Existing comment:
"Four Seasons" enamel liqueur service
ca. 1710
Elias Adam
The enamel decoration on this service is based on engravings after a series of monumental Four Seasons paintings commissioned by King Louis XIV for the Château Saint-Cloud's Galerie d'Apollon. The design demonstrates the goldsmith's ability to convert already valuable metal into a treasured work of art, and the miniaturization of the paintings in the fragile enamel medium is a virtuosic feat. The service was probably not used for drinking, but rather admired through close examination and compared to memories of the paintings. |