An exceptional Louis Napoleon Gilt-Bronze Surtout de Table Suite by Ferdinand Barbedienne, once part of the contents of Skibo Castle, is set to go under the hammer with an estimate of £180,000-250,000 (plus buyer’s premium) in the Autumn Fine Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 14th November.
Jeremy Pattison, Tennants’ Auctions Director says of the sale: “It is extremely rare for an ornamental table suite of such outstanding quality and provenance to come to auction, the suite is a testament to the extraordinary craftsmanship for which Barbedienne is renowned”.
The suite comprises 34 pieces, including a jardinière centrepiece marked with the arms of Bourbon, four candelabra, numerous comports and it is sold with seven brass-bound, fitted wooden cases.
Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) was a metal worker and manufacturer, who’s foundry was the pre-eminent maker of bronzes of Belle Époque Paris, producing sculptures, clocks and bronze mounts of the highest quality. In his pursuit of excellence, Barbidienne collaborated with many highly skilled craftsmen and artists, including the designer of the present suite Louis-Constant Sévin, and the ciseleur (artisan chaser) Désiré Attarge. The pair had worked on many of Barbedienne’s most important commissions and this suite is a fine example of the excellent quality of the decorative objects being produced by the Maison Barbedienne. The suite also has the rare distinction to be marked with all three names - Attarge, Sévin, and Barbedienne.
The suite formed part of the contents of Skibo Castle, overlooking the Dornoch Firth on the east coast of Scotland, which was the family residence of the Scottish American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), one of the richest Americans to have ever lived. The suite was sold by Carnegie’s daughter Margaret Miller, and remained in Scotland with the purchaser until it was sold by his daughter to the present vendor.
Also on offer in the sale are two further lots of exceptional gilt-bronze centrepieces. A Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze Garniture of Three Centrepieces by Monbro Ainé, decorated with maidens, shells and putti riding sea creatures. will be offered with an estimate of £35,000-45,000. The Maltese craftsman George-Marie Monbro founded his eponymous business in 1801, and it became one of Europe’s most celebrated firms, supplying furniture to Louis-Philippe, the Duchess d’Aumale and the Palais de Saint-Cloud. On offer with an estimate of £25,000-35,000 is a Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze “L’Abondance et la Fécondité” Jardinière by Christofle & Cie. Christofle & Cie were one of the leading manufacturers of gold and silverware in France, and the model for this Jardinière was designed in 1868 by the renowned French sculptor Jules Klagmann, and this model featured in the catalogue for the 1869 Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs exhibition in Paris.
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