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277 - BIENNAIS (1764-1843). A fine silver-gilt sugar bowl bearing …
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Estimate €12,000 - €15,000
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Description
BIENNAIS (1764-1843). A fine silver-gilt sugar bowl bearing the arms of NAPOLEON I, KING OF ITALY In the form of a covered urn. Round lid decorated with a medallion of water flowers and florets, with an ebony handle carved with gadroons. Body with two scrolled handles, decorated with flowers, ending in two medallions two medallions decorated with female masks. The top belt is decorated with a series of medallions: -on the front, the "Great Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Italy", - on either side, two women's faces adorned with branches and laurel leaves, facing each other; -to the rear, a Gorgon's head, also with two female faces decorated with garlands of fruit and bunches of grapes, facing each other. facing each other. Surrounded by a beaded frieze and decorated with water leaves. The whole resting on a chased pedestal decorated en suite. Hallmarked cock 1. Paris 950, guarantee mark Paris (1798-1809) Goldsmith's hallmark of Martin Guillaume Biennais. Hallmark of the Association of Goldsmiths (1794-1797). Height: 15 cm. T.B.E. First Empire period. Related item : A coffee pot transformed into a chocolate pot with the arms of Napoleon King of Italy with a similar is in the Louvre, inv. OA 10270. Provenance: - Former Napoleonic Collection of the Prince's Palace of Monaco, N°167, Osenat, Fontainebleau 15 November 2014 Martin-Guillaume BIENNAIS, the son of a ploughman from Orne, became a servant then a turner in Argentan in 1785. In 1788, he opened a tablet shop at 510 rue Saint-Honoré, near the Pavillon de Marsan in the Louvre. In 1791, the workshop which bore the strange name of "Au Singe Violet" (The Violet Monkey), was astonishingly prosperous. Its came in 1799, when the young General Bonaparte commissioned him to make various objects for his campaigns. Biennais accepted the order, knowing that it would not be honoured until later. In 1804, Biennais was officially appointed "goldsmith to His Majesty the Emperor". Under the Empire, following the Emperor's example, all the members of the imperial family entrusted their orders to Biennais. When, in May 1805, Napoleon took possession of the new kingdom of Italy, Biennais once again benefited from his largesse. However, only a very small number of coins still bear Napoleon's arms as King of Italy. Indeed, the majority having sent to Vienna when the Empire fell, the Emperor of Austria decided to have the to remove the imperial arms and replace them with his own. This service can still be seen today in the Hofburg. "Biennais coins bearing the arms of Napoleon King of Italy are extremely rare. A tray and a coffee pot bearing this coat of arms are known. service of the Kingdom of Italy (now in Vienna) bore these arms before they were replaced by those of those of Francis I of Austria". Bibliography: L'orfèvre de Napoléon, Martin Guillaume Biennais (1764-1843), R.M.N., 2003. Anne Dion also mentions in her book a platter (from the Albert Frère collection). Albert Frère collection, n°97, Collection Diane sale, Sotheby's Geneva, 16/11/2005) and illustrated in Connaissance des Arts, November 1966, p. 84.
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About the sale The Empire at Fontainebleau - Second day
Auction location
Auction time 06/21/2026 at 10:30 AM
Lot description modified on 06/10/2026 at 9:48 AM
Pictures credits:
Michel Bury and Henri du Cray
See original version (French)
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