Garden party at Qianlong’s
Vendredi 04 mai 2018
Gazette Drouot Intenational, Céline Piettre
UPCOMING AUCTIONS 10-11 june
As every year with the approach of summer, the Château d'Artigny in the Val de Loire makes ready to host the now famous garden party staged by the Rouillac auction house. The star of this 30th edition is a group of porcelains brought back from China in the 19th century by a French Navy officer - "a major historical figure", we are told. They consist of twelve bowls (€20,000 / 50,000 per piece) and a gourd bearing the stamp of the Qianlong Emperor (see photo). Estimated at €600,000 / 800,000, this is "outstanding" for its size (50 cm) and the technical sophistication that went into its production (combining a white-blue porcelain background with celadon medallions): the kind that really fires up enthusiasts of the former Middle Kingdom. In this two-day sale, they will be accompanied by a series of fifteen paintings by Boucher €400,000 / 600,000), a stag by Rembrandt Bugatti (€100,000) and furniture belonging to Balzac (€ 100,000).The lawn should be pretty crowded…
Touraine, Château d'Artigny, Rouillac, auction house.