Description
Demontreuil, French, 18th century. A pearwood carving of a dead bird, modelled hanging from a nailed string, with a fly on the body, signed, 8.25 x 5.5in (21 x 14cm) to a leaf and dart ormolu slip to concave moulded framed border, glazed, 12.5 x 9.75in (32 x 25cm.) Literature: Vivian, Margaret. Antique Collecting. Possibly purchased from the Le Carpentier sale in Paris, 14 May - 1 June 1866, lot 181 described as 'Un oiseau mort, suspendu par une patte. Tres-jolie sculpture en haut relief, par Demontreuil. Dans un cadre carr, en bois sculpt.' 'Demontreuil enjoyed the patronage of Louis XVI and Marie Antionette, and the fame of his skill as a carver, especially of birds, reached other countries. This bird, one of the latest if not the last of of his productions, was executed at Madrid for a cardinal. At the death of the cardinal, the chef d'oeuvre passed to some relatives, a Franco-Spanish family, who prized it so highly that on one occasion they refused 50,000 frs. for it...' an extract of an article from The Times, 7th June 1881. See Burghley House, Stamford, Lincolnshire for a similar example.