A turned and carved ivory composition with two boxes topped - Lot 55

A turned and carved ivory composition with two boxes topped by a 'Tour de force'. A turned and carved ivory composition with two boxes topped by a 'Tour de force'. South Germany, 17th century Total height 39 cm Provenance : Henri-René d'Allemagne Collection, Marnes-la-Coquette ; Collection Jean-Michel Guéneau, Paris (purchased directly from the children of Henri-René d'Allemagne); Christie's Paris, The Exceptional Sale, November 2, 2022, lot 7 ; Private collection, France. Comparative bibliography: C. Plumier, L'art de tourner, ou de faire en perfection toutes sortes d'ouvrages au tour [...], Lyon, 1701 (edition consulted: Paris, 1749). N. Grollier de Servière, Recueil d'ouvrages curieux de mathématique et de mécanique, ou Description du cabinet de M. Grollier de Servière [...], Lyon, 1719. The turned elephant ivory piece is composed of two superimposed boxes with a poly-lobed cross-section. The larger one rests on four gadrooned feet. Its lid is decorated with a rosette supporting four balls on which the second, smaller box rests. The latter is covered by a dome surmounted by a twisted stem bearing a "tour de force" of concentric openwork and mobile spheres, carved in the mass, with a star-shaped dodecahedron in the center, and surmounted by a stem of pearls. The bottoms and insides of the lids are decorated with rosettes. Condition: good NB: the piece has its French CITES permit of 2022, n°FR2207510284-K This double box, topped with a "tour de force", is a true technical feat that illustrates several elements engraved in treatises on the art of the lathe. It bears witness to the great renown of this form in the 17th and 18th centuries. In his 1701 work, Charles Plumier was one of the first to depict a composition of superimposed boxes almost identical to our example, with the exception of the upper stem and the "tour de force", which differ in design (ed. 1749, pl. LXII). In 1719, Nicolas Grollier de Servière's collection also featured boxes, including one very similar to ours, which partly reproduces the one already published by Plumier (pl. VII; see also pl. X and XI). This work also features twisted stems and "tours de force" similar to those on our model (pl. III), as well as a lid decorated with a rosette (pl. XII). A box of the same type, but with wickerwork decoration and without a "tour de force", was part of the former collection of Lily and Edmond Safra (Sotheby's, New York, October 18, 2011, lot 773).