Offered by Franck Baptiste Provence
Extremely rare lacquered wood snow sled decorated with Martin varnish. .
Our sled is presented in its perfect original condition, with its rare decoration of children's games in martin varnish in monochrome framed by rich rockery borders embellished with flowers.
The green lacquered wooden runners are connected to the body by three staples and are finished with a wrought iron volute.
They join the front face and form a crest featuring an exploded grenade.
The bench has a scalloped back upholstered in a beautiful red velvet and has a zinc tray that allowed the presentation of flower pots outside the winter period.
Dutch work around 1750
Dimensions:
Height: 96cm; Width: 120cm; Depth: 54cm
For snow sleds:
-Nienoord Museum of Leek
-Carriage Museum of the Palace of Versailles with the six sleds used during the reign of Louis XV
- Car museum at Compiègne castle
Our opinion :
The sled that we present is of the greatest rarity.
If this type of means of transport was invented even before the wheel for the transport of heavy loads, it will take on a whole new development during the Renaissance.
The sleigh will become a means of entertainment for the European princely courts.
The cost of such a vehicle, which required the intervention of a carpenter, a saddler, an ironworker, a varnisher and a gilder, was considerable; added to this was the need
large spaces to be able to fully enjoy these long walks.
Rare archives tell us that real races were organized in the Park of the Palace of Versailles.
For these winter festivities, luxury was taken to its height, the leader and his mount wore special outfits, richly embroidered and headdresses trimmed with feathers.
The painting by the painter Claude Deruet "Water", kept in the Orleans Museum, perfectly illustrates the majesty of these course entertainments.
Very few of these sleds were produced and even fewer have reached us.
Rarer than the sedan chair or the carriage, the snow sled is a sumptuous testimony to the princely art of living.
