Narrow carved panel with lyre vase and bird ornament

Carved oak panel in a modern moulded frame. At the bottom, between two stems of jessamine is a vase from which issues a central flowering stem and two interlacing rose branches. Above are two doves perched on bunches of wheat ears. At the top is suspended a six-stringed lyre to which two laurel stems are attached by a ribbon.

Bequeathed by Mr Henry Vaughan

This panel and its pair are fragments of panelling (boisseries) carved by the French carver Honore Guibert (Avignon 1724- Paris 1791) under the supervision of the architect Gabriel for the salon of Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV at Fontainebleau. Two other panels, 967-1900 are fragments from the same scheme. The salon was commissioned by Louis XV in 1771, installed in 1772 and demolished by Louis XVI in 1774 and its fragments dispersed. Other fragments are held at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris.
(information supplied by Francois Gilles to Leela Meinertas January 2022)

Honore Guibert, was often employed by A.-J. Gabriel. He executed work at the PetitTrianon, Chateau de bellevue, Opera de Versailles Chateau de Menars etc etc.)

When the panels were Bequeathed in 1900 they were described as coming from Rambouillet.

Although there are no traces remaining, this panel was once covered in a thick layer of gesso, delicately chased to add an extra layer of detail to this already intricate carving. The gesso was tinted violet to co-ordinate with the decorative scheme of the room in which this formed part of the panelling. The neo-classical candelabrum ornament, named for its upright branching shape, is typical of fashionable taste in France in the 1760-70s and relates to the carving found on contemporary beds and chairs, particularly in its combination of naturalistic motifs such as birds and flowers with an urn and a lyre. The panel was used by George Basevi (1794-1845) as a model for the mural decoration in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge which he undertook between 1836 and 1845.

969-1900