Lignereux

For other uses, see Lignereux (disambiguation).
Lignereux
Founded 1787 (1787)
Founder Martin-Eloy Lignereux
Key people
 Gonzague Mézin (Director)
Products
Website www.lignereux.com

Lignereux is a French maison, founded in 1787, specialising in the making of art objects. Historically located in Paris and London, maison Lignereux plays a major role in decorative arts. The Lignereux objects are intended for art collectors. In 2015, maison Lignereux awakens to offer new ‘objets d’art’ creations, elaborated with contemporary artists and craftspeople.

History

From the Ancien Régime to the First French Empire

Lignereux was founded through the passion and vision of marchand-mercier Martin-Eloy Lignereux. In 1787, M.E. Lignereux partnered with Dominique Daguerre. The maison they grew, specialised in the making of art objects and luxury decorative arts items, and was celebrated throughout Europe. With boutiques in Paris and London, and exclusive deals with ceramics factories of Sèvres and Wedgwood, maison Lignereux became a destination for art collectors at the time.[1]

In August 1789, for fear of potential vandalism, Queen Marie-Antoinette entrusted Lignereux and Daguerre with her personal collection of art objects.[2]

The Parisian boutique directed by Martin-Eloy Lignereux became a tourist attraction, visited by rich foreigners who stayed in the French capitol. A secret note from the Prefect of Police states in 1807 that “in peacetime, the maison of Daguerre and Lignereux turned over between 1 500 000 and 200 000 000 francs with foreign countries.”[3]

After Daguerre’s death in 1796, Martin-Eloy Lignereux pursued and completed his business as a creator of art objects. The best Parisian artists and craftsmen were called upon by maison Lignereux to imagine furniture and objects “d’un goût nouveau”.[4] In 1802 and 1803, Lignereux was awarded with the gold medal at the Exposition des Produits de l'Industrie Française.

In 1804, maison Lignereux ceased to operate when an ill Lignereux ceded his stock to bronze-maker Pierre-Philippe Thomire.[5]

Renaissance

In 2015, maison Lignereux was resurrected to offer new creations of art objects for international art collectors.[6]

Trend-setter

Maison Lignereux survived the accidents of history by re-inventing and anticipating constantly the “goût du jour” (fashion and taste) in decorative arts. From the Ancien Régime to the First Empire, as with today, the Lignereux creations result from ancestral savoir-faire meeting with creative audacity.[7]

Signatures

The creations of maison Lignereux originated from bold and refined assemblages of artists, noble materials and heterogeneous cultures.

Paris, London

In the 18th century, Maison Lignereux stands out with its boutiques located both in Paris and London. This dual establishment expresses a key aspect of the « Lignereux taste »: the mutual fascination between England an France manifests itself in a singular and complex Franco-English taste.[8][9]

Signatures

Today, as then, every creation of maison Lignereux results from a conversation between noble materials, which is significant of a continuing dialogue between cultures. Bronze and exotic woods are ever-present in the historic creations of Lignereux. They act as jewellery-sets for pictures and patterns made of marbles,[10] porcelain,[11] and pietra dura.[12] Several motifs appear like signatures, such as the octagon, the bamboo, dragons with open wings, the torch, sphinxes, griffons, lion feet with coiling lines.

Nowadays these iconic shapes, patterns and shades have become inspirations for contemporary artists and craftspeople that imagine the new creations of maison Lignereux.

The art of living according to Lignereux

The creations of maison Lignereux echo the personality of the art connoisseur: these pieces offer a lavish reflection of their curiosity and boldness in their interior. The Lignereux objects combine audacity, balance, clarity and a form of purity. At the root of these creations, there is a desire to arouse a sense of awe and to offer a personal experience of beauty.

Clientele

Kings and Queens

From its very beginning, maison Lignereux caught the interest of a royal and imperial clientele. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, the King and Queen of Naples (Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies), Czar Paul I of Russia, the Prince of Wales (future George IV), Emperor Napoleon, and his wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, are among the historical clients of maison Lignereux.[13]

Reputation

In the 20th and 21st century, the Lignereux objects and furniture were acquired by or belong to major art collectors, among whom Moïse de Camondo,[14] Alexis von Rosenberg, Baron de Redé,[15] Professor Guy Ledoux-Lebard,[16] baron Fould-Springer, Nathaniel de Rothschild[17] and more recently, Edmond Safra.[18]

Today

Some historical creations of maison Lignereux are still part of important private art collections. Other pieces either created, preserved or sold by maison Lignereux in the 18th and 19th century are exhibited today within public museums. In particular, one must quote the Château de Versailles,[19] the Metropolitan Museum of Art,[20] the Château de Malmaison,[21] the Hermitage Museum, the Château de Fontainebleau,[22] the Royal Collection,[23][24] Uppark House,[25] the Musée Nissim-de-Camondo,[26] the Rijksmuseum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Woburn Abbey.[27]

The contemporary creations of maison Lignereux are destined for international art collectors.

See also

References

  1. ↑ On 22 April 1787, Martin Eloy Lignereux and Dominique Daguerre sign up an agreement with Josiah Wedgwood, allowing exclusive retailing of the Wedgwood porcelains in Paris. Maison Lignereux also became the Manufacture de Sèvres' sole retailer in London in the 1790s.
  2. ↑ “Inventaire des laques anciennes et des objets de curiosité de Marie-Antoinette confiés à Daguerre et Lignereux”. 142 pieces are entrusted to Lignereux and Daguerre, including objects made of lacquer, crystal and petrified wood. https://archive.org/stream/archivesdelartfr08guifuoft/archivesdelartfr08guifuoft_djvu.txt
  3. ↑ http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=5474045
  4. ↑ Jérôme Merceron, Martin-Eloy Lignereux, marchand-mercier à Paris à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, Mémoire de DEA sous la direction de MM. Alain Mérot et Bill Pallot, 2000
  5. ↑ Martin-Eloy Lignereux passes away five years later, on 30 January 1809. His holograph will shows he was terminally ill. Merceron, 2000.
  6. ↑ Maison Lignereux : Créateur d’Objets d’Art depuis 1787
  7. ↑ Pierre Verlet, Le Commerce des Objets d’Art et les marchands merciers à Paris au XVIIIe siècle, 1958,
  8. ↑ The first Parisian boutique of Maison Lignereux is located 85, rue St-Honoré. Its first shop in London is on Picadilly, followed by a boutique located 42, Sloane Street. Later on, Maison Lignereux moves its boutiques to 2 rue Christine, 44 rue Vivienne and finally 44 rue Taitbout.
  9. ↑ The French taste blended with England is analysed in the last paragraph of the following note: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/a-pair-of-empire-ormolu-mounted-japanese-black-3933065-details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=3933065&sid=553c1413-563e-4539-a6c6-f73c6199683f#top
  10. ↑ Secrétaire with pannels of marbles and reverse glass painting by Weisweiler, supervised by Lignereux, Palacio De Oriente, Madrid : http://www.sothebys.com/content/dam/stb/lots/L13/L13303/622L13303_6YMNT-comp7.jpg.thumb.319.319.png
  11. ↑ A magnificent and very rare Empire gilt bronze mounted console http://www.richardreddingantiques.com/collection/furniture/a-magnificent-and-very-rare-empire-gilt-bronze-mounted-console
  12. ↑ Pair of cabinets http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/31308/pair-of-cabinets
  13. ↑ Jérôme Merceron, Martin-Eloy Lignereux, marchand-mercier à Paris à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, Mémoire de DEA sous la direction de MM. Alain Mérot et Bill Pallot, 2000
  14. ↑ Musee Nissim de Camondo: http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/musees/musee-nissim-de-camondo/parcours/rez-de-chaussee-haut/le-grand-salon/paire-de-vases-couverts-en-bois
  15. ↑ In the Hôtel Lambert was a console in pietra dura made from a chimney from Maison Lignereux for Hortense de Beauharnais: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=5474045
  16. ↑ La Gazette Drouot, 2006: http://www.gazette-drouot.com/static/magazine_ventes_aux_encheres/top_des_encheres/meuble_2006.html
  17. ↑ Un château Rothschild aux enchères: http://www.lesechos.fr/16/09/2011/LesEchos/21018-187-ECH_un-chateau-rothschild-aux-encheres.htm
  18. ↑ A Highly Important late Louis XVI ormolu-mounted Japanese black and gilt lacquer and ebony commode à vantaux and secrétaire à abattant en suitelate 18th century, attributed to Adam Weisweiler and Pierre-Philippe Thomire, under the direction of Martin-Eloi Lignereux: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2011/property-from-the-collections-of-lily-edmond-j-safra-n08822/lot.749.
  19. ↑ Photos du Grand Trianon à Versailles: http://voyager-comme-ulysse.com/grand-trianon/
  20. ↑ Alvar Gonzalez-Palacio highlighted and analysed Lignereux and Daguerre's realisations for the King and Queen of Naples. Major pieces from this ensemble now belong to the Metropolitan Museum: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/206589, http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/206588, http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/236097
  21. ↑ Peintures et mobilier des Musées de France: Malmaison http://notesdemusees.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/malmaison.html
  22. ↑ In particular a pair of ormolu sconces (Inventory Inv. 671C): http://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/sites/default/files/dossier_de_presse_au_temps_des_merveilleuses.pdf
  23. ↑ Pair of cabinets: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/31308/pair-of-cabinets
  24. ↑ http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/2347/vases-a-monter
  25. ↑ Candelabra, Martin-Eloy Lignereux, National Trust Collections: http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/137836.2
  26. ↑ Pair of vases in petrified wood from the private collection of Queen Marie-Antoinette: http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/musees/musee-nissim-de-camondo/parcours/rez-de-chaussee-haut/le-grand-salon/paire-de-vases-couverts-en-bois
  27. ↑ Some objects by Maison Lignereux, acquired by the Duke of Bedford during the Peace of Amiens, are still at Woburn Abbey (http://www.woburnabbey.co.uk/) while others went on auction in 2009: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2009/important-furniture-silver-ceramics-l09767/lot.17.html, http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2009/important-furniture-silver-ceramics-l09767/lot.16.html.

External links

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