Provenance
Probably purchased by Lord Charles Stuart de Rothesay (1779-1845), for his collection at Highcliffe Castle, which was constructed between 1830 and 1834; inherited by his wife, Lady Elizabeth Stuart de Rothesay (1789-1867); inherited by their daughter Lady Louisa Waterford (1818-1898); acquired by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898) for Waddesdon Manor, possibly in 1890; inherited by Miss Alice de Rothschild (1847-1922); inherited by James de Rothschild (1878-1957); bequeathed by James de Rothschild to the National Trust in 1957.
Essential Literature
Pierre Verlet, Savonnerie: The James de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor (National Trust, 1982), pp. 330-40.
Savonnerie folding screen with panels representing animals after Alexandre-François Desportes (1661-1743)
The carpet panels: probably Bertrand Dupont (active 1687-1720) or Jacques Noinville (active 1720-1742) of the Savonnerie Manufactory, Chaillot
About 1719-1739
The frame: maker unknown
Made or altered about 1781-1866
The carpet panels: wool; the frame: wood and gilt bronze
Each panel: 186 cm × 63.5 cm
Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire
(no. 2318)
A Moment in Time
How the Savonnerie screen captured the story of the Royal Menagerie
In the introduction to his book, The Purchase of the Past: Collecting Culture in Post-Revolutionary Paris c.1790–1890, Tom Stammers suggests that nineteenth-century collectors were not only interested in objects and furniture which adhered to the style of the old French regime, but they were also intrigued by how such items could evoke the past and reflect the lives of certain makers, places and elite figures.[1] Moreover, collectors acquired decorative objects from eighteenth-century France as a means of remembering a world lost to the Revolution - one that could be evoked only through words and material objects. The French Revolutionary sales during the late eighteenth century made the acquisition of such items possible to those across the Channel in Britain, subsequently influencing the craze for imitating French interiors from the ancien régime, and allowing collectors to replicate or evoke spaces from this period with decorative objects that could evoke such a crucial part of French history.
Screens created at the Savonnerie Manufactory, originally located on the outskirts of Paris, are a prime example of decorative objects that were of great interest to nineteenth-century collectors, as they acted as mementos of the French past (Fig. 1). Very few panels and mounted screens were created over the course of the eighteenth century, and new cartoons were rarely produced, due to the fact that they were reserved for the French royal family. These practical screens were either used in the dining rooms and anterooms of royal residences to create a sense of privacy or to eliminate draughts. They were on occasion given as diplomatic gifts. As a result, private purchases of these screens were incredibly rare and only took place under special circumstances. Unlike other decorative objects and pieces of furniture, Savonnerie screens remained fashionable throughout the eighteenth century, despite changing fashions seen across other elements of interiors. These screens continued to be considered suitable and fashionable from the 1730s all the way to the 1780s.
Figure 1. Savonnerie Manufactory, Folding screen with panels representing animals after Alexandre-François Desportes (1661-1743), about 1719-1739, wool, wood and gilt bronze, 186 cm × 63.5 cm (each panel leaf), Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire (no. 2318).
This enduring taste for screens during the eighteenth century is shown through Madame de Pompadour (1721-1764)’s collection whilst she was mistress to King Louis XV (r. 1715-1774), as it is known that she owned four Savonnerie screens displayed in her residences.[2] Notably, she had one screen in her Salon of Portraits at the Chateau de Saint-Ouen and others in the Great Room at the Hotel Pompadour in Paris, as well as many other textile pieces from the Savonnerie Manufactory, most likely featuring similar designs. The location of these screens in Pompadour’s interiors in formal reception spaces rather than the more private rooms indicates that they were regarded as extremely high-status items intended to be seen by guests. Much later Louis XVI (r. 1774 -1793) gifted a screen to Gustavus III of Sweden (r. 1771-1792) in 1784.[3] This enduring taste for Savonnerie screens provides them with a unique character in comparison to other furnishings of the period, as does their royal history, exclusivity and the way in which each panel captures a facet of French history.
Unlike other items woven at the Savonnerie Manufactory that derive from a variety of designs and feature a range of visual depictions, these screens have quite specific iconographical scope. From the six to eight designs that were originally created by the manufactory’s leading artists, the majority feature naturalistic elements such as fruits, plants and flowers, as well as animals, which are central to most of the surviving examples. Animals can be seen in the six-panelled screen at Waddesdon Manor, acquired by the notable collector Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839-1898), which frames (quite literally) snapshots of the Royal Menagerie at Versailles during the reign of Louis XV (r. 1715-1774) when these leaves were woven (Fig. 1).[4] Each leaf tells a tale of exoticism, luxury and splendour, as well as power, royalty and absolute monarchy, reflecting the ‘royal authority and aristocratic civility’ of the reign of Louis XIV, the creator of the menagerie, and his successors.[5] Narratives such as these are what make decorative objects like these so compelling; they become more than just artworks to be displayed in interiors; rather they turn them into an open book, one which seeks to be read and appreciated for the vivid story it elicits. When the Savonnerie screen is read like a picture book, it becomes possible to develop a deeper understanding of the Royal Menagerie at Versailles – a spectacular institution that displayed the very animals depicted on the screen – and to discern the ways in which the menagerie was politicised, structured around monarchical authority.
The act of collecting and displaying exotic animals seems to have been a ‘universal human desire’ for royalty that began as early as the fifteenth century B.C. when Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt used animals to enhance her image and reinstate her position as Queen.[6] From this moment onwards, ‘unusual and marvellous beasts’ were obtained by various rulers across the world to help them to strengthen their royal status and political power, especially in the event of war or international diplomacy. Because of the high cost of maintaining exotic animals, this practice was limited to rulers, and menageries thus became closely associated with royalty, serving as clear expressions of monarchical authority. Similarly to Queen Hatshepsut, in France the Royal Menagerie at Versailles was purposefully created by King Louis XIV, as a tool to build his monarchical power and to establish his position as the ultimate Sun King.
Figure 2. Pierre Aveline, View and Perspective of the Salon of the Versailles Menagerie, 1689, engraving, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.
It was in 1662 that architect Louis Le Vau (1612-1670) began to construct the menagerie at Versailles to house the rare and exotic animals that the King owned (fig. 2). Louis XIV’s ability to organise such a mammoth display of animals from all corners of the world proved his authority over nature, therefore establishing his position as an absolute monarch anointed by God.[7] Kept in cages, the display of animals served as proof of the King’s dominance over the natural world and, by extension, over France and the lands from which these animals originated, thereby showcasing the breadth of his power. Over time the caged animals became a metaphor of the King’s omnipotent power, forever reminding visitors to the menagerie that they too could be captured, locked up and imprisoned if they were to prove disloyal to his regime. While the King’s menagerie at the Chateau de Vincennes was devoted to combat and staged fights, the menagerie at Versailles took a more ornamental route, one which featured animals of a more peaceful nature such as parrots, peacocks and other birds. That is not to say that larger mammals were not present in the menagerie, and indeed many of these were the subjects of paintings, such as those by Jean-Baptise Oudry (1686-1755) (fig. 3).
In turn, this shift in display shied away from the more traditional, ancient forms of presentation and provided an indirect model for court culture and civilisation which continued throughout the reign of Louis XV and Louis XVI up until the French Revolution. Although the Royal Menagerie at Versailles is most closely associated with its founder, Louis XIV, the screen at Waddesdon Manor was produced during the reign of Louis XV, and many comparable screens were made or assembled later in the century under Louis XVI. Louis XIV’s successors maintained the Royal Menagerie and continued to use its animals as expressions of royal authority. However, with the outbreak of the French Revolution and the collapse of the monarchy, the menagerie also fell into decline, symbolising the end of Bourbon rule and its spectacles of grandeur.
Figure 3. Jean-Baptise Oudry, Leopardin, c. 1741, oil on canvas, 131 × 160 cm, Staatliches Museum Schwerin, Schwerin (no. G 867).
This heightened ornamental presentation of animals is reflected in the screen from Waddesdon, which follows a design by Alexandre-François Desportes (1661-1743), a notable artist of the time who specialised in animal paintings and hunting scenes (fig. 4). Rather than featuring animals in a more savage way, the Savonnerie animals are presented in a highly decorative manner, showcased as a spectacle. In the screen’s panels the animals on the ground appear to be gazing up towards the birds at the top of the panel, acting as an allegory for the human social structure. Indeed, royal hierarchy is reflected in the depiction of exotic birds, which in the natural world were perceived as the highest order in the chain of being, therefore becoming representative of the position of the king.[8] The importance of birds as a reflection of royal power is also a prominent aspect of other designs for these typology of screens, such as a three-leaf screen by Desportes and Jean-Baptise de Fontenay (1653-1715) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which only features exotic birds (fig. 5). Clearly, the Savonnerie Manufactory were conscious of the patriotic meaning of these designs, using the images of the animals as a metaphor for the politics of royalty.
Furthermore, as much as this screen tells the story of the menagerie’s splendour and display of power, it also has connotations of confinement, brutality and capture. The barriers or cages that are illustrated on both ends of the panels, albeit rather discreetly, subtly nods to the immobilisation of the animals, reminding us that although at Versailles they were not used for staged fights, these animals were still forced to perform for human entertainment. When the performance of the menagerie came to a halt with the French Revolution, it became even more politically charged, as the animals were considered from opposite points of view as ‘vicious agents’ of the monarchy, or ‘victims of the ancien régime’. As a result, some animals were left to perish in poor conditions, whilst others were taken to be used for scientific observations.[9]
Figure 4. Alexandre Francois Desportes, Dog, Dead Game and Fruit, about 1715, oil and canvas, 128.5 × 161.5 cm, The Wallace Collection, London (no. P594).
At first glance, the political undertones of this screen can be difficult to discern, as the vivid colours and abundance of elements draw the viewer’s attention. However, nineteenth-century collectors likely recognized these screens as symbols of the ancien régime, which contributed to their desirability. The political narratives woven into the fabric of these screens would have intrigued a learned collector such as Ferdinand de Rothschild who was passionate about history and fascinated by the historical weight carried by decorative objects, allowing for interesting conversations to be brought to the surface.
The power, authority and royalty conveyed in exclusive Savonnerie screens of this type ensured their enduring desirability across the eighteenth century. After the Revolution, they continued to be extremely desirable for collectors such as Ferdinand de Rothschild, as vestiges of a lost era. They act as souvenirs of a distant past, one which cannot be physically met, but can be experienced through objects and furnishings.
Figure 5. Jean-Baptise de Fontenay and Alexandre-Francois Desportes, Trophies and Birds, about 1715-50, wool and linen, 274.3 × 66 cm (each panel), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (no. 58.75.128).
[1] Tom Stammers, The Purchase of the Past: Collecting Culture in Post-Revolutionary Paris c.1790-1890 (Cambridge University Press, 2020), p. 14: ‘Collectors privileged different “memories” in the existence of their objects: some were fascinated by their original makers, some were intrigued by their early owners, whilst others studied them as specimens of artistic styles’.
[2] Rosalind Savill, Everyday Rococo: Madame de Pompadour and Sevres Porcelain (Unicorn Press, 2021), pp. 752-6.
[3] Pierre Verlet, Savonnerie: The James de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor (National Trust, 1982), p. 336.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Pete Sahlins, ‘The Royal Menageries of Louis XIV and the Civilizing Process Revisited’, French Historical Studies, 35.2 (2012), pp. 237-67 (p. 239).
[6] Marina Belozerskaya, ‘Menageries as Princely Necessities and Mirrors of Their Times, in Mary Morton (ed.), Oudry’s Painted Menagerie: Portraits of Exotic Animals in Eighteenth-Century Europe (J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007), pp. 59-74 (p. 59).
[7] Sahlins, ‘The Royal Menageries of Louis XIV’, p. 266.
[8] Ibid., pp. 253-4.
[9] John Simons, ‘How the King of Beasts Became a Republican’, An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, 53.2 (2020), pp. 51-63 (p. 54).