From this striking profile emanates an impression of solemnity and grandeur. The engraving appears to be of authentic precision. It is nevertheless surprising to note that on this ruby, the Emperor is represented neither under divine features, nor according to the canons of the Greek ideal his face is marked by the wrinkles of the naso-labial fold and a nasal hump which accentuates his “aquiline and fine” nose. Attributed to Dioscorides, early 1st century AD, The Emperor Augustus. He was extremely handsome and gracious throughout his life, wrote Suetonius in the Life of the Twelve Caesars (II,79). “Forma fuit eximia et per omnes aetatis gradus uenustissima”. A translucent Burmese ruby weighing 15 ct “in the shape of a half bean”, this irregular oval cabochon of a luminous pink-red is deeply engraved, on its flat part, with the profile of the first Roman emperor (whose countertype reveals the left profile). One of the most extraordinary pieces of the Collection is the intaglio with the effigy of Augustus (63 BC -14 AD). Thus, Guy Ladrière owns a few Caesars but do not consider it useful to collect the Twelve. The collector does not adopt an encyclopaedic or systematic approach but favours the appearance and quality of the object. “I like everything, I’m interested in everything, as long as it’s beautiful”, he says. There is even a cameo in the form of a sardonyx “the Marvel of Lisbon”, a singular rhinoceros which was the second of its kind to be sent from India to Europe in 1577. “I buy it because I like it”, he says casually. Figures of Zeus, Aphrodite, Cupid, Mercury, muses and Medusa heads (more than a dozen!) compete for predominance in the Collection with representations of heroic subjects, imperial portraits and animal themes: bulls, felines, galloping horses, eagles, snakes… etc. Phillips in 1976 during the exhibition of the Ralph Harari collection, he relied on one criterion: the quality of the object. Starting from his interest in ancient rings, Guy Ladrière felt the desire to build a collection.įrom his first acquisitions at Jean-Philippe Mariaud de Serres or at S.J. Sardonyx cameo on an enamelled gold ring.
Photo Benjamin Chelly Sicily, 13th century. Intaglio on a carnelian scarab, gold mounting. Photo Benjamin ChellyĮngraved stones carry multiple meanings: A distant echo of the beginnings of writing (intaglio, cylinder seal, seal) material witness to commercial exchanges and daily agrarian concerns a reminder of beliefs and the understanding of the world a tribute to illustrious men and finally a luxury object made into an ornament. When one stops to observe this multitude of details finely engraved by slow abrasion of the stone, one would feel time stop. Set on rings, brooches and pins, glyptic art put into image the vast panorama inhabited by the Egyptian, Greek and Roman pantheon gods, populated by Homeric or Ovidian characters, figures of temporal power, sometimes from the Bible, and various animals escaped from the fables of Aesop.
Sardonyx cameo on a gold box by Gabriel Morel. Photo by Didier Loireįor forty years Guy Ladrière has collected intaglios (stones engraved in hollow relief) and cameos (stones which, because they have superimposed layers of different colors, are engraved in relief and respond in miniature proportion to ancient bas-reliefs, monumental Greco-Roman sculptures and medieval polychrome woods). On the ruby intaglio, the Virgin Mary and Child are closely sheltered by what appears to be an oratory or small chapel. The image is reminiscent of the gothic sculpture of the Virgin Mary nursing her Child in the Cluny Museum or the Louvre. Today he is wearing a rare ruby intaglio set in a heavy gold ring on his right finger. Touchingly, the engraved gemstone depicts the Virgin Mary carrying the baby Jesus and gazing at him. Except for the most fragile, the collector wears them on his fingers every day. Eclectic, it gathers today more than four hundred pieces of which the majority are rings. Remarkable in many ways, his collection embraces a vast geographical area (Asia, Africa and Europe) and covers nearly three millennia of the art of glyptics. The Ladrière Collection unites the eye and the exquisite taste of a man, a passionate expert: Guy Ladrière. I met with Guy Ladrière at Quai Voltaire for an interview about his private collection of glyptics – the ancient art of engraving gems- which will be exhibited from May 12 to Octoin Paris at the École, School of Jewellery Arts. Interview with Guy Ladrière, the Prince of Rings Pour lire cet article en français, veuillez cliquer sur ce lien.
0 kommentar(er)
