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Premium ROUILLAC
299
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Christofle House, under the direction of Paul Christofle (Fr…
See original version (French)
299
-
Christofle House, under the direction of Paul Christofle (Fr…
See original version (French)
Estimate €18,000 - €22,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Christofle House,
under the direction of Paul Christofle (French, 1838-1907)
Important prize trophy awarded to Monsieur Chambaud at Le Saix, 1867
Silver.
Awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Public Works for the agricultural competition in the town of Bourg in 1867. The goddess Ceres at the top rests on a base bearing the imperial coat of arms with the inscription "CONCOURS REGIONAL AGRICOLE DE BOURG / DECERNEE A". The bowl is embossed with four scenes of work in the fields, captioned "PATURAGE, MOISSON, VENDANGE, LABOURAGE". The rim is underlined with the inscription "MINISTERE DE L'AGRICULTURE DU COMMERCE ET DES TRAVAUX PUBLICS MDCCCLXII". The tapered and fluted shaft is surrounded by vine branches and ends in sheaves of wheat. The circular base features an ox, a ram, a sheep, a ploughshare and a scythe in the round. It stands on four openwork scrolled feet, richly decorated and carved with bunches of leaves.
Marked Minerve 1st title.
Signed "CHRISTOFLE Ft (fecit) 1867".
Based on a model by the sculptors Eugène Capy (French, 1829-1894) and Pierre-Louis Rouillard (French, 1820-1881).
Height 65 cm Tray diameter 41 cm.
Weight 9,300 g.
With its rare green pyramid case, gilded with the imperial coat of arms and marked: "Concours agricole de la ville de Bourg 1867". 75 x 44.5 x 44.5 cm.
Provenance: preserved to this day in the estate of M. Chambaud in the Ain department.
Silver prize cup by the Christofle company, awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1867 and preserved with its extremely rare case by the recipient's heirs.
Bibliography :
- Yves Badetz in Daniel Alcouffe (dir.), "L'Art en France sous le Second Empire", cat. exp. Paris, Grand Palais, 11 May - 13 August 1979, Paris, Ed. RMN, Notice 79.
- Pierre Tochon, "La prime d'honneur de l'Ain en 1867", Albert Bottero, Chambéry, 1867, one copy attached.
- Henri Tochon, "Rapport sur le domaine du Saix", 1867, one copy attached.
The model for this cup seems to have been developed as early as 1861 by Christofle, who presented a "gold and silver" cup at the Salon that year, donated by the Ministry of Agriculture to the regional competition. An example was then entered in the 1862 Universal Exhibition in London. Charles Christofle was not alone in inventing these cups. He was joined by Eugène Capy for the figure of Ceres and Pierre-Louis Rouillard for the representations of animals. His decorative repertoire thus plays between realism and neo-classicism for this pinnacle of French goldsmithing during the Second Empire.
A simple farmer in 1840, François Eugène Chambaud (1822-1906) became a farmer in Péronnas in the Ain département in 1846, before buying the estate of which he was director from the Visitation sisters in Thonon in 1857. In 1859, he was awarded a gold medal in the Ain agricultural competition, and in 1867 received the prestigious "prime d'honneur" symbolised by this cup. At the end of a well-documented report in which he praised both the agricultural merit of his recipient and the activity, intelligence, devotion, modesty and merit of his wife, Pierre Tochon concluded: "Let Mr Chambaud come and receive this award. May he show it with pride to his children, his friends and, above all, to practising farmers in all walks of life, as a testimony to the power of hard work to achieve wealth and even fortune, as a testimony to the special interest that the Emperor has shown in the agricultural classes since his accession to the Throne.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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