Very Fine And Highly Important Pair Of French Porcelain Plaques Depicting Royal Hunting Party Jean Charles Develly 1844
Very Fine And Highly Important Pair Of French Porcelain Plaques Depicting Royal Hunting Party
1844
Jean Charles Develly (Paris 1783-1849)
Porcelain
Unframed 12 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches (32.4 x 40cm) ; framed 20 x 23 3/4 inches (51 x 60cm).
Inventory number: JCD_001

“CHASSE A COURRE ROYALE AU CHATEAU DE FONTAINEBLEAU” Left Panel

“CHASSE A COURRE ROYALE AU CHATEAU DE SAINT-CLOUD” Right Panel

The sport of hunting was a favorite leisure for the aristocratic society at all times. Louis XV was a passionate hunter who during his hunting parties, would organize events in the most extravagant way, in which hundreds of people would participate to show off their costumes embroidered with silver and gold, expensive and rare arms, horses, and tracking hounds. All together people, horses, animals, were orchestrated in a luxurious show that would take from days to weeks.

Portrayed on horseback, Louie XV surrounded by his royal suite, is chasing a couple of dear. In the direction of the chase the Queen and her entourage are sitting in a boat, speculating the hunt.

There is an intense battle between a stag and the dogs on another plaque. The spotlight is on the King who on a white horse is saluting his Queen.

The beasts of the chase are depicted as male and female deer in this hunting scene as the pursuit of love and at the same time as if this encounter is serendipitous.

Jean-Charles Develly one of the best-known and most talented painters of porcelain in the reign of King Louis-Philippe in France.

Born October 1, 1783 in Paris in the Faubourg St. Martin. At the age of 20 he became an “artist gilder”. Develly entered the Sèvres in September 1813. Fortunately, Alexandre Brogniart (1770—1847), the Director of the factory, recognized both his talents and the necessity of keeping him employed even when demand for Severs production in general was low. This resulted in the creation of an era defining collaboration between Brongniart and Develly leading to the production of many incredibly unique items such as vases, tea sets, plates, and plaques which are now recognized as the finest examples of decorative arts pertaining to this century.

A Pair of vases, which he painted, were acquired by Louis XVIII at the Exposition of Manufactory Works of 1818 as a gift for his brother, the Count d’Artois, later Charles X, and as a result they were named vases “of Monsieur” (meaning “of the King’s brother”). Now in the collection of the Louvre.

His partial coffee service is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York as one of the cornerstones of the Museum’s 19th century ceramic holdings.