A Sèvres bleu céleste-ground garniture of three vases, 'cuvette Courteille', circa 1762

Baron Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911), by repute;

offered, Segoura, Christie's New York, 19 October, 2006, lot 80.

The vase ‘cuvette Courteille’ was probably designed by Jean-Claude Duplessis père, and was in production at Sèvres by 1753, initially in the largest first size and later, in 1759, in a second and third size. The vase form takes its name from Jacques Dominique de Barbieri, Marquis de Courteille (1696-1767), intendant des Finances from 1748, who was appointed commissaire du roi at the manufactory in 1752, a post which he held until his death in 1767. The first example of this form was presented to Courteille himself in December 1753, painted with a monochrome landscape and garlands of flowers (R. Savill, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain, London, 1988, Vol. I, p. 44.). His name was honourably given to several new forms introduced at Sèvres including the ‘plateau Courteille’, ‘déjeuner Courteille’ and the ‘compotiers Courteille ronds and ovales’.

The painter of these vases, André-Vincent Vielliard père (1717-90), initially worked as a fan painter before entering the manufactory while at Vincennes in September 1752. According to Savill, during the 1750s, he was the principal painter of children in landscapes, copying drawings by, or engravings after, François Boucher. By the end of the 1750s, like his contemporaries, Caton, Dodin and Morin, he began painting Teniers scenes (Savill, ibid., London, 1988, Vol. III, p. 1074.)

The scene on the central vase is taken from an engraving after the painting by Boucher, The Complaisant Pastor, or ‘The Willing Shepherd’, later engraved by André Laurent. The original composition by Boucher was one of two overdoor paintings, commissioned as part of the 1735-39 renovation of the Hôtel de Soubise, the Parisian residence of the Soubise-Rohan family, undertaken by the architect Germain Boffrand. The painting survives at the Hôtel, now the Archives nationales, inv. no. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. The scenes on the flanking smaller vases derive from further paintings by Boucher, La Chasse, or ‘Hunting’; and Le Pésche, ‘Fishing’, later engraved by Jean-Baptiste Le Prince. Two etchings of these subjects are in the Louvre, Paris, inv. nos. 18859 LR/ Recto, 18860 LR/ Straight, where it is noted that they may be from early concepts for a set of eight room panels on the theme of children personifying the Sciences and occupations of man. These panels were originally in the boudoir of the Château de Crécy, acquired by Madame de Pompadour in 1746, and today survive in the Frick Collection, New York (P. Jean-Richard, Inventaire général de gravures de l'Ecole française 'L'œuvre gravé de François Boucher dans la Collection Edmond de Rothschild', Paris 1978, p. 332, no. 1385.)

Surviving notable bleu céleste-ground vases painted by Vielliard in the early 1760s include: A garniture of three ‘vases Tombeau’, 1760, painted with Teniers scenes, most likely from the collection of Edward, Viscount Lascelles (1764-1814) and formerly in the collections of the Earls of Harewood, Harewood House, sold, Replica Shoes ’s Paris, 9 November, 2010, lot 198 (96,750 EUR); a pair of ‘cuvette Verdun’, 1760, with Teniers scenes, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, acc. nos. 754-1882-754A-1882, which was probably those given as a gift by King Louis XV to Monsieur and Madame de Courteilles in December 1760; a garniture of three ‘vases Hollandois’, 1761, with Teniers scenes, in The Art Institute, Chicago, ref. no.1994.373.1-3 and a 'cuvette Courteille’, 1761, of the 2nd size, painted with a Teniers scene, also in the V&A, London, acc. no. 755-1882.