MOREL & DUPONCHEL - Lot 25

MOREL & DUPONCHEL Les Bulles De Savon" scent bottle in cut crystal, the 800 thousandths silver and vermeil mount hallmarked boar's head, carved with lateral scrolls and two cartouches featuring two putti reaching out to a third seated on the arabesque-decorated grip, partly blue enameled, a straw at the mouth blowing a stylized soap bubble from a presumed fine pearl (untested). In its original case. Louis-Philippe period Master stamp of Jean-Valentin Morel. Height: 11 cm Gross weight : 107,65 gr Born on April 5, 1794, rue aux Fèvres on the Ile de la Cité in Paris, Jean-Valentin Morel, the son of a lapidary, apprenticed with master goldsmith Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette. He set up his own business around 1818, but his hallmark was not registered until August 2, 1827. After two short and unsuccessful partnerships, with Jean-Baptiste Betmon and Jean-Baptiste Veyrat respectively, he joined Fossin in 1834 as head of the workshop, overseeing the production of art and lapidary pieces, a position he held until 1842. The Fossin and Morel families had known each other for many years, working together since the Morel-Betmon association. It should also be noted that Nitot, Fossin's predecessor, employed Vachette, Jean-Valentin's apprenticeship master. On February 11, 1842, he went into partnership with Henri Duponchel under the name Morel & Cie, but retained his hallmark. During this period, the pieces produced by this partnership bore Jean-Valentin Morel's hallmark, until his departure from the partnership on June 30, 1847, following strong disagreements over the management of the company. On February 2, 1848, Morel & Cie was dissolved and Morel moved to London, where he represented Fossin. The relationship between Duponchel and Morel was above all financial, with the former providing capital and networks, while the latter excelled in the creation of pieces. As Wolowski wrote in his report on the 1849 exhibition of industrial products: "A craftsman full of boldness and skill, Mr. Morel met, in his associate Mr. Duponchel, the inspiration that creates and the taste that directs and chooses". In order to meet its clientele, the company moved to 39 rue Neuve Saint-Augustin, in the Bourse district, home to many luxury jewelry addresses. Following the split between the two partners, Henri Duponchel had his hallmark inscribed on September 22, 1849. The "Les bulles de savon" scent bottle was probably a great success for Morel & Cie, then Duponchel & Cie, as several examples are known, one of which was sold at Drouot on June 27, 1989. At the time, it bore the hallmark of Henri Duponchel. The original design of the bottle is reproduced in Henri Vever's book as dating from 1844, but is primarily to be found in an album of designs by Morel and Duponchel, in which Duponchel's stamp appears. Literature : - Isabelle Lucas, "Jean-Valentin Morel (1794-1860) un bijoutier parisien à l'époque romantique", Mémoire de troisième cycle à l'Ecole du Louvre, 1999 - Similar model reproduced in Henri Vever La Bijouterie français au XIX° siècle, Tome 1 p. 279 - Rapport du jury central sur les produits de l'agriculture et de l'industrie exposés en 1849, Paris, 1850, t.I, p.318