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Lot 452
Description:
A Pair of Cast Iron Andirons, mid-19th c., J. Savery and Sons, New York, depicting "Paul and Virginie", original condition, each upright retaining a partial gilt surface, the billet bars stamped "J. Savery and Sons, N.Y. Pat Design D, Feb. 8, 1858, height 18 1/2 in., depth 20 in.
- Provenance: Provenance: Ex-collection Donald Fennimore, Curator Emeritus of Metals, Winterthur Museum, Wintherthur, Delaware.~ Note: The couple modeled in a famous pose and surrounded by tropical foliage. The 1787 novel by French writer Bernardin de St. Pierre had a huge following in America, which included Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's oldest brother. The Count de Survilliers, a title he used in American, maintained a huge estate at Point Breeze, New Jersey. Paul and Virginie was his favorite novel and many ideas for landscape themes on his estate were adapted from the picturesque novel, which is set on the island of Mauritius. The billet bars are uniquely designed and related to the billet bars of Savery & Co., Philadelphia andirons modeled to represent Gothic architecture. Several examples of this design are conserved in museum and private collections. The "Paul and Virginie" andirons are, to our knowledge, the only ones to have surfaced. It is quite plausible that J. Savery and Sons were a short-lived business venture of Savery and Company.
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October 11, 2008 10:00 AM CDT
New Orleans, LA, US
Neal Auction Company
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