PARIS.- Four tapestries on a Bacchanalian theme commissioned by Cardinal Mazarin and presented as a diplomatic gift by Louis XIV to the First Minister of Spain Don Luis Méndez de Haro, Marquis de Carpio lead Bonhams' Classics sale in Paris on Thursday 17 November. They are estimated at €70,000-100,000.

The gift marked the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 which followed the inconclusive ending of the Franco-Spanish War of 1648-1659. Mazarin – the consummate diplomat who served Louis XIII and Louis XIV as First Minister for more than 20 years – ensured that the French came out on top in the negotiations. It was the last great diplomatic triumph of his career before his death two years later.

Mazarin was also an important patron of the arts and keenly appreciated the role of art in diplomacy. The panels in the sale were part of a set of seven he had commissioned from the Manufactures de Louvre in 1648. They were smaller copies of the Bacchanalia set made for Francois I between 1530-1535. Their completion in 1659 coincided with the ending of the peace negotiations and, at Louis XIV’s request, they were offered as a diplomatic gift to the Marquis de Carpio. The gesture slightly backfired as the Spanish First Minister later disposed of them complaining that the figures were too small.

The four panels are entitled A concert of Satyrs and Maenads; Council of the Gods and Goddesses; The Procession of Silenus and The Companions of Bacchus. The original designs for the set made for Francois I were almost certainly executed by Giulio Romano and Barthélémy Guetty. Made in a factory in Brussels, they were woven in silk and enhanced with gold. (The original panels re destroyed in 1797 during the First Revolutionary period in a fruitless attempt to extract the precious metal).

Nette Megens, Bonhams Director of Decorative Arts for Europe and UK, said: “These wonderful panels represent an intriguing and significant discovery and demonstrate the importance of arts in European diplomacy in the 17th century. Mazarin, who was the second most powerful man in France – after the King – for 20 years, was a great patron of the arts and well understood the power of art as a diplomatic tool.”




Other highlights of the sale, which consists of 160 lots, include:

• Pair of brown calf leather gloves reputedly worn by Marshal Ney during the retreat of Napoleon’s Grande Armée from Moscow in 1812. Ney (1769-1815) rose from humble beginnings to become one of Napoleon's eighteen marshals of the Empire. A veteran of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, he led the III Corps of La Grande Armée into Russia in April 1812 and distinguished himself at the battle of Borodino. When the army started to retreat, Ney, resisting pressure to surrender, managed to guide his troops over the frozen River Dnieper much to Napoleon's relief: '..."At last, I have saved my eagles! I have three hundred millions in francs at the Tuileries. I'd give up the lot to save Ney. What a soldier... truly the bravest of the brave!"...' The gloves, which were once in the celebrated Napoleonic era collection of Bernard Franck, are estimated at €7,000-9,000.

• A German silver and silver gilt figural (Jungfern) Wager Cup by Christoff Ritter II of Nuremberg circa 1660. This type of marriage or wager cup originated in Nuremberg around 1565. It is a double drinking vessel, or Scherzgefäss, used in a wedding banquet; a skirt-shaped large cup is for the groom and the smaller swivel cup is for the bride. The contents were to be consumed at the same time, making sure not to spill a drop, to bring prosperity and a happy marriage. Estimate: €10,000-15,000.

• The Death of Dido by Frans Francken II (Anvers 1581-1642). Virgil tells the tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas in his epic poem The Aeneid. On his return journey from the Trojan War, the hero Aeneas is washed ashore in Carthage and welcomed by the Queen, Dido. Francken’s painting depicts the dramatic moment where grief-stricken Dido, abandoned by her lover has built a funeral pyre and taken her own life. Estimate: €25,000-30,000.

• Pair of Louis XVI carved and giltwood torchères in the manner of Georges Jacob, late 18th - early 19th century. These finely carved torchères, or tripods for vases reflect the late 1770s fashion for decorating the grand 'Salons' in Paris. They are related to four stands commissioned for every corner of the 'Salon de Musique' of Comtesse Marie-Léopoldine Pálffy, Princess Kinsky (d.1794) following the building of her hôtel in rue St-Dominique in Paris in 1770. Estimate: €40,000-60,000

• David and Abigail; Jael showing Barak the body of Sisera by the Master of the Adoration of Anvers (circa 1505-1530). Estimate: €25,000-35,000.

• A large and rare Vienna white figure of the Apostle Paul, third quarter 18th century. A different, slightly larger white Vienna figure of the Apostle Paul, dated 1744-49, is in the Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Vienna. Estimate €4,000-6,000.