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Bust

1730-40 (made)
Place of origin

The manufacture of tin-glazed earthenware, known in French as 'faience', was introduced from Italy and established in Rouen in 1644 with a 50-year royal privilege, protecting it from competition. The high status of this material was confirmed by Louis XIV's order for a pavilion (the 'Trianon de Porcelaine') clad in faience tiles for his mistress Madame de Montespan. Demand from the nobility increased dramatically after the edict of 1709, which commanded the melting down of all silver plate to pay for the wars of the Grand Alliance and the Spanish Succession. Although the production of porcelain began in France in the 1690s, faience continued to enjoy a large and courtly market well in to the eighteenth century.

This bust depicts the Roman sun god, Apollo. Originally, it presided over four others, depicting each of the Seasons. The series forms the culmination of the development of large-scale ceramic sculpture at Rouen and is recorded as having stood in the office of Nicolas Fouquay, who acquired the Rouen factory in 1720, where they served as advertisements to potential clients. The size and convincing classicism of the pieces demonstrates the very great skill of the craftsmen and reflects the prestigious market to which high quality faience was supplied. In the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Apollo was directly associated with Louis XIV and the glories of his reign. The inclusion of the god, therefore, adds a courtly magnificence to the series. The fashionably decorated pedestal is similar in shape to those made by the celebrated contemporary furniture maker, Andre Charles Boulle.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Tin-glazed earthenware, painted in colours
Brief description
Bust of Apollo with pedestal, tin-glazed earthenware, painted in colours, Rouen, about 1730-40
Physical description
Bust of Apollo with pedestal
Dimensions
  • Bust height: 83cm
  • Bust width: 60cm
  • Bust depth: 35cm
  • Pedestal height: 138.5cm
  • Pedestal width: 60cm
  • Pedestal depth: 29cm
Credit line
Given by his Grace the Duke of Hamilton
Object history
See object file 4551-1857
[Register] From a set of five, four of which are at the Louvre. These busts are mentionned in the inventory of Nicolas Fouquay, the Rouen potter.
Production
Nicholas Fouquay's factory
Summary
The manufacture of tin-glazed earthenware, known in French as 'faience', was introduced from Italy and established in Rouen in 1644 with a 50-year royal privilege, protecting it from competition. The high status of this material was confirmed by Louis XIV's order for a pavilion (the 'Trianon de Porcelaine') clad in faience tiles for his mistress Madame de Montespan. Demand from the nobility increased dramatically after the edict of 1709, which commanded the melting down of all silver plate to pay for the wars of the Grand Alliance and the Spanish Succession. Although the production of porcelain began in France in the 1690s, faience continued to enjoy a large and courtly market well in to the eighteenth century.

This bust depicts the Roman sun god, Apollo. Originally, it presided over four others, depicting each of the Seasons. The series forms the culmination of the development of large-scale ceramic sculpture at Rouen and is recorded as having stood in the office of Nicolas Fouquay, who acquired the Rouen factory in 1720, where they served as advertisements to potential clients. The size and convincing classicism of the pieces demonstrates the very great skill of the craftsmen and reflects the prestigious market to which high quality faience was supplied. In the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Apollo was directly associated with Louis XIV and the glories of his reign. The inclusion of the god, therefore, adds a courtly magnificence to the series. The fashionably decorated pedestal is similar in shape to those made by the celebrated contemporary furniture maker, Andre Charles Boulle.
Bibliographic references
  • Liefkes, Reino and Hilary Young (eds.) Masterpieces of World Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publishing, 2008
  • Gay-Mazuel, A., Le Biscuit et la glaçure, Collections du musée de la Céramique de Rouen, Paris: Flammarion, 2012
  • Faïences françaises, XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, 1980
  • Un temps d'exubérance, les arts décoratifs sous Louis XIII et Anne d'Autriche, Grand Palais, Palais, 2002
  • Lane, Arthur, French Faïence, London: Faber and faber, 1948
  • Peintures et sculptures de faïence, Rouen XVIIIe siècle, Rouen : Musées de la ville de Rouen ; Paris : Somogy, 1999 no.78
Collection
Accession number
4551-1857

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Record createdSeptember 8, 1998
Record URL
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