A Limoges grisaille and gilt enamel plaque depicting Neptune calming the storm, the scene derived from an early engraving of 'Quos Ego, Neptune calming the storm' and further scenes from Virgil's 'Aeneid' by Marcantonio Raimondi (Italian, c.1480-1534) c.1515-16,

the enamel probably mid 16th century and possibly attributable to Jean Pénicaud II (French, fl. circa 1515-1588)

Footnotes

Provenance
By repute possibly originally from the collections of Mayer Alphonse James Rothschild (French, 1827-1905) and formerly Nathaniel Meyer von Rothschild (Austrian, 1836-1905).

Collection of Sir Michael and Lady Oppenheimer DD (3rd Baronet, British, 1924-2020), Jersey. Thence by family descent.

Sir Michael Oppenheimer's maternal grandparents were Sir Robert Grenville Harvey, 2nd Baronet (1856-1931) and Lady Emily Blanche Harvey (1872-1935) of Langley Park, Buckinghamshire which was the Harvey Baronet's main family seat from 1788 until 1945.

Sir Michael's paternal family wealth was derived from mining interests in South Africa and his father Bernard Oppenheimer, as Chairman of the South African Diamond Corporation, received a baronetcy from George V in 1921 for setting up diamond sorting factories to employ wounded ex-servicemen after the First World War. The Oppenheimer family was involved with the prestigious De Beers brand over the subsequent decades of the 20th century and Lady Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022) was a distinguished moral and philosophical theologian, with a particular interest in the ethics pertaining to personal relationships.

Although the present lot bears the initials 'LL', which might prima facie suggest that the plaque was attributable to the hand of the famous enameller Leonard Limosin {also known as Limousin} (French, c.1505-c.1577), this is unlikely to be its maker. Limosin is thought to have entered the service of Francis I as a painter and varlet de chambre in 1530. He was definitely known to have been working at the court by 1536 and he was subsequently appointed Valet de Chambre and Emailleur du Roi to Henry II in 1548 where he executed for both monarchs a series of portraits including several plaques depicting Diane de Poitiers in various characters, together with plates, vases, ewers, cups and other decorative works for the royal palaces. These works were produced in jewel-like colours and also in grisaille on a black or blue ground.

However, disregarding the 'LL' monogram, which may possibly have been spuriously added at a later date, an attribution to Jean Pénicaud II seems more readily plausible given that he is known to have copied Marcantonio Raymond's Quos Ego print and a comparable of this known subject attributed to him is in the British Museum's Waddesdon Bequest Inv. WB.21. Similarly, an oval plaque depicting Jupiter in the Louvre Museum, Paris, Inv. OA951 is also attributed to Jean Pénicaud II in which the pose of Jupiter is very similar to the figure of Neptune in the current lot. Further comparables to the painting evident on the offered example can be made between the 'Combat de Cavalier' plaque also in the Louvre, Inv. OA 965 and its companion 'Chasse au Lion', Inv. OA 964. Although these plaques are actually attributed to Jean Pénicaud III and their depictions are perhaps less accomplished than those on the present lot.

Largely executed in grisaille, a technique in which dark enamel shows through varying thicknesses of white enamel to create tones varying from white to dark grey, the colouring similarly suggests that it may have been manufactured in the enamelling workshop of the Pénicaud family in Limoges, most likely by the skilled master enameller Jean Pénicaud II or perhaps (although less likely) Jean Pénicaud III who was probably his son.

It is possible that this plaque was once in the collection of Mayer Alphonse James Rothschild (French, 1827-1905) given the printed label to the rear. A successful financier and member of the famous banking firm, he was also an art collector, vineyard owner, philanthropist and racehorse owner/breeder. Over his lifetime, Alphonse de Rothschild put together a massive collection of art works and was an avid collector of the Dutch Masters and Islamic works of art. In 1885 he was made a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and subsequently he donated and bequeathed approximately 2,000 pieces from his collection to many different museums.

Additionally, it is also possible that the plaque, prior to being in the collection of Mayer Alphonse James Rothchild was formerly in the collection of Nathaniel Meyer von Rothschild (Austrian, 1836-1905), art collector and patron.

As the eldest male of an Austrian banking dynasty, Nathaniel had been expected to take over the running of the family business. However, he fell out of favour with his father who considered him extravagant and financially irresponsible, so he then spent his remaining adult life as a philanthropist, socialite and aesthete who built and purchased a number of palace-like residences to house his collections. These included the Palais Nathaniel Rothschild in Vienna-Wieden, Enzesfeld Castle purchased from the Counts of Schönburg-Hartenstein and Hinterleiten Palace in Reichenau an der Rax which was close to the Villa Wartholz owned by the Habsburg Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria. On his father's death in 1874, Nathaniel and his brother Ferdinand (1839–1898), owner of Waddesdon Manor, inherited most of the family's property and art collection.