Blood jasper nave mounted in enameled gold - Lot 25

Blood jasper nave mounted in enameled gold Stone: Paris, first half of the 17th century Mounting: Paris, circa 1650 H. 14.5 cm, L. 19.5 cm, W. 10.5 cm Provenance Rothschild Collection, Paris; seized during the Occupation: Nazi inventory: Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) R3567; then recovered by the Monuments Fine Arts and Archives Section; returned to the family after 1945; Baron David de Rothschild; its sale: Christie's Paris, le goût français - Incluant la succession Elie et Inna Nahmias, November 6, 2014, lot 357. Comparative bibliography Daniel Alcouffe, Les Gemmes de la Couronne, Musée du Louvre, Paris 2001. Letizia Arbeteta Mira et al, El Tesoro del Delfín, catálogo razonado, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid 2001. Condition: good Numerous examples of hard stone navettes have come down to us, most often in rock crystal, more rarely in agate or jasper. This type of slender bowl was very popular from the 16th century onwards. They can be found in the work of Milanese and Prague lapidaries, as well as in 17th-century Parisian production. Daniel Alcouffe has identified a specifically Parisian style of production, characterized by generally fine-cut stones with smooth surfaces devoid of relief or engraving, with the exception of a few rare examples. When the pedestals are high, they are usually baluster-shaped, set on round or oval bases. The stones favored in Paris are agate and jasper, including blood jasper (cf. Alcouffe, no. 206, 265; British Museum, London, inv. WB.82), with mounts, most often enameled, the work of goldsmiths in the capital. These different elements therefore allow us to attribute our nave to a Parisian lapidary active around 1650, due to the stylistic consistency of the mounting. In fact, the enamelled gold setting is still influenced by the "cosses de pois" style, particularly fashionable in the 1630s-1640s, and is part of a body of Parisian work produced over the following decades until around 1680. Several pieces in the Crown Collection at the Musée du Louvre (cf. Alcouffe, nos. 194, 196, 201, 202, 206, 207), as well as in the Trésor du Dauphin at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid (cf. Arbeteta Mira, no. 8), display similar ornamental features: palmettes, cordelières and interlacing in white enamel enhanced with black (figs. 5 to 7).