Offered by Franck Baptiste Paris
Monumental outdoor fountain in royal red Flanders marble and patinated lead.
Our fountain is made up of a large oblong basin (140 cm wide by 63 cm deep) which simulates a marine shell.
It features triple moldings on the outer lip and crenellations that allow water to drain.
On the rear part, a mound formed by the embrace of two windings receives an environment of reeds in the middle of which stands a large aquatic monster in patinated lead.
Its mouth rests on the edge of the fountain and serves as a spillway for the water.
The whole rests on a tripod foot decorated with two garlands of lead laurel leaves.
Beautiful state of conservation, small restorations of use to marble and lead.
The patinated lead, originally gilded.
Parisian work from the beginning of the Louis XV period around 1730-1740.
Height: 244 cm; Width: 140 cm; Depth: 63 cm
Provenance: Peristyle of a castle on the Ile de France.
Our opinion :
The fountain that we are presenting is exceptional because it combines marble with a lead sculpture as we can see on the fountains of the most important castles such as Versailles, Vaux le Vicomte...
This type of piece was very expensive to produce and required significant maintenance, which made it intended for an elite of the nobility and very often for public monuments.
A few rare dining room fountains decorated with swans, playing children or sea monsters have reached us but these are exclusively dining room fountains of smaller dimensions.
Our monumental fountain is an outdoor model designed for the peristyle of a castle dating from the reign of Louis XV.
A rare photo from the 1960s/1970s allows us to appreciate it in its original environment and to judge the opulence of the construction.
The decoration of our fountain is purely rocaille and probably finds its source in the “collection of fountains” engraved by Gabriel Huquier in 1736 after drawings by the painter François Boucher (1703-1771).
We find the same basins, the same quivering reeds which make the scene come alive and nearby sea monsters which spit water through their mouths or nostrils.
This rocaille exuberance perfectly characterizes the quintessence of the Louis XV style which was then at its stylistic peak.
