Each with bronze and ormolu removable bowl of baluster ovoid form with plain molded rim and acanthus cup base with pinecone finial, above a scroll and foliate-carved frieze, raised on three scrolled volute legs tied with flowering garlands and on scrolled acanthus feet, the concave-sided triangular plinth with central pinecone finial, each now fitted with later marble tops
33¹⁄₄ in. (56.5 cm.) high, 16 in. (40.6 cm.) diameter

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie's Inc

Brought to you by

Lot Essay

A virtually identical athénienne is in the musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris and is illustrated in N. Gasc and G. Mabille, The Nissim de Camondo Museum, Paris, 1991, p.49. Interestingly, it displays an apparently identical liner. A further pair of almost identical athéniennes, together with a pair of later copies made in the 1930s under the direction of Lord Duveen, were acquired by Anna Thomson Dodge from Duveen Brothers for Rose Terrace, Michigan. The 18th Century pair is now in the Detroit Institute of Art (T. Dell, et al., The Dodge Collection of 18th-Century French and English Art in the Detroit Institute of Arts, New York, 1996, p. 25), whilst the pair of later copies was sold by the Detroit Institute of Arts to Benefit the Acquisitions Fund, Christie's, New York, 24 May 2000, lot 316 ($23,500).

More from

The Collector: English & European 18th & 19th Century Furniture, Ceramics, Silver & Works of Art

View All

Condition report

A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.

I confirm that I have read this Important Notice regarding Condition Reports and agree to its terms.

View Condition Report

The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.

With a clean, complete well-maintained appearance, structurally sound and ready to use. With general overall marks, nicks, surface scratches, tiny losses and repairs consistent with age and use. With scattered chips, losses to carving and gilt surfaces revealing gesso, bole and bare wood in areas as to be expected with age. Gilding refreshed. Areas of chips and losses to the gilt surfaces, with signs of cracking and tiny losses. Some minor cracks and tiny losses to the peripheral carving. Some cracking throughout.
The marble tops with surface scratches and very minor 'nibbling' to the edges, as to be expected from use. There are inclusions, which are natural to the stone. One mount to the 18th century liner, possibly an after cast.

After a design by the banker Jean-Henri Eberts (1726-1803) after that of similar form in Joseph-Marie Vien's painting of 1762, La vertueuse athénienne and introduced in an advertisement in the Parisian newspaper the Avant-Coureur for 27 September, 1773, the athénienne symbolizes the marriage of archaeological forms and fancy during the late 18th century, when the neo-classical style was all the rage in fashionable intimate interiors. The multi-purpose ormolu-mounted patinated copper cassolette, silvered on the inside and containing a removable spirit lamp, above which was set a tin-plated double boiler, was surmounted by a marble slab and a patinated copper cover. The athénienne had multiple uses: as an ornament and focal point in the middle of a room; as a table under a pier mirror, or in a corner, or as a pedestal to support a candelabrum or a piece of sculpture; as a perfume burner; as a heater for making coffee, tea, or chocolate; as a goldfish bowl; as a planter to grow bulbs in winter; as a bowl for cut flowers; and as a device for keeping bouillon or other drinks warm. The athénienne was first retailed from the shop near the porte Saint-Martin of the painter, gilder, varnisher, and author of the famous treatise on gilding, Jean-Felix Watin (b. 1728).

Print Report