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Premium ROUILLAC
400
-
Venice, 18th century
See original version (French)
400
-
Venice, 18th century
See original version (French)
Estimate €3,500 - €4,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Venice, 18th century
Pair of offering bearers
Polychrome European lacquer with gold.
They stand on a sculpted plinth decorated with a vase and flowers.
Handwritten inscription in ink on the reverse: “Antonio Borghini Manoffata 1778 a signor Bu... Sempre Cena”
H 22, W 22, D 14 cm.
Provenance: private collection, Monaco.
A pair of polychrome lacquered Chinese figures made in Venice in the 18th century.
Bibliography:
- Andrée Lorac-Gerbaud, “Les secrets du laque”, Turin, Editions de l’Amateur, 1996, pp. 100–105.
- Saul Levy, “Lacche veneziane settecentesche”, Milan, Görlich, 1999, vol. II, an example of this type illustrated on plate 396.
- Monika Kopplin, *European Lacquer*, Munich, Hirmer, 2010, pp. 26–30.
In 18th-century Venice, the French art of living was in vogue. Numerous craftsmen collaborated to decorate the ‘bodoar’, derived from the French boudoir. The ‘dépentore’ played a fundamental role in this: his work involved imitating Chinese and Japanese lacquer. The technique was described by Morazzoni in 1958, covering everything from the preparatory stages and the application of decoration with a brush or quill to gilding with a mordant. Lacquer then came to adorn all manner of objects, featuring ‘Chinese-style’ figures as well as lacquered sculptures on the same themes. Although painters gradually moved away from Asian models, oriental motifs remained in vogue with the ‘lacca povera’ technique, achieved by applying coloured prints coated with sandarac to create the illusion of painting. This innovation met an ever-increasing demand for lacquered objects decorated with chinoiserie motifs. Our pair of Chinese-themed objects, reminiscent of bookends, illustrate the Venetian Republic’s fascination with the Middle Kingdom.
N.C.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Classic and Contemporary Interiors II
Auction location
Auction time
09/18/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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