A gold-mounted Imari porcelain cup and saucer with gold spoo - Lot 62

A gold-mounted Imari porcelain cup and saucer with gold spoon and fitted case A gold-mounted Imari porcelain cup and saucer with gold spoon and fitted case Porcelain: Japan, late 17th - early 18th century Mounting: Paris, 1727-32; master goldsmith: Jean II Gaillard (active 1695-1754) H. cup: 7 cm; diam. saucer: 15.5 cm Weight cup: 155 g; saucer: 156 g; spoon: 33 g Hallmarks: A crowned chancellor's mace: discharge for minor works 1722 - 1732 (cup and saucer). A crowned dolphin's head: charge for gold work 1722-1732 (cup). A fleur-de-lys: discharge for small items 1717- 1722 (spoon). Crowned fleur-de-lys, J.G., a phoenix surmounted by a radiant sun and two grains: Jean II Gaillard (cup). Provenance: E & H Manners, London, 2008; European private collection; Sotheby's, London, Treasures, July 5, 2023, lot 11 ; Private collection, France. Comparative bibliography: H. Nocq, Le Poinçon de Paris, Paris, 1927, tome 2, p. 204. J. Whitehead, "The Posthumous Inventory of the Regent", in: French Porcelain Society Journal, 2003, pp. 11-45.3. F. J. B. Watson, Mounted Oriental Porcelain in the J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2012, p.30. The porcelain features painted decoration in blue, red, green and gold, depicting floral motifs and prunus branches. The inside of the cup is lined with gold. Its neck and base are also adorned with a plain gold frame. The saucer is mounted with a fine molded gold rim. The gold spoon is decorated on the handle with a motif of two chased feathers separated at the center by a fleur-de-lys. The spatula features a female bust in profile on the front and a cordiform cartouche on the reverse. The set is presented in a violet-wood veneered case with inlaid lid. Condition: good In the early XVIIIᵉ century, Japanese porcelain became more accessible in Europe, although it remained a highly sought-after luxury item. Its mounting in silver, and more exceptionally in gold, was no longer simply a matter of rarity, but became a marker of aesthetic refinement. Imported mainly via Amsterdam, this porcelain was then assembled in Paris by marchand-merciers. The French aristocracy's interest in these precious objects is evidenced by Jean-François de Troy's painting Le Déjeuner (1723), in which a young woman is shown with a gold-rimmed cup and saucer, accompanied by a wooden case similar to our own. However, while many examples of silver-mounted porcelain have survived, gold-mounted pieces remain extremely rare and reserved for a social elite. Louis XIV himself owned a very fine porcelain cup, decorated with a gold circle at the base and two snake-shaped handles also in gold (cf. Watson, 2012, p.30). A few emblematic pieces have survived, including a gold-mounted tea service once owned by the Duchesse d'Orléans and now in the Louvre (inv. OA1237 1-11). This service includes two cups and saucers with mounts similar to ours, as well as two spoons decorated with busts in profile, stamped with the same discharge. Another notable example is a gold-mounted cup and saucer with spoon, dated Paris 1723 (Pescheteau-Badin sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, October 19, 2009, lot 56). This piece recalls an object described in the 1724 inventory of Philippe II, Duc d'Orléans, Regent of France (1715-1723): "Une petite boette quarrée de verni dans le goût de la Chine, doublée de velours rouge, dans laquelle est un gobelet et sa soucoupe de porcelaine blanche piquée d'or, le gobelet double d'or, le pied dud. gobelet et le tour de la soucoupe garnis d'or, une cuillère d'or, 300l." (cf. Whitehead, pp. 11-45.3). Goldsmith Jean Gaillard (active 1695-1754) specialized in the gold mounting of precious objects. Works bearing his hallmark include a gold-mounted rock crystal pot (Paris, 1726, Christie's sale, Paris, October 4, 2012, lot 48), a covered Meissen porcelain pot decorated in the Kakiemon style (Paris, 1731, J.Kugel collection, 2022), and a gold and hardstone snuffbox (Paris, 1744, Musée du Louvre). A rock crystal ewer mounted in gold (Paris, 1731), now in the Wallace Collection (inv. W198), also illustrates his skills. In 1754, he was sanctioned by the Paris community of silversmiths for possession of an unmarked silver saleron, resulting in a fine and suspension of his activity (cf. Nocq, tome 2, p. 204).