PARIS.- On Monday, June 15th 2015,
AuctionArt, Remy Le Fur & Associates will proceed with the sale by public auction of Chosen Pieces, collection Princesse Minnie de Beauvau-Craon - Château de Haroué, at Drouot, Room 1 , 9 rue Drouot, 75009 Paris, France.
The Château de Haroué and the Beauvau-Craon Family
The Château de Haroué, often referred as the « Versailles of Lorraine », was built between 1720 and 1732 by the architect Germain Boffrand (1667-1754) for Prince Marc de Beauvau-Craon. This master architectural feat has 365 windows, 52 chimneys, 12 towers and turrets, and 4 bridges.
The auction sale Chosen Pieces, collection Princesse Minnie de Beauvau-Craon includes 45 lots among which we will show you, in an exclusive preview, five masterpieces which recounts the history of the family and evokes the spirit of the place:
Portrait of Zoé Victoire Talon, Comtesse Baschi du Cayla and her children, Valentine et Ugolin, on the grounds of the Château de Saint-Ouen, by Baron Gérard.
Zoé-Victoire Talon, Comtesse du Cayla (1785-1852), was the favorite, friend and confidante of King Louis XVIII in his later years. The King offered her the Château de Saint-Ouen and commissioned Baron Gérard to paint her portrait surrounded by her children: Ugolin and Valentine, future Princesse de Beauvau-Craon.
Bedchamber of the Comtesse du Cayla at The Château de Saint-Ouen including the chandelier attributed to Antoine-André Ravrio as well as the important furniture by Pierre-Antoine Bellangé.
King Louis XVIII called upon his favorite cabinet-maker Pierre-Antoine Bellangé. This was a major commission which consisted, on the ground floor, of producing mahogany furniture for the billiard room, in particular, and on the first floor for her bedroom which became the « Yellow Room » because of the color of all its trimmings.
-Set of three pairs of candle-stands (torchères) and a paire of candelabras made of engraved bronze, gilded and patinated, made by Pierre-Philippe Thomire, coming from the Château de Saint-Ouen.
-Mantelpiece ornaments including a pendulum, clock in malachite veneer, engraved bronze, and gilded with a dial and movement signed « Thomire & Cie & Moinet AINE Hger » and a pair of crater vases in malachite veneer and engraved, gilded bronze, attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire.
The portrait of the Comtesse du Cayla and her children, the bedchamber, the garniture and all of the candle-stands and candelabras are part of the Beauvau-Craon Collection at the Château de Haroué by inheritance, because Valentine, daughter of the Comtesse du Cayla became Princesse by marriage with Prince Edmond de Beauvau-Craon.
-Outstanding and unique sword of the Master of the Horse of Lorraine, made for the Prince Marc de Beauvau-Craon in 1728, by the goldsmith Simon Gallien of Paris.