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The royal procession of Piedigrotta seen from the west
The royal procession of Piedigrotta seen from the east
Portrait of Louise Loy Smart
Portrait of Louis Dufort-Duras Earl of Feversham
King David and the water carriers, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
Night snow in Kambara
Mario Furio Camillo arrives in Rome to negotiate with the Gauls
Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine
Madonna
Prayer before the storm
Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte
Portrait of Michele Coronini Cronberg
Pair of glasses
Spoil
Shelf clock
Pair of cafes
Pair of salt cellars
Pitcher and sugar bowl
Spring
About the game of chess
Shelf clock
Desk service
Shotgun
Cup with saucer
The man who looks at the sun
The sneeze
Bureau-cabinet
Spoil
Wedding fan
Folding fan
Dress with tailcoat, breeches and waistcoat
Cup with saucer
Glass
Bracelet with miniature portrait of Count Edwin de Fagan
Soup bowl
Etagère with mirror
The Visitation
The royal procession of Piedigrotta seen from the west
The royal procession of Piedigrotta seen from the east
Portrait of Louise Loy Smart
Portrait of Louis Dufort-Duras Earl of Feversham
King David and the water carriers, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
Night snow in Kambara
Mario Furio Camillo arrives in Rome to negotiate with the Gauls
Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine
Madonna
Prayer before the storm
Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte
Portrait of Michele Coronini Cronberg
Pair of glasses
Spoil
Shelf clock
Pair of cafes
Pair of salt cellars
Pitcher and sugar bowl
Spring
About the game of chess
Shelf clock
Desk service
Shotgun
Cup with saucer
The man who looks at the sun
The sneeze
Bureau-cabinet
Spoil
Wedding fan
Folding fan
Dress with tailcoat, breeches and waistcoat
Cup with saucer
Glass
Bracelet with miniature portrait of Count Edwin de Fagan
Soup bowl
Etagère with mirror
The Visitation

Pair of salt cellars

Martin-Guillaume Biennais

Displayed in:

Palazzo Coronini Cronberg Foundation

Palazzo Coronini Cronberg Foundation

Viale XX Settembre, 14, Gorizia

Closed today: open tomorrow at 10:00

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These splendid salt cellars bear the stamp of Martin-Guillaume Biennais (1764-1843), one of the most famous French silversmiths of his time, official supplier of Napoleon Bonaparte and his court. Arriving in Paris in 1789, Biennais began his career as a cabinetmaker in a workshop located in Rue Saint-Honoré, bearing the sign of the Purple Monkey (Singe Violet), destined to remain his characteristic trademark. Following the abolition of the guilds imposed by the revolutionary laws of 1791 and 1797, which allowed anyone to take up the profession, Biennais decided to devote himself to silverware, initially producing small objects, such as toiletry sets and travel bags, and placing the foundations of a thriving business which, at the height of his success, would have led him to employ as many as six hundred people. The oval bowls in cut crystal, supported by winged sphinxes with a single leg, echo in a surprising way the salt shakers belonging to the great service in gilded silver performed by Biennais on the occasion of the wedding between Napoleon and Maria Luisa of Austria, commission documented by a payment dated 27 August 1810. As we can also observe in the two Coronini salt cellars, the objects produced by Biennais usually present sober shapes, inspired by the ancient, whose elegant functionality is not suffocated, but rather enhanced, by the refined decorations that are arranged on the architecture of the piece without compromising the perfect compositional balance.
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Details

Title: Pair of salt cellars

Author: Martin-Guillaume Biennais

Date: 1809 - 1818

Technique: Silver, crystal

Displayed in: Palazzo Coronini Cronberg Foundation

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