Deser for Jacques-Laure Le Tonnelier, Bailli de Breteuil
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Deser for Jacques-Laure Le Tonnelier, Bailli de Breteuil, ca. 1778
Gilt bronze, enamel, colored marbles, amber, lapis lazuli, amethyst, garnets, ivory, and agate
Patrimonio Nacional, Palacio Real, Madrid and Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Michael Bodycomb
Desers, or table centerpieces, are Valadier’s best known works. He created a number of such splendid ensembles, but only three of them survive. Two (now at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Louvre in Paris) survive in incomplete and much compromised formats. This is the best preserved of Valadier’s desers and the most complete. The term deser, an Italian phonetic transcription of the French word dessert, comes from the verb desservir, which signifies the clearing or removing of services from the table. These magnificent objects decorated the tables of aristocrats during lavish banquets. The deser that was on view in the exhibition was the second created for Jacques-Laure Le Tonnelier (1723–1785), Bailli de Breteuil, who was the Knights of Malta’s ambassador to the Holy See from 1758 and, subsequently, to the French court from 1778. Having sold his first Valadier deser to Catherine the Great of Russia in 1777, Breteuil commissioned a second and more magnificent one, decorated with a number of reductions of temples and triumphal arches in precious and semiprecious materials. After the death of Breteuil, the deser was acquired by King Charles IV of Spain, in 1788. Usually divided between two different museums in Spain, all the parts of the deser were brought back together for the exhibition.
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Plateau of the Madrid Deser, ca. 1778
Various marbles and hardstones, gilt bronze, and enamel
4 7/8 × 110 1/4 × 32 5/8 in. (12.5 × 280 × 83 cm)
Patrimonio Nacional, Palacio Real, Madrid
© Patrimonio Nacional
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Reduction of the Temple of Flora, ca. 1778
Lapis lazuli, giallo antico, gilt bronze, and enamel
h. 18 7/8 in. (48 cm); diam. 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm)
Patrimonio Nacional, Palacio Real, Madrid
© Patrimonio Nacional
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Pair of Exedras, ca. 1778
Alabaster, pavonazzetto, and gilt bronze
13 × 18 1/2 × 10 5/8 in. (33 × 47 × 27 cm) (each)
Patrimonio Nacional, Palacio Real, Madrid
© Patrimonio Nacional
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Reduction of the Arch of Septimius Severus at the Velabrum, or Arcus Argentariorum, ca. 1778
Green and yellow jasper, giallo antico, pavonazzetto, amber, and gilt bronze
10 5/8 × 9 7/8 × 5 1/2 in. (27 × 25 × 14 cm)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Fernando Velasco Mora
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Reduction of the Arch of Trajan in Ancona, ca. 1778
Green jasper, verde di Corsica, porphyry, lapis lazuli, and gilt bronze
12 3/8 × 11 1/8 × 6 in. (31.5 × 28.3 × 15.2 cm)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Reduction of the Temple of Mercury, ca. 1778
Lapis lazuli, amethyst, garnet, red porphyry, portasanta, green porphyry, and gilt bronze
17 7/8 × 17 3/8 in. (45.5 × 44 cm)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Reduction of the Temple of Minerva, ca. 1778
Verde di Corsica, gilt bronze, giallo antico, bianco e nero antico, alabaster, ivory, and porphyry
20 1/2 × 15 in. (52 × 38 cm)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Ángel Martínez Levas
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Monument with Four Columns, ca. 1778
Green jasper, alabaster, and gilt bronze
18 3/4 × 7 3/4 × 5 1/2 in. (47.5 × 19.7 × 14 cm)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Pair of Obelisks, ca. 1778
Porphyry and gilt bronze
15 × 2 1/8 in. (38 × 5.5 cm) (each)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Juan Carlos Quindós de la Fuente
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Pair of Pedestals of the Reduction of the Temple of Flora, ca. 1778
Statuary marble and gilt bronze
4 × 17 3/8 in. (10 × 44 cm) (each)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Raúl Fernández Ruiz
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Salt Cellar, ca. 1778
Porphyry, rosso antico, and gilt bronze
4 3/8 × 4 3/8 × 3 in. (11 × 11 × 7.5 cm)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Juan Carlos Quindós de la Fuente
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Salt Cellar (some details missing), ca. 1778
Jasper, reddish alabaster, and gilt bronze
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Juan Carlos Quindós de la Fuente
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Triumphal Column Supporting a Vase, ca. 1778
Red Sicilian jasper, agate, and gilt bronze
17 3/8 × 2 3/4 in. (44 × 7 cm)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Juan Carlos Quindós de la Fuente
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Two Obelisks, ca. 1778
Rosso antico and gilt bronze
22 7/8 × 2 7/8 in. (58 × 7.2 cm) (each)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Juan Carlos Quindós de la Fuente
Luigi Valadier (1726–1785)
Pair of Rostral Columns, ca. 1778
Rosso antico, alabaster, and gilt bronze
15 7/8 × 4 in. (40.2 × 10 cm) (each)
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid
Raúl Fernández Ruiz