Classical Arts: Fall Exhibition

The Old Masters and 19th century Department will present an exceptional selection of paintings, drawings, and sculptures, from the Italian primitives to the late 19th century. Among the major works of the sale, the Fishing Boat by Jean-François Millet and Why Born a Slave? by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux will be presented at the preview exhibition.

This oil on canvas was done in the 1870s, when Jean-François Millet abruptly left the Seine-et-Marne department for Normandy, to get away from the noise and agitation of Paris.

This marine landscape shows a small boat floating on the water, its single sail billowing in the wind. The sun breaking through the clouds illuminates the boat and its two passengers. That comforting source of bright light emphasises the calm and soothing atmosphere of the ocean at day’s end.

Originally this work by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux was a sculpted bust. The war-toned canvas depicts the bust of a young woman, whose head is slightly turned toward the viewer. She raises her questioning eyes to the viewer. The warm tones highlight the young slave’s dark skin, her large earrings, her short, thick hair and the shadows and the shape of her face. Her expression is not merely inquisitive, it also displays her despair and a form of reproach. With this work, Carpeaux denounced a practise that still remained common despite slavery’s having been abolished in 1848.

On 17 November, the Antiquities & Islamic Art Department will articulate its major sale of the semester around three themes: Archaeology, Oriental Arts and Egyptian textiles from the Bouvier collection.

A selection of these works will be shown in a preview from Thursday 10th to Saturday 26th September 2020; some of them may be discovered here.

EGYPTIAN PART

In the first part devoted to Archaeology, a selection of classical and oriental antiques, including a magnificent limestone female head from the 19th Dynasty will be presented.

Classical Antiquity

This fragmentary limestone female head, which dates from the New Kingdom, is remarkable for its round face, its almond-shaped eyes made up with khol, its straight nose and full, smiling lips. Coiffed with a heavy braided wig that is adorned with a floral band, with a few curls framing her face, this statue displays workmanship that is reminiscent of the statues adorning the Memphite tombs of the 19th Dynasty.

The Ramesside period is also given pride of place with this fragment of a royal statue sculpted with the left hand and engraved on the reverse with the cartouche of the coronation of Seti I (Menmaâtrê), and the one depicting his birth, Seti Mernptah. The rest of the fragment features the lower left hand portion of a table laden with offerings.

ISLAMIC ART PART

The second part of the sale devoted to Oriental Arts, features a fine group of Islamic ceramics, from the Abbasside period to the Ottoman era, notably represented by Iznik pieces. Painting is also represented, including a remarkable collection of Indian miniatures from a Belgian collection.

Indian Art

This work, in gouache and gold on paper, depicts a “Courtship Scene” in which an old woman introduces a young lady to a prince in the moonlight. The couple is sitting face to face on the terrace of a palace, and is having a discussion by candlelight. The elegance of this scene is typical of the Mughal art of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The sale will end with approximately fifty pieces from the Bouvier collection, following the sale in May 2019, with a selection of Egyptian textiles from the Copt and Islamic periods.

Information

Preview Exhibition in Paris

From Thursday 10th to Saturday 26th September 2020

Antiquities & Islamic Art sale

Exhibition in Paris

From Saturday 14th to Wednesday 18th November

Sale in Paris

Thursday 17th November 2020 at 2:30 PM

Auction Contact
Lamia Içame

+33 1 42 99 20 75

Old Masters and 19th century sale

Exhibition in Paris

From Saturday 14th to Wednesday 18th November

Sale in Paris

Friday 18th November 2020 at 5:00 PM

Auction Contact
Matthieu Fournier