Two cups for Cleveland

28/2/26 - Acquisitions - Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art - It was one of the most beautiful objects presented at the latest edition of TEFAF (see the article), where its refinement captivated many connoisseurs on the stand of the Parisian dealer Oscar Graf: the covered cup (ill. 1) by Armand Point has thus crossed the Atlantic and joined the Cleveland Museum of Art. Dominated by a nude female figure (ill. 2) supporting a ruby above her head, this highly luxurious object was then almost unknown, as the gallery owner proudly asserted, and had never previously been exhibited or published. It is virtually certain that it will henceforth be regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Atelier de Haute-Claire, an artists’ colony established in the small village of Marlotte.

From the foot (ill. 3) to the cover (ill. 4), one scarcely knows what to admire first in this most surprising object structured around a fine piece of mounted amethyst enriched with enamels, pearls and other coloured stones. While the cup irresistibly evokes the art of Armand Point, who adopted the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic while turning towards the decorative arts after an initial career as an Orientalist painter, it nevertheless reappeared on the art market in a rather discreet manner. Preserved within the family of a patron [1], it was however sold as an anonymous work by Rouillac in June 2007 and remained in a private collection until 2024. Its foot is adorned with enamelled and filigreed lilies, arums,…