripods, especially athéniennes, which were a type of urn, usually fitted with a lid; they were supported on a classical tripod stand and were adapted for burning perfumes, as plant holders or as a wash stand. Athéniennes were the invention of J. H. Eberts in 1773 and as one of the most overtly archaeological inspired items of the Louis XVI and subsequent Directoire style had a profound influence on contemporary designers. Cassolettes were made from a variety of materials; very rarely were they made of rock crystal but more usually of marble, silver, bronze and copper, or alternatively of another fragile material such as porcelain, faience or lacquer.
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