Michael Lake
Head of Department
Lot 11*
After Pierre Reymond (French, c.1513-after 1584): A 19th century Limoges style grisaille and coloured enamel oval platter depicting Abraham Rejecting the Goods of the King of Sodom By Samson et Cie, Paris
29 November 2022, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £4,462.50 inc. premium
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After Pierre Reymond (French, c.1513-after 1584): A 19th century Limoges style grisaille and coloured enamel oval platter depicting Abraham Rejecting the Goods of the King of Sodom
By Samson et Cie, Paris
The central reserve depicting Abraham kneeling before the barefoot king of Sodom resplendent in his armour, the king's right arm raised, his armies to the right, the immediate background with the palace entrance to the left and wooded vegetation with an undulating stream flowing from a far townscape to the horizon, the bottom right with a faint gilt 'C-S' monogram for Samson, set within an interlaced gilt border, the outer rim with an elaborate border depicting mythical winged and cloven footed beasts, chimera, shells, birds, figural terms, caparisoned elephants and chariots all united by foliate scrolls, the reverse with a figure of Hercules within a canopied tent with laurel fronds, vases, snails, winged grotesques and a central mask-head within drapery hung pendant strapwork, the outer rim border with fine gilt scrolls, 48.8cm wide, 38.5cm deep, 6.7cm high overall
The central reserve depicting Abraham kneeling before the barefoot king of Sodom resplendent in his armour, the king's right arm raised, his armies to the right, the immediate background with the palace entrance to the left and wooded vegetation with an undulating stream flowing from a far townscape to the horizon, the bottom right with a faint gilt 'C-S' monogram for Samson, set within an interlaced gilt border, the outer rim with an elaborate border depicting mythical winged and cloven footed beasts, chimera, shells, birds, figural terms, caparisoned elephants and chariots all united by foliate scrolls, the reverse with a figure of Hercules within a canopied tent with laurel fronds, vases, snails, winged grotesques and a central mask-head within drapery hung pendant strapwork, the outer rim border with fine gilt scrolls, 48.8cm wide, 38.5cm deep, 6.7cm high overall
Footnotes
A comparable Limoges enamel platter by Pierre Reymond, dating from circa 1577, was formerly in the collections of both J. Pierpoint Morgan and William Randolf Hearst but is now in the permanent collection of Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This platter features an almost identical subject and border but lacks the two brownish streams to the landscape which feature on the present lot.
In the story of Sodom and Abraham from the book of Genesis, chapter 14, the King of Sodom comes out to meet Abraham and orders him to 'Give me the people; keep the goods.' To this Abraham responds: 'I have raised my hand to the Lord, God most High and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abraham rich, I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me.'
