Lot 397

Bronze STATUETTE with green patina depicting Jupiter, king of the Roman gods, full-length in contrapposto, his left arm covered with a himation and stretched towards the sky brandishing a thunderbolt, his right arm holding a brand. It is fixed on the top of a fluted half-column in pink gold (750 thousandths), itself fixed on a rectangular base in mirror and yellow gold applied to the front of a cartouche decorated with the inscription of the time of its creation enameled in blue “Jupiter Fulgur / 15th century / Attributed to Benvenuto Cellini / Collection of Prince Youssoupoff”, flanked by two sapphire cabochons. On each side, two wheels set with sapphire cabochons activate a mechanism to rotate the sculpture. The base resting on four carved red coral feet.

The frame by the CARTIER house, Paris or New York, circa 1923-1924. Total dimensions: H. 13.5 x L. 11 cm.

Total gross weight: 403.0 g.

Provenance

- Collection of Count Félix Félixovitch Soumarokoff-Elston, Prince Youssoupoff (1856-1928) for bronze.

- His son, Prince Félix Youssoupoff (1887-1967).

- His daughter, Irène Youssoupoff (1915-1983), Countess Cheremetieff.

- Gloanec sale, September 20, 1956.

- French private collection.

CR:

Good general condition, slight wear and oxidation (its original glass bell is missing).

Related works

Three other sculptures from Prince Youssoupoff's collection are known and were mounted by Cartier at the Prince's request:

- the “Blue Venus” sculpted in a blue sapphire monolith and mounted on a spinel, probably from the former collection of Catherine II, sold at Christie’s New York, December 11, 2019, lot no. 72 (sold for $399,000).

- a Buddha carved from a Burmese ruby from the Summer Palace in Beijing, similarly mounted in gold by Cartier, recently sold by FD Gallery in New York.

- an antique bronze sculpture depicting Jupiter Capitolinos, from the Hellenistic period, mounted in vermeil similarly by Cartier (signed under the base), of the same provenance as ours, is currently in a private collection.

Historical

Among the splendors of the princely couple's collection, the antique statuettes occupied a special place; Gilberte Gautier mentions them in her work “The Cartier Saga

1847-1988": "two statuettes - including one attributed to Benvenuto Cellini - mounted, on a pivoting gold base, by Cartier under the second empire (sic) (...)" and also explains the Youssoupoffs' attraction to the place of New York in order to sell their most precious small objects: "the American market offered more fruitful possibilities for the negotiation of the jewels brought back by the murderer of Rasputin (...) The negotiation of the jewels of Prince Youssoupoff was to take place over nine years.

Quotes

“Among the Youssoupoffs' other treasures, we include the “Blue Venus”, cut from a single translucent blue sapphire, eleven centimeters long, mounted on a ruby representing an intaglio head of Medusa; a Buddha carved from a ruby from the Summer Palace near Beijing; and a statuette of Jupiter attributed to Benvenuto Cellini. » (Gilberte Gautier “The saga of the Cartiers 1847-1988”, Michel Lafon editions, 1988, p. 248.

Literature

- Prince Félix Youssoupoff, “In exile”, éditions Plon, Paris 1952-1954.

- Hans Nadelhoffer, “Cartier Jewelers Extraordinary”, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1984 (cited p. 287).

- Gilberte Gautier “The saga of the Cartiers 1847-1988”, published by Michel Lafon, 1988 (quoted p. 248).