Vincent BRONZINI de CARAFFA
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Some results
Sir William BEECHEY (1753 - 1839) Portrait of Pascal Paoli (1725 - 1807). Canvas. Height : 126 cm. Width : 99 cm. Signed at right: Guliemus Beechey Eques / Mag: Brit: Reginae Pictor Londoni Pinxit. AD MDCCXCVIII Old restorations. Provenance : - Sale of the Corsini Gallery, Florence ; - Count Cipriani Collection, Bellavista Castle, Centuri (Corsica); - Collection F. De Ribes Christofle Collection, his sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, December 10-11, 1928, no. 23 reproduced (portrait of a man); - Sale Paris, Hôtel Drouot, June 8, 1938, Me Champetier de Ribes, no. 10 reproduced (portrait of a man); - Sale Paris, Hôtel Drouot, December 3, 1941, Me Champetier de Ribes, n° 3 not reproduced (portrait of a man); - Sale Avignon, Me Armengau, April 24, 1994 (reproduced in the Gazette de l'Hôtel Drouot, n°15 of April 8, 1994, (portrait of a man); - Private collection. Admitted to the Royal Academy in 1772, where he was probably taught by Johann Zoffany, William Beechey began exhibiting portraits there in 1775. In 1785, after a five-year stay in Norwich, he moved to London and acquired considerable renown in the 1790s. Appreciated for the sobriety of his style, close to Joshua Reynolds and George Romney, his clientele included the British gentry and all the fashionable personalities in London at the time. He became Queen Charlotte's official portraitist in 1793 and joined the Royal Academy as an associate, becoming an academician in 1798. That same year, his George III Reviewing the 3rd and 10th Dragoon Regiments, destroyed in the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992 but of which the Louvre retains a reduced copy, triumphed at the Royal Academy exhibition. It was thus at the height of his career that the artist produced our painting. Pascal Paoli's life is an epic. Twenty years before the American War of Independence and well before the French Revolution, he led the Corsican insurrection, put an end to four hundred years of Genoese domination and drafted almost in its entirety the first democratic constitution in modern history. In the Europe of the Enlightenment, he aroused immense admiration, inspiring even Jean-Jacques Rousseau and becoming the idol of an entire generation destined to change the world, that of Napoleon, who saw in him the makings of a Plutarchan hero and whose father, Charles Bonaparte, was then the General's private secretary. The French conquest of 1769, which ended with the battle of Ponte-Novu, forced him to leave Corsica and take refuge in London. There, he rubbed shoulders with the brilliant minds of the century, from Samuel Johnson to Edmund Burke. A supporter of the events of 1789, Paoli was granted amnesty by the National Assembly and elevated to the status of champion of liberties. In 1790, after an absence of 21 years, he returned to Corsica and was unanimously elected President of the General Council. However, he soon distanced himself from the revolutionary government. Outraged by the execution of Louis XVI, he condemned the Terror and broke with the Republic. Proscribed by the Jacobins, accused of treason and intelligence with the British Empire, then at war with France, he worked to create an Anglo-Corsican kingdom to preserve the island's independence from revolutionary imperialism. His failure forced him into permanent exile in 1795, at the age of 70. From then on, he led a discreet but highly respected life until his death in 1807. He devoted his last years to writing and reflecting on the future of Corsica, which he never saw again. Our portrait celebrates this man of the Enlightenment. This may well be the painting Pascal Paoli mentions in a letter dated May 20, 1798, addressed to his friend Maria Cosway, herself a great admirer of the picture [1]. In this letter, he mentions two other portraits of him, painted in the same year by Richard Cosway [2] and Thomas Lawrence [3]. In our painting, Paoli is holding a blank sheet of paper, symbolizing a future yet to be mapped out. According to historian George Oberti, Paoli intended to bequeath this painting to the new Académie de Corte [4]. The French conquest had led to the closure of the first university he had founded there in 1765, so it was with a view to its reopening that the exiled General would have commissioned this portrait. This did not happen until 1981. In the background, a window opens onto the somewhat idealized landscape of Corte and Lombarduccio, which Beechey took from a 1772 engraving by John Browne in the British Museum, based on a lost drawing by John Kent [5]. A repeat of our portrait by Beechey, similar in composition but reduced in size (59 x 77 cm), is documented in the compt book
Estimate
500,000 - 700,000 EUR
Solitaire ring in platinum 850 thousandths, decorated with a round brilliant diamond in claw setting. Weight of the diamond: 4.26 cts. F/VVS2. It is accompanied by a certificate LFG n° 395568 of 07.11.2022. Gross weight: 5.2 g. Finger size : 52 (with setting element)
Result
64,000 EUR
Bernard BUFFET (1928-1999) "Butterfly flowers". Oil on canvas. Signed and dated (19)68 lower right. Stamped by Galerie Maurice Garnier on the back. 65 x 46 cm. Provenance: Galerie Maurice Garnier. We would like to thank Madame Céline LEVY, director of the Galerie Maurice Garnier, for kindly confirming that this work is in the Galerie's archives.
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 EUR
Jean-Baptiste CARPEAUX (1827-1875) Hope. White marble sculpture signed and dated JBte Carpeaux 1873 on the right side. (Patina, soiling on the marble, small chips on the back of the sculpture in the hair). H.: 55.8 cm. L.: 33 cm. D.: 28 cm. The model we present corresponds to the third and final version, with Hope wearing her hair in long curls and wearing a crown of lilies. A sale at Hôtel Drouot on May 23, 1874, featuring a collection of Carpeaux's terracottas, marbles and bronzes, mentions a marble bust of l'Espérance (lot 49), but with slightly different dimensions. The Carpeaux sales of 1872 to 1874 list six marble examples, including a sculpture dating from 1869, which appeared in the Carpeaux sale of 1873; another, also dating from 1873, from the Fabius collection, was sold in Paris on October 26, 2011 (Sotheby's, lot 227). The original plaster cast is now in the Glyptotheque in Copenhagen, and the cast is part of the collections of the Musée du Second Empire in Compiègne. L'Espérance was made in terracotta and carved in marble, mainly during the artist's lifetime, and does not appear to have been produced in bronze. Bibliography: - A.Richarme, M.Poletti, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Sculpteur - Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre published by Les éditions de l'amateur, Paris, 2003 (ill. page 128 ff.).
Result
55,000 EUR
Superb gold "shamshir" saber (875). Arabian Peninsula, Arabian Gulf, Bahrain. Shamshir scimitar-type saber with wooden pommel and scabbard covered with gold plates, and steel blade. The pommel has straight quillons and the scabbard is finely chased with cartouches and mandorles decorated with geometric and arabesque motifs, enhanced by cabochons holding cultured pearls. The scabbard is fitted with two bélières. The curved steel blade is fully engraved with roundels, quatrefoil medallions and border friezes. In its white case with gilded fillets, bearing the coat of arms of the Royal Family of Bahrain, with white satin protection. Gross weight of handle with blade: 861.2 g. Gross weight of scabbard: 824.2 g. Blade length: 76.5 cm. Total length: 98 cm. Provenance: Royal Family of Bahrain. This sword was offered as a personal token of esteem. of esteem. The Kingdom of Bahrain (Bahrain meaning "the two seas") is a constitutional monarchy on the Arabian Peninsula and an island state whose capital is Manama. The archipelago, named after its main island (al-Bahrayn), is located in the Persian Gulf between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Bahrain has been independent since 1783, and has since been ruled by the Sunni Al Khalifa ruling family. The Emirate of Bahrain, the majority of whose population is Shiite, has been a kingdom since 2002, ruled by King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa (b. 1950). From his four wives, the king has had seven sons and five daughters. Expert: Laure Soustiel (SFEP expert) Tel: 06 09 47 27 31 e-mail: laure@soustiel.com A DEPOSIT OF €8,000 IS REQUIRED FOR THIS LOT, WHICH CAN BE DEPOSITED VIA THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://www.asta-encheres.com/depot-avance-en-ligne
Result
49,500 EUR
FRANCE 73 pieces of 20 francs gold "Coq". Total weight: 477.1 g. Wear and tear.
Estimate
35,000 - 40,000 EUR
Joseph-Marie VIEN (Montpellier 1716-1809 Paris) La toilette d'une jeune mariée dans le costume antique circa 1776-1777. Oil on paper, mounted on canvas. 29.5 x 39.5 cm (enlarged by 1 cm. on the left margin, tiny loss in the center right). Provenance : - Anonymous sale, Etude Christian Rosset, Geneva, November 28-29, 1973, lot 275, as "Vien Joseph (att. to)" (illustrated in catalog). - Collection of Dr. Paolini, Corsica. - Then, by descent, up to the present day. Bibliography : - Most likely Archives nationales, O/1/1942 , "- Vien, Directeur. 1775-1781", "Letter from Vien to d'Angiviller, September 11, 1776". - Most likely A. de Montaiglon, J. Guiffrey, "Correspondance des directeurs de l'Académie de France à Rome...", t.13, p.246. n°6789. - Most likely T. Gaehtgens, J. Lugand, "Joseph-Marie Vien, peintre du roi", Arthena, 1988, n°239 - T. Gaehtgens, J. Lugand, "Joseph-Marie Vien, peintre du roi", Arthena, 1988, no. 240. Related works : - Joseph-Marie Vien, La toilette de la jeune mariée, 1777, oil on canvas, 100 x 135 cm. sale Sotheby's New York, February 1, 2018, lot 51, sold for $855,000. Our delicate oil-on-paper sketch is almost certainly the preparatory sketch, long considered lost, for one of the artist's masterpieces "La toilette d'une jeune mariée dans le costume antique" produced in 1777 in Rome, commissioned directly by Charles Claude Flahaut de La Billarderie, comte d'Angiviller (1730-1809), fine collector and superintendent of the Bâtiments du Roi (private collection, current location unknown as of 2018). In the painter's correspondence with d'Angiviller, we find mention of a sketch in progress: "Rome, this September 11, 1776, (...) I have been busy sketching the painting you asked for, representing a Greek maiden being prepared for the nuptial bed, and have not forgotten the rosebud she is to hold in her hand to compare with another; I will leave no stone unturned so that it may please you (...)". In their 1988 catalog raisonné, Messrs. Gaehtgens and Lugand established that our sketch, which they knew only from the mediocre photograph in the 1973 sales catalog, could well be the sketch mentioned in the 1776 letter. It was also envisaged that it might be a "replica executed by the artist before the painting was sent to Paris, or better still, only a copy". Vien was accustomed to the practical realization of oils on paper in preparation for these large compositions, which are generally executed in a direct, nervous manner, with a fairly broad brush. Ours seems to testify to the artist's particular attention to detail, another example of which is his "Priam begging Achilles to return Hector's body" (c. 1783, 52 x 67 cm., cat. Gaehtgens & Lugand, no. 249, former collection of Karl Lagerfeld). The previous auction presentation of the final painting from 1777 set a world record for the artist in 2018 (see related work). Expert: Pierre-Antoine MARTENET.
Result
40,000 EUR
Ring in platinum (850), set with an emerald-cut sapphire. Openwork scrollwork basket. French work circa 1930/35. Sapphire weight: 12.30 carats. (chips) It is accompanied by a GEM Paris certificate no. C20261978796 dated 19.05.2026, attesting to Sri Lankan (formerly Ceylon) origin, no alterations or treatments observed. Gross weight: 8.2 g. Finger size: 54/55. Expert : Cabinet Vendome Expertise Xavier LAFOSSE 25 rue Drouot, 75009 Paris xavierlafosse@vendome-expertise.com
Result
39,000 EUR
Band ring in white gold (750) set with a round brilliant-cut diamond in semi-set setting, set on a pavé of brilliant-cut diamonds. French work. Diamond weight: 4.40 carats. G/VVS2. Accompanied by LFG certificate no. 424849 dated 03.04.2026. Gross weight: 16.7 g. Finger size: 51. Expert : Cabinet Vendome Expertise Xavier LAFOSSE 25 rue Drouot, 75009 Paris xavierlafosse@vendome-expertise.com
Result
39,000 EUR
FRANCE 70 pieces of 20 francs gold "Coq". Total weight: 451.1 g. Wear and tear.
Estimate
34,000 - 38,000 EUR
FRANCE 70 pieces of 20 francs gold "Coq". Total weight: 451.2 g. Wear and tear.
Estimate
34,000 - 38,000 EUR
Leonor FINI (1907-1996) Imaginary face. Oil on paper. Signed lower right. Signed and countersigned on the back. 28 x 24.5 cm. Related works: Richard Overstreet and Neil Zukerman, "Leonor Fini. Catalog Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, vol. II", Zurich, 2021, a similar work reproduced under no. 764. From 1957 to 1980, surrealist painter Leonor Fini spent her summers at Nonza, in a ruined convent on the Corsican Cape, between her cats, her lovers and her artist friends. Her friends included the painters Stanislao Lepri, Max Ernst and his wife Dorothea Tanning, who came to find her in this mysterious place, sharing her dreams and the innocent games of her unbridled imagination. Our work was created in Nonza. Provenance : - Given by the artist to the current owner's family in gratitude for caring for one of her ailing cats, then by descent. The carved and gilded wooden frame with scrolls and shells, chosen by the artist, was present at the time of the offering. (tiny thumbtack hole at each upper corner).
Result
36,500 EUR
ARMAN (1928-2005) Untitled, 1994. Assembly and cutting of a bronze bust of Napoleon after Charles-Louis CORBET with cannon and trombones. Unique piece, signed. Dimensions: 62 x 40 x 90 cm. This work is registered in the Arman Studio Archives in New York under number: APA # 8309.94.018. Provenance: Offered directly by the artist to the current owner in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in 1994. Arman asked a couple of collector friends of Corsican origin to provide him with a bronze bust of Napoleon Bonaparte and a bronze bust of General Pascal Paoli for an assemblage. They managed to find a bronze bust of General Bonaparte in Corsica, after Charles-Louis CORBET (1758-1808), and entrusted him with the task. The artist cut out the bronze, then reassembled the various cut-out elements with a scale-model cannon and paperclips, also cut out. Arman then offered this unique piece to his Corsican couple as a token of their friendship, which has remained in the family to this day. He told them it symbolized the "Victory of Toulon".
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 EUR
Beautiful gold "jambiya" dagger (875). Arabian Peninsula, Arabian Gulf, Bahrain. Arab dagger of the "jambiya" type with gold plate-covered wooden handle and scabbard, and steel blade. Filigree decoration of applied geometric motifs. The scabbard is embellished with five cultured pearls and belted with a ribbon of gold chains. Four rings on the scabbard, covered in white on the reverse. In its custom-made white case decorated with the coat of arms of the Bahrain monarchy. Gross weight of scabbard: 518.5 g. Gross weight of handle with blade: 404.5 g. Blade length: 16.8 cm. Provenance: Royal Family of Bahrain. This dagger was offered as a personal token of esteem. The Kingdom of Bahrain (Bahrain meaning "the two seas") is a constitutional monarchy on the Arabian Peninsula and an island state whose capital is Manama. The archipelago, named after its main island (al-Bahrayn), is located in the Persian Gulf between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Bahrain has been independent since 1783, and has since been ruled by the Sunni Al Khalifa ruling family. The Emirate of Bahrain, the majority of whose population is Shiite, has been a kingdom since 2002, ruled by King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa (b. 1950). From his four wives, the king has had seven sons and five daughters. Expert: Laure Soustiel (SFEP expert) Tel: 06 09 47 27 31 e-mail: laure@soustiel.com A DEPOSIT OF €8,000 IS REQUIRED FOR THIS LOT, WHICH CAN BE DEPOSITED VIA THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://www.asta-encheres.com/depot-avance-en-ligne
Result
34,200 EUR
Paul-Mathieu NOVELLINI (1831-1918) Allegory of Corsica. Oil on canvas. Diameter : 81 cm. In a gilded wood frame with circular view. Minor restorations.
Result
30,200 EUR
Solitaire ring in platinum 850 thousandths, decorated with a half-cut diamond in claw setting. Openwork basket of volutes. About 1930/35. (light accident on the setting) Weight of the diamond : 6,37 carats (chips on the round). Gross weight: 4.5 g. Finger size : 51,5
Result
27,500 EUR
93 pièces de 20 Francs or comprenant : - 2 pièces "Cérès" 1850 A et 1851 A. Poids total : 12,8 g. - 11 pièces Napoléon III "Tête nue" 1854 A (x4), 1857 A (x2), 1858 A, 1859 A, 1860 A (x2) et 1860 BB. Poids total : 70,5 g. - 5 pièces Napoléon III "Tête laurée" 1863 BB, 1864 A, 1865 BB, 1867 A et 1868 A. Poids total : 32,1 g. - 11 pièces "Génie" 1849 A, 1874 A, 1875 A, 1877 A, 1878 A, 1891 A, 1895 A, 1897 A (x3) et 1898 A. Poids total : 70,8 g. - 64 pièces "au Coq" 1904 (x3), 1905, 1906, 1907 (x11), 1908 (x14), 1909 (x5), 1910 (x5), 1911 (x3), 1912 (x7), 1913 (x11) et 1914 (x3). Poids total : 412,1 g. Usures. On joint 5 pièces de 10 Francs or comprenant : - 2 pièces Napoléon III "Tête nue" 1859 A. - 2 pièces Napoléon III "Tête laurée" 1862 A et 1867 BB. - Une pièce "au Coq", 1912. Poids total de l'ensemble des éléments : 16 g. Usures. Poids total de l'ensemble du lot : 614,3 g.
Result
26,450 EUR
[PASCAL PAOLI] Personal stamp of Pascal Paoli in circular copper. Legended "PASQ. DE PAOLI GEN. DEL REG. DI CORSICA". Engraved with the Corsican coat of arms with winged genii carrying coral branches and clubs. With black wooden case lined with green silk. H. 3.7 cm. Diameter: 4 cm. This official seal can be compared to the coins produced at the Zecca mint. A coin wedge is a piece of metal engraved with the imprint of a coin. As successive coins are minted, these coins wear out. As a result, no Corsican coin dies have survived. Nevertheless, it is highly likely that this stamp was made by the engravers who supplied the Zecca de Murato with coins in the 1760s, making it one of the few surviving examples of coinage from this period. Bibliography : - RP Louis DOAZAN, "Monnaies corses du XIIIe au XVIIIe siècle", éditions Piazzola, 2008, reproduced on p. 19. Exhibition: - E Figure di a Corsica. Symboles, emblèmes et allégories, exhibition at the Musée de la Corse from August 01, 2018 to August 31, 2019, curated by Michel Popoff and Marie-Eugénie Poli-Mordiconi, reproduced in the catalog (cat. 182).
Result
26,000 EUR