Koller View 3/20

7 Preview of the Old Master Paintings, Furniture and Porcelain auctions on 24 and 25 September 2020 When art meets politics Hubert Robert not only left his mark on the history of 18th-century French art and landscape design, but through his strong political commitment he also played a role in the French Revolution of 1798/99. In the run-up to the revolution, Hubert was among the group of "suspects" who were arrested as a precau- tionary measure. Robert's double role is remarkable because his undisguised political allegiances were in sharp contrast to the aristocratic milieu of his cli- ents. For example, the landscape painting from our September auction was part of a room decoration of the Hôtel Rouillé de l'Étang, today Hôtel du Ples- sis-Bellière on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Da- vid-Étienne Rouillé de l'Étang (1731–1811), the own- er and a high-ranking government official, most likely commissioned the painting from Robert, or at least chose it for his stately home. After his apprenticeship years in Paris, Robert went to Rome, where he met Giovanni Paolo Pannini and Gio- vanni Battista Piranesi, and came to appreciate their works. Rob- ert specialised in freely invented as well as accurate architectural views, which earned him the so- briquet "Robert des Ruines". He also worked as a garden designer and was named as Curator of the Royal Collections, which later be- came the Musée du Louvre. An entire session on 24 Septem- ber is dedicated to the Siegfried Ducret Collection, which compris- es some 250 lots of highly inter- esting porcelain. The Zurich phy- sician (1901–1972) was a great connoisseur and passionate col- lector of European porcelain, as well as being interna- tionally known through his scientific publications. Art and politics also meet in the Meissen porcelain plate shown here, from the coronation service of August III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Lithuania, the son of August the Strong. The opulently decorat- ed service was presented during the coronation cer- emony to both illustrate Saxony's renown and glory, and to promote the important and ambitious manu- factory. In the end, the valuable service was not used, however, as contemporary protocol dictated that the coronation table be set with silver tableware. The chest of drawers featured on 24 September, with its intricately crafted gilt bronze mounts and dark eb- ony veneer, was created around 1710/20, decades before the revolution fundamentally changed France (ill. 4). A great influence on the stylistic development of the aristocratic interiors of this period was exert- ed by the French cabinetmaker André-Charles Boul- le, whose precious marquetry, together with fire-gilt fittings from the manufactory of Etienne Forestier, set standards of craftsmanship and artistry not only in France but throughout Europe. Boulle is also cred- ited with the invention of several new types of furni- ture, such as the bureau plat, or writing table, and the chest of drawers. The present chest of drawers is a fine example in the style of the great ébéniste . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OLD MASTER PAINTINGS Karoline Weser weser@kollerauctions.com FURNITURE & DECORATION Stephan Koller skoller@kollerauctions.com PORCELAIN Sabine Neumaier neumaier@kollerauctions.com ONLINE CATALOGUES www.kollerauctions.com 1 Hubert Robert (1733‒1808). Washerwomen by a river. Oil on canvas. 163 × 106.5 cm (detail). Estimate: CHF 180 000/250 000 2 A pair of Louis XVI covered vases «à pot-pourri». The model by Dulac. Paris circa 1775/80. H 42 cm. Estimate: CHF 55 000/90 000 3 A plate from the coronation service of August III, King of Poland and Lithuania. Meissen, circa 1733. D 23.6 cm. Estimate: CHF 10 000/15 000 4 A Louis XIV/Régence chest of drawers. Paris circa 1710/20. Walnut with ebony veneer and gilt bronze mounts. Estimate: CHF 25 000/35 000 4 3 2