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166 - VERMEIL FRUIT BOWL By Jean Charles Cahier, Paris, 1819-1938 …
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Estimate €25,000 - €40,000
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Description
VERMEIL FRUIT BOWL By Jean Charles Cahier, Paris, 1819-1938 In the cypher of the Grand Duke, Mikhail Pavlovitch of Russia (1798-1849), brother of Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I The oval terrace with chased edge of palmettes and foliage, resting on four double lion-legged feet, the display stand applied and riveted with horns of plenty surrounding the Grand Duke's cypher stamped with an imperial crown, the top of the display stand decorated with a frieze of palmettes and florets on a bitter background between a frieze of laurel leaves and a pearled frieze, the foot chiselled with laurel leaves alternating with florets, the rim of the bowl applied with four front mermaids with webbed feet and four lyres surrounding a round medallion with a floral frame containing the Grand Duke's cypher stamped with an imperial crown on an amati background, the handles formed by busts of women wearing roses on leafy consoles. H. 23.4 cm (9 ¼ in.) L.: 32.3 cm (12 ¾ in.) Weight. : 2 Kg 220 A silver-gilt armorialed fruit cup, by Jean Chales Cahier, Paris, 1819-1938, with the cypher of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovitch of Russia (1798-1849) Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovitch (1798-1849) was the fourth son of Tsar Paul I. He was also the brother of Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I. He received a military education, which enabled him to travel throughout Europe. This French service was named after Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovitch, and made for the Michail Palace in St Petersburg, built between 1819 and 1823. Martin-Guillaume Biennais and Jean-Charles Cahier were the two Parisian silversmiths involved in the project, with Cahier taking over Biennais' archives and designs in 1821. On the death of Grand Duke Mikhail in 1849, this very important service was inherited by his only daughter, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, and then by his granddaughter Elena Georgievna (1857-1936). The service was then dispersed during the Revolution and confiscations, and sold to replenish the coffers of the Soviet state around 1930, for the benefit of a number of museums and private collections. Some of this service can be admired at the Rijksmuseum, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Espirito Santo Foundation in Lisbon, the Kremlin and in the Grand Ducal collections of Luxembourg, the family being descended from the Grand Duke. When Biennais retired in 1821, Jean-Charles Cahier rented his shop 'Au Singe Violet' and his studio at 283, rue Saint-Honoré, then bought his business, his matrices and the goods in the shop in 1822. He then extended his repertoire to include his predecessor's specialities: ceremonial crockery, arms and orders. Jean-Charles Cahier completed this service and delivered it in 1824. A model very similar to our bowl was designed by the ornamentalists Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853). Cahier was directly inspired by this design for our bowl. He was subsequently appointed goldsmith for the instruments used at the coronation of King Charles X in Reims in 1826. For an important covered bowl with similar decoration made by Jean-Charles Cahier for the Pavlovitch service, see Christie's London, 30 November 2006, lot 741 (see Fig 1). For a pair of buckets from this service, see Sotheby's Zürich, 18 November 1977, lot 162. For a tray from this service, see Sotheby's Genève Collection Diane, 16 November 2005, lot 47. For a pair of boat-shaped oilers from this service, see Christie's Geneva, 15 November 1994, lot 107. For a refreshment bucket from the same service, see Christie's Geneva, 17 November 1998, lot 171.
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About the sale Furniture and Works of Art - Evening Sale (Lot 1-170)
Auction location
Auction time 06/16/2026 at 5:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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