Workshop of Jean Antoine Belleteste, French (1718-1811), a set of four ivory allegorical figures depicting, the four Seasons, depicting spring with a bouquet of flowers, Summer with a sheaf of wheat, Autumn as Bacchus with grapes and Winter as an old man beside a brazier, each raised on a waisted wood and ivory plinth, together with wooden case, 25 cm high,the figures 17 cm high. Provenance: private collection Sydney, Purchased from Chatford, Brighton, UK in October 1959 for ·180, Footnotes: Jean Antoine Belleteste came from a renowned family of ivory carvers. His Studio was based at rue Vivienne, Paris, where his Son, Antoine Belleteste also worked with him. He was succeeded by his other Son, Louis Charles Vincent Belleteste in 1791 and many other family members are recorded as working at the workshop and later in Dieppe. Jean Antoine Belleteste is known to have produced a set of ivory statuettes of the four seasons for Marie Antoinette's cabinet at Versailles, the present set are derived from the full size marble figures of the four seasons commissioned by Colbert in 1674 as part of the twenty four allegorical figures intended to adorn the water Parterre in the garden of Versailles, the allegorical figures also represent ancient gods and goddesses; Summer, symbolised by Ceres, spring, symbolised by flora, Autumn symbolised by Bacchus, and Winter, based on the figure by Girardon, is symbolised by the elderly figure of Saturn., the Musee De Dieppe has a similar set of the four seasons by Jean Antoine Belleteste, and a further set was sold at Christies, Paris, 24 June 2009, lot 440. related Literature: O. Beigbeder ivory Pleasures and Treasures, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London, 1965, page 127. Tardy Les Ivoires, Paris, 1977, pages 189 and 256
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- Bacchus Motif - The Bacchus motif is a design that features the Roman god Bacchus, who is the god of wine, parties, and celebration. Bacchus is often depicted as a young man with long hair and a beard, holding a bunch of grapes or a wine cup. The Bacchus motif is often used in art and design as a symbol of abundance, revellery, and enjoyment. It can be found on a variety of decorative items, including glassware, ceramics, and other home decor items. The Bacchus motif represents the joy and celebration that can be found in social gatherings and the pleasures of good food and drink.
- Ivory - Ivory is a hard white material that comes from the tusks of elephants, mammoth, walrus and boar, or from the teeth of hippopotamus and whales. The ivory from the African elephant is the most prized source of ivory. Although the mammoth is extinct, tusks are still being unearthed in Russia and offered for sale.
Ivory has been used since the earliest times as a material for sculpture of small items, both in Europe and the east, principally China and Japan.
In Asia ivory has been carved for netsuke, seals, okimono, card cases, fan supports, animals and other figures and even as carved tusks.
In the last 200 years in Europe ivory has been used to carve figures, for elaborate tankards, snuff boxes, cane handles, embroidery and sewing accessories, in jewellery and as inlay on furniture. Its more practical uses include being used for billiard balls, buttons, and a veneers on the top of piano keys.
The use and trade of elephant ivory have become controversial because they have contributed to Due to the decline in elephant populations because of the trade in ivory, the Asian elephant was placed on Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in 1975, and in January 1990, the African elephant was similarly listed. Under Appendix One, international trade in Asian or African elephant ivory between member countries is forbidden. Unlike trade in elephant tusks, trade in mammoth tusks is legal.
Since the invention of plastics, there have been many attempts to create an artificial ivory
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