Sèvres for Detroit

7/3/26 - Acquisition - Detroit, Institute of Arts - Here are two magnificent objects whose recent history was rather rocambolesque and which will finally find their place in the great American museum [1] that is elegantly enriching its decorative arts collections. The Detroit Institute of Arts is accustomed to prestigious purchases at the TEFAF Maastricht: two years ago we mentioned a superb modello in unfired clay by the Florentine sculptor Massimiliano Soldani Benzi (see the news item of 22/2/24), now joined by an ewer and its basin (ill. 1) selected on the stand of Camille Leprince. During the last edition of the fair (see the article), this French dealer once again placed the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory and the celebrated Marie‑Victoire Jaquotot in the spotlight.

This large water pot in the form of a so-called “Percier” ewer, accompanied by its basin with rich aquatic decoration, will no doubt remind readers of La Tribune de l’Art of something, for we mentioned it when discussing the sales organised on the margins of the 2021 edition of Fine Arts Paris (see the news item of 7/11/21), when it was offered by Osenat. At the time, however, we had been unnecessarily cryptic in referring to a catalogue that had quietly absorbed the entirety of the lots from a sale planned in September 2021 at the Crédit municipal de Bordeaux — whose catalogue is still accessible online — but cancelled shortly beforehand. Let us be transparent: the pieces belonged to the all-too-famous Pierre‑Jean Chalençon, whose financial and then judicial troubles have been widely reported. The basin and the ewer had previously belonged to Alberto Bruni Tedeschi and were sold by…