THE ORMOLU CIRCA 1725, THE PORCELAIN KANGXI (1662-1722)

This pair of pot-pourris most probably belonged to the prestigious collection of Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville (1701-1794), a powerful minister under Louis XV and a great collector. Sold almost two centuries later by his descendant, the Comte de La Panouse, this pair of mounted vases corresponds to those listed in his 1794 inventory of his Château d'Arnouville (AD. Yvelines, 1Q175, Inventaire apres-deces de J-B Machault d’Arnouville, 30 Octobre 1794):

Petit cabinet-
15- (…) deux vases en pot-pourri de porcelaine des Indes fond bleu monte en cuivre doré d’or moulu estimé 300 livres

Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville was the son of Lieutenant General of Police Louis Charles de Machault d'Arnouville, himself from a family of Parisian parliamentarians. As Intendant of the Province of Hainaut in Valenciennes in 1743, he met King Louis XV, who appointed him successively Comptroller General of Finances (1745), Keeper of the Seals (1750) and Secretary of State for the Navy (1754). These positions enabled him to earn the exorbitant income of 400,000 livres each year, and to indulge his passion for collecting without limit. His contemporary, the Marquis d'Argenson, wrote in a letter dated 1751 that “he spent lavishly at his château d'Arnouville”, a statement later confirmed in his posthumous inventory.

The minister maintained a close friendship with Madame de Pompadour, and his 1794 inventory reveals that he shared a pronounced taste with la favorite for luxurious lacquer furniture and expensive mounted porcelain. Fascinatingly, a significant number of the pieces listed in this inventory reappeared on the art market from the end of the 20th century onwards, notably at the 1989 sale of the Château de Thoiry, from which the present pots-pourris originate. This château had been acquired by the son of Louis XV's minister, Charles de Machault d'Arnouville (1747-1830), who inherited a large part of his collection, which was subsequently preserved virtually intact by his descendants for almost two centuries.

Also of Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville provenance are the extraordinary porcelain pieces assembled by Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis: the vase acquired from the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux by the Marquise de Pompadour and then offered to the Minister (Sotheby's, Paris, 23 June 2004, lot 58), the flambé vase inventoried in his bedroom (Christie's, London, 9 July 2015, lot 5), the pair of 'Indian' vases (Christie's, London, 9 July 2015, lot 22); and in the realm of furniture, a number of superb works by Bernard II van Risenberg (BVRB): the red lacquer armoire now at the Château de Versailles (num. inv. V5090;OA9599), a Coromandel lacquer commode at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 356.189), and the Japanese lacquer commode and pair of encoignures sold successively at Christie's, Paris, 19 June 1999, lot 80 and then London, 2 November 2000, lot 231.