Pierre Reymond (1513-1584), French, Limoges, 1575, Tazza with the Worship of The Golden Calf, inscribed: EXODE.XXXII., monogrammed: P.R. in brown-red enamel on the bowl and the foot and dated: 1575, partially gilt painted enamel on copper; 15 by 18.3cm., 5 7/8 by 7 1/8 in. Estimation 12,000 — 18,000 GBP - Lot. Vendu 23,750 GBP. Photo Sotheby's
Note: Pierre Reymond and his workshop had the most prolific output of all the 16th-century enamelers, making plaques, plates, vessels and candlesticks with religious, mythological and allegorical subjects. Reymond successfully met the great demand for enamels by simplifying his workshop's production. This involved repeating fashionable decorative patterns -such as the egg and dart motif along the upper edge of the present tazza, cartouches with masks as seen on the underside of the bowl, and, perhaps most recognisably, the inverted S pattern in red enamel along the base- but also relying on graphic sources for the scenes. The representation of Aaron's feast in honour of the Golden Calf, which includes Moses on the mountain on the top right, is taken from the Quadrins historiques de la Bible by Bernard Salomon. The scene is cleverly combined to form a narrative with the Worshiping of the Calf on the base. The whole is beautifully enamelled in grisaille by ways of a technique known as enlevage: a layer of white enamel is applied on a dark ground and partly scratched away to create the grey areas and enliven the surface. Dark cross-hatching, red enamel, flesh tones, and gilding complete the decoration. Tazze by Reymond with a nigh identical bowls are in the Musée du Louvre (inv. no. OA 975) and the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum in Brunswick (Lim 75) and dated to 1569 and 1571 respectively.
RELATED LITERATURE
S. Baratte, Les émaux peints de Limoges, cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2000, pp. 195-196; I. Müsch, Maleremails des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts aus Limoges, cat. Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Brunswick, 2002, pp. 197-199, no. 96
Sotheby's. Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art, 9 juillet 2015 - Londres
