SÈVRES BISCUIT PORCELAIN FIGURE OF DESCARTE FROM THE SERIES OF 'LE GRANDS HOMMES'
DATED 1912, AFTER THE 1783 VERSION BY AUGUSTIN PAJOU
Estimate: £400 - £600
Auction: Day 2 - Thurs 15th May from 10am | Lots 314 to 602
Description
on a square plinth base marked ‘DESCARTES’, impressed to the reverse ‘SEVRES, S 1912’ within a triangle, incised with indistinct initials
Dimensions
48.5cm high, 21.5cm wide
Provenance
Provenance: Professor Robert Knecht (1926-2023), Birmingham, thence by descent.
Professor Knecht was a historian of 16th-century France. A lecturer and later professor at the University of Birmingham from the late 1950s until his retirement in 1994, he was the author of 20 monographs, and his book ‘The French Renaissance Court’ (2008) was awarded the Enid McLeod prize by the Franco-British Society in 2009.
Footnote
This lot was a gift from the French president, Raymond Poincaré (served 1913-20) to Francois Joseph Knecht. It then passed to his son Joseph Knecht, then through the family by descent to the vendor. F. J. Knecht served at the French Embassy for more than 30 years, firstly as Secretary-Archivist, then as Vice-consul in 1897, then eventually as Consul in 1920, he finally served as Consul General until retirement around 1922. He died in London on 8.6.1940.