ROYAL MANUFACTURE OF SÈVRES, 18th century

“The Emperor of China” - Portrait of the Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799)

Hard porcelain biscuit.

Between 1775 and 1779.

Attributed to Josse-François-Joseph LE RICHE (1741-1812), under the direction of Louis-Simon BOIZOT (1743-1809).

Debossed marks on the base “B” (for Boizot) and “9” (mold number).

Some chips and losses on the base.

H. 40.5 x L. 14.5 x D. 14 cm.

Origin

- One of thirteen biscuits with the portrait of “The Emperor of China” made by the Royal Manufacture of Sèvres between 1775 and 1779, and one of three known to date.

- French private collection, cited in a certificate of expertise from the National Porcelain Manufacture of Sèvres on July 6, 1883: “The Emperor of China / Model of Sèvres from 1760 to 1780 (sic) / Biscuit in soft paste porcelain (sic) ), very rare model and of great value. L. Lenoy, senior clerk at the Sèvres Ceramic Museum.

- Mr. Poulet, antique dealer in Versailles.

- Purchased for 6,000 francs on December 14, 1929 by Madame la Comtesse Claude de Choiseul-Praslin, née Yvonne Tempez (1895-1982), from Mr. Poulet (invoice attached).

- Then to his godson (given around July 19, 1960), father of the current owner.

Related works

- A copy numbered “20”, H. 40.5 cm, is kept at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (inv. 23723, Bequest Adèle Michon, 1923).

- A copy numbered “17”, H. 40.6 cm, is kept at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv. 2003.119).

- The original terracotta from 1775 under the direction of Boizot is preserved at the National Ceramic Museum, Sèvres (inv. MNC 12971).

List of the 13 recipients of the Emperor of China biscuit delivered according to the archives of the Manufacture de Sèvres

- Madame la Duchesse de Mazarin, August 10, 1776 (Vy 7, fol. 118 v°).

- Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, in 1776 (Vy 6, fol. 208 v°).

- Madame Adélaïde, aunt of Louis XVI, in 1776, at Versailles (Vy 7, fol. 128).

- A copy sold for cash on December 21, 1776 (Vy 6, fol. 118).

- A copy sold for cash on December 22, 1776 (Vy 6, fol. 120).

- A copy sold for cash on December 27, 1776 (Vy 6, fol. 130).

- Monsieur le prince de Croÿ (with a foot weighing 48 pounds), May 23, 1777 (Vy 6, fol. 186).

- To the merchant Grouet, first half of the year 1777 (Vy 6, fol. 223).

- Madame la Comtesse d’Artois, December 28, 1777, in Versailles (Vy 6, fol. 246 v°).

- Madame de Durfort, December 11, 1777 (Vy 7, fol. 111 v°).

- A copy sold for cash on December 16, 1778 (Vy 7, fol. 58).

- Mr. Ambassador of Sardinia, April 27, 1779 (Vy 7, fol. 137).

- A copy sold for cash on May 26, 1779 (Vy 7, fol. 144).

Historical

Differing from the “chinoiseries” executed in the 18th century at the Sèvres Manufacture, this statuette is not a fantasy figure but a real portrait, and not just any portrait since it is that of the Emperor of China Qianlong (reigned, 1735-1796). It is inspired by a now lost watercolor by Father Panzi, a Jesuit attached to the court of Beijing, loaned to the factory by Secretary of State Henri Bertin (1720-1792). The latter was a first-rate client who did not hesitate to influence the artistic choices of Sèvres production, suggesting decorations and bringing models to the factory.

A scholar passionate about China, Bertin financed the publication of Memoirs concerning history, sciences, arts, customs, customs, etc. of the Chinese / By the missionaries of Beijing, under the direction of Joseph-Marie Amiot (1718-1794), published in fifteen volumes from 1776 to 1791 (1814 saw the publication of a final volume). Martinet's engraving, presented on the frontispiece of the first volume of the collection, reproduces Qianlong's portrait of Father Panzi (see illustration).

The Jesuit's watercolor also served as a model for paintings painted on porcelain; in 1776, a first plate, painted by the painter Charles-Éloi Asselin, was sold to King Louis XVI at the considerable price of 480 pounds (today kept at the Château de Versailles (see illustration). A second was sent accompanied by a copy of the biscuit from The Emperor of China via Bertin as a diplomatic gift from King Louis XVI in 1781 but it seems that Mr. Panzi did not deliver them. Indeed, in a letter that Amiot wrote to Bertin on November 15, 1784, he. indicates: “I inquired with Mr. Panzi about the use he had made of the full-length statue of the emperor, and of the portrait painted on porcelain of this prince. He told me that he keeps. the statue in his room and he no longer remembers what became of the portrait..." Bertin personally acquired a third plaque on October 17, 1785 for the sum of 192 pounds.

Probably created during the year 1775 (according to Tamara Préaud), the statue of the “Emperor of China” is attributed to the sculptor Josse-François-Joseph Le Riche, modeler in Sèvres from 1757 to 1801, under the direction of Louis-Simon Boizot, director of sculpture at Sèvres from 1773 to 1809. Although no archival document confirms this attribution, the presence of Le Riche's initials "LR" on one of the two other known examples ( that of Boston, see above) allows us to affirm this. The first biscuit copy from the Sèvres workshops was sold in August 1776 to the Duchess of Mazarin, born Louise-Jeanne de Durfort de Duras (1735-1781), renowned for the collection of art objects that she ordered from the artists of his time. The work was offered at the price of 72 pounds, a relatively modest sum but which can be explained by the simplicity of the figure which required seven molds for its manufacture, while the most ambitious groups required up to a hundred.

The production of small bisque sculptures, that is to say without covering, had assured the factory the prestige of a new ceramic material, with a finely polished white surface reminiscent of marble. Its development from the middle of the century was such that in 1757 the factory appointed a director of sculpture, a position held until 1766 by Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791), then replaced by the painter Jean-Jacques Bachelier ( 1724-1806) until 1773, then by the sculptor Louis-Simon Boizot (1743-1809) who occupied it until his death.

Within this production exported and then imitated throughout Europe, the Emperor of China, despite the prestige of its main buyers, experienced limited success since only thirteen copies were sold (see above). The austerity of this portrait of a foreign sovereign, imbued with ironic wisdom, had undoubtedly confused the clients, accustomed to more amiable creations (the Emperor here wears a fur pelisse that only he could wear and a black fur cap). But she had not diverted the manufacture from the creation of these effigies of princes of distant kingdoms, since in 1787, Boizot modeled the statuette of a full-length figure of a young Prince of Cochinchina "in order to pique curiosity with new ". The first copy was sold to the king at the end of the year, at the same price as the Qianlong figure.

To date and to our knowledge, this model is the only one kept in private hands; only two others of the thirteen examples are known and located: one is kept at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris and the other at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. That of Decorative Arts does not have an incised letter while that of Boston presents the initials of Le Riche; ours presents the initial “B” of director Boizot. This mark alone proves the execution of the work at the Sèvres factory in the 18th century.

As for the number “9” appearing on the base, according to Antoine d’Albis, former director of the Sèvres factory, it could correspond to a mold number used in the execution of the statue. Indeed, the sculptors in Sèvres used different molds for each work. The model from the Museum of Decorative Arts is marked with the hollow number “20”, and that of Boston with the number “17”.

This extremely rare sculpture representing the Qianlong Emperor is a most important testimony illustrating the ancient relations between France and China. The various recent exhibitions dedicated to exchanges between the two countries clearly show the importance of these links, notably that of Versailles in 2014 and that of the Forbidden City of Beijing in 2022; this is also the aim of the current exhibition “The Palace of Versailles in China”, which is held at the Forbidden City from April 1 to June 30, 2024, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary year of diplomatic relations between France and China.

Literature

- Émile Bourgeois, The Sèvres biscuit in the 18th century, Paris, Goupiol & Cie, 1909.

- Tamara Préaud (art.), Sèvres, China and “chinoiseries” in the 18th century. The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, vol. 47, 1989, pp. 39-52.

- Louis-Simon Boizot (1743-1809): sculptor to the king and director of the sculpture workshop at the Manufacture de Sèvres, exhibition catalog, Versailles, Lambinet museum, Paris, Somogy, 2001.

- Cat. exhibition, China at Versailles. Art and diplomacy in the 18th century, Château de Versailles, May 27 - October 26, 2014, Somogy, Paris, 2014.

- Cat. expo. (China), Three centuries of elegance: 1740-2015 - Sèvres Manufacture. Jinsha Site Museum, Chengdu, China, October 17 - December 17, 2015.

- Videoconference given by Madame Chaoying LEE, associate professor at the Department of Ethnic Relations and Cultures at the National University of Dong Hwa (Taiwan), Amis de Sèvres, October 10, 2023: “Diplomatic gifts - in the form of porcelain - from the court of France to the Qianlong Emperor, described in the correspondence between the minister Henri Bertin and the Jesuit missionaries at the court of Beijing, in the 18th century.

€20,000/30,000