Center Table
Manufacturer
Hachette & Cie.
(Paris, France)
Designer
Jacques-Ignace Hittorff
(1792-1867)
CultureFrench
Date1833
MediumEnamel on lava with mahogany and ormolu base
DimensionsOverall: 29 5/8 x 32 in. (75.2 x 81.3 cm)
InscribedOn the reverse of the top of the table: Lave émaillée inventée par Monsieur le comte de Chabrol exécuté d'après les procédés de/Monsieur Mortelèque/Hachette Fg St Martin no 120/1833
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number2001.21
Not on view
DescriptionThis is an enamel on lava with mahogany and ormolu base center table in a round shape. It is colorfully decorated with rings of various types of motifs: gilded leaves and classical knots as well as panels painted to resemble lapis lazuli; rare and exotic birds set within diamond-shaped panels; bouquets of flowers suspended from neo-classical tracery work; a ring of hedge plant encircling a blue ground containing disks with butterflies set around a gilded rosette. The lava top is set within an ormolu gallery of flowers and foliage atop a light mahogany-veneered tripod base. The veneered columns of the base are simple with ormolu Doric capitals and ormolu bases set upon block feet with a triangular stretcher.Label TextJacques Ignace Hittorff, designer French, 1792−1867 Hachette & Cie., manufacturer French, Paris, 1827−1848 Center Table, 1833 Enamel on lava with mahogany and ormolu base Museum purchase 2001.21 This brightly colored butterflies and birds on this finely decorated table top were created using an unusual technique. They were painted in enamel onto volcanic stone that could withstand high heat. It was then fired at high temperatures, making a surface that was both bright and durable. The designer, Hittorff, was an architect by trade and was interested in this technique for weatherproof architectural decoration. He more famous for discovering that ancient Greek marble statues were originally painted in bright colors and not left white. ProvenanceParisian auction, Poulain Le Fur in conjunction with Sotheby's, July 5, 2001; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, with funds from the Accessions Fund for Decorative Arts, 2001. Exhibition History"The Basilica of St. Vincent de Paul: Architecture of the Catholic Renouveau in Paris," DePaul University Museum, Chicago, IL, September 30 - November 20, 2010.Published ReferencesSotheby's, _Important Furniture and Works of Art_ (Paris, France: Sotheby's) Sale PF1004, July 5, 2001: 156-157, cat. 99. Kiene, Michael, and Simone Zurawksi, The Basilica of St. Vincent DePaul: Architecture of the Catholic Renouveau in Paris, exh. cat., DePaul University Art Museum, Chicago, IL, 2010, 32.
1600-1850
