Registration No. 2001 – 002 of 25 October 2001

Sale conducted by Brice Foisil

Press release: Paris

33 (0)1 53 05 53 66 | Sophie Dufresne | sophie.dufresne@sothebys.com

33 (0)1 53 05 52 32 | Chloé Brézet | chloe.brezet@sothebys.com

Sotheby’s France will sell Decorative Arts and Sculptures

from the Collection of Bernard and Simone Steinitz

Auction on 30 June in Paris

B. B. S.

A tribute

"Sometimes, in these difficult times, the only thing that remains to us for a remedy

and comfort is the love of art. Welcome to those who have already had the good fortune to

share this love, and let others not despair: the desire for knowledge is everlasting!" Bernard

Steinitz

Paris, June 2016 – Sotheby’s France is delighted to offer at auction on 30 June, over 170 pieces that

mainly come from the collection of dealer Bernard Steinitz, who died on 12 October 2012, and his

wife Simone. Justly nicknamed the "Prince of dealers" by his peers, he started his career as an

autodidact in the early 50’s, driven by his devouring passion for rare items of furniture which he

hunted down in an insatiable quest. Always on the lookout for pieces of which he was the only

person to understand the importance, and armed with an iron determination, Bernard Steinitz left a

splendid collection marked by his taste for 17th

and 18th

century furniture.

2

Bernard Steinitz (1933-2012) began his life as a dealer by travelling all over France in a delivery van

with his wife and children, penniless, but determined to give full rein to his passion. Within a few

years, he had founded an empire, between his first shop in a former bar in Saint-Ouen where he first

set up and the splendour of his gallery in the heart of Paris's 8th

arrondissement. Eagerly awaited at

international biennials, his gallery stands always attracted a throng of people and garnered praise

from public and critics alike.

Long before the death of his father, Benjamin Steinitz took on the former's business with the same

passion. Despite the changing times and tastes, Benjamin perpetuated with unequalled energy and

determination what his parents had built up throughout their lives. Today, the atmosphere in

Benjamin's apartment in Rue Royale faithfully reflects the ambiance that once reigned at his

parents'.

Benjamin Steinitz has chosen Sotheby’s to pay tribute to his parents, who passed on to him their love

of beauty and finely-honed knowledge of objets d’art. A tribute with which Sotheby’s France is proud

to be associated. According to Brice Foisil, Director of Development, 18th

Century Furniture &

Decorative Arts at Sotheby’s France: "I first met Bernard Steinitz in May 1992 in the furniture

department at Sotheby's in New York. I clearly remember that sparkling gaze, full of mischief.

Bernard Steinitz was a genius with a keen eye, fired by the fever of possession, and always generous

with his knowledge. Sotheby's is proud and honoured to be associated with the vibrant homage

Benjamin Steinitz now wishes to pay his parents."

Furniture and Works of Art

The splendours of this collection include a pair of pewter and

ebony marquetry medaillers, made by Alexandre-Jean

Oppenordt to designs by Jean Berain, from the Cabinet des

médailles of Louis XIV at Versailles, circa 1684 (estimate:

€70,000-100,000). The distinctly royal symbolism

ornamenting the facade of this pair of cabinets (fleurs de

lys), together with their form, link them with one of the

major royal interiors of Louis XIV's time, now destroyed: the

medal and rarities room at Versailles. This room, also known

as the "Cabinet of curiosities, rarities and jewellery", was

fitted out between 1682 and 1686. Part of Madame

Adélaïde's apartment, of which it was the first antechamber, it subsequently became Louis XVI's

games room. This pair of medal cabinets was recessed into the walls, in niches that can be seen on a

plan of the room on each side of the door.

A set consisting of a mahogany suite comprising two armchairs and a sofa, stamped IB Sene, French

Consulat, circa 1799, comes from the collection of the Prince-Archichancelier Jean-Jacques-Régis de

Cambacérès (1753-1824), (estimate: €40,000-60,000). He was an active participant in the French

Revolution, who insisted that the king should have the means to defend himself in his trial under the

Convention, and did not vote for his death. He subsequently coordinated the drafting of the French

Civil Code, and in 1794 became the President of the Convention, then of the Committee of Public

Safety before being appointed Minister of Justice in 1799. He was finally made Prince Arch-

Chancellor in 1804 by Napoleon I.

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A large carved giltwood sofa attributed to Georges Jacob, Louis XVI, circa 1770-1780, (estimate:

€80,000-120,000), is similar to an armchair with Georges Jacob's stamp bought in 1928 by the

Metropolitan Museum of New York. The very slightly twisting silhouette and the carved decorative

motifs (tracery and twisting ribbons) already herald the Neo-classicism beloved of Jacob.

A pair of gilt-bronze two-lights wall-appliques, Italian, Piemontese, mid-

18th century, attributed to Francesco Ladetti, (estimate: €60,000-

80,000) illustrate the virtuoso expertise of Charles-François Ladatte.

Ladatte's work is extremely rare, and most of his existent creations are

now in the Palazzo Reale in Turin.

A casket and its base in mother-of-pearl and gilt bronze by Pietro Piffetti,

François Ladatte and Giovani Paolo Venasca, now in the Victoria & Albert

museum in London, has stylistic analogies with this pair of wall lamps. The

marine figures forming the lamps are also found on this item, and in fact

support the casket. The openwork Rococo ornaments appear in wall

lamps attributed to François Ladatte, like the ones sold at Sotheby's in

London in 2007, and those recently acquired by the Musée du Louvre.

A pair of large gilt-bronze mounted Chinese white porcelain Kangxi

vases (1662-1722), the mounts French Régence, circa 1720, (estimate:

€120,000-180,000), is typical of the pieces most sought-after by keen

porcelain-lovers throughout the 18th

century, and which graced the most

outstanding collections. Their story began in China in around 1700, in

the kilns at Dehua in Fujian Province. They were then imported into

France, where these pieces in hard porcelain with a white glaze and

glossy finish known as " blanc de Chine" joined collectors' cabinets after

passing through the hands of marchand-merciers, who sometimes gave

them gilt bronze mounts. Well-known in the West since the 18th

century

through Marco Polo' expeditions, the famous porcelain produced by the

Dehua kilns had its origins in the 11th

century.

This pair of vases belonged in turn to Jean de Jullienne, Pierre-Louis-Paul

Randon de Boisset, and finally the Duc d’Aumont; they were found in his post-mortem sale in 1782.

A pair of Chinese lacquered copper figures, late 17th/early 18th century, on a gilt-bronze base,

French Régence, circa 1715-1720, (estimate: €30,000-50,000), made in China, certainly had mounts

added by a marchand-mercier as their typically French gilt bronze bases show. These bronzes

naturally inspired French bronze-makers and lacquerers, who sought to imitate them. Lacquered

bronze Chinese figures began to be produced in Paris in 1735. This touch of exoticism was much in

vogue during the first part of the 18th

century.

One of the most outstanding lots is a Kangxi period crackled celadon

vase in Chinese porcelain with Louis XV gilt bronze mounts,

stamped with the crowned C, c. 1745-1749 (estimate: €30,000-

50,000). This rare object is remarkably well-preserved.

A giltbronze pierced craqueled celadon Chinese porcelain vase,

Kangxi (1662-1722), the mounts Louis XV, circa 1745-1749, with the

C couronné mark (estimate: €15,000-20,000), is one of the

collection's most intriguing items. It was very probably carved after

the most famous living model of the time: a female rhinoceros that

came from India, named Clara. She was the fifth rhinoceros to reach

modern Europe alive.

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Sculptures

These two French 18th century terracottas Hope nourishing Love

and Madness amusing Love, by Sigisbert-François Michel, on early

18th century bases attributed to André-Charles Boulle, L’espérance

qui nourrit amour, and La folie qui amuse l’amour, c. 1774 (estimate:

€70,000-100,000), stand out for the freshness of their modelling and

the elegance of the subject. One of a celebrated dynasty of sculptors,

Sigisbert-François was none other than the brother of Claude Michel,

better known as Clodion. This pair has been identified as the pair

belonging to the Chevalier de Clesle, thanks to a very precise

description in the catalogue of his sale in 1786.

A highly popular subject in

Europe from the mid-16th

century onwards, the iconography of Diana as Huntress was

often associated with the wisdom and martial values of a

magnanimous government. Inspired by models of Hellenistic

statuary, this marble figure of Diana as Huntress (estimate:

€200,000-300,000) is impressive for its size (h.: 170 cm).

Although it has not, to date, been precisely linked with a

particular group of artists, its characteristics – at the confluence

of the Mannerist legacy of Lombardy, and stylistic

developments originating in Rome – make it a fascinating and

complex work revealing a prolific mix of influences, c. 1600.

An unusual and rare pair of

bronze horses, Qing Dynasty,

Qianlong period, is remarkable

for its naturalistic rendering as well as for its posture and details, all

making them faithful copies of their living models (estimate:

€250,000-400,000). They seem to have been inspired by the famous

series of life-size portraits of the Qianlong Emperor's horses, executed

in the 18th

century by the Jesuits painters of the Qing imperial

court, Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining) and Ignaz Sichelbarth (Ai

Qimeng), and now in the collections of the Palace Museum in Beijing.

A rare very large bronze figural censer in the form of Shoulao riding

a stag, Qing Dynasty, 18th century (estimate: €80,000-120,000), stands out for its large size. It can

be compared with several other remarkable pieces now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in

London, and another Shoulao group acquired by Auguste Rodin in 1911, now in the Musée Rodin in

Paris.

Auction: Thursday 30 June 2016

Exhibition: 25, 27, 28 and 29 June

* Estimates do not include the buyer's premium, and prices consist of the hammer price and buyer's premium Images are available on request.

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