Nicolas-Martin Petit Sold at Auction Prices

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      • N. PETIT (1777-1804) Successor, Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching
        Oct. 26, 2024

        N. PETIT (1777-1804) Successor, Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching

        Est: €60 - €100

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777 Paris - 1804 ibid.) Follower: Portrait of Naba-Leba, King of Salor on the Indonesian island of Timor, 19th century, Etching Technique: Etching on Paper Inscription: Inscribed with the sitter's name below the depiction. Numbered "Taf. 3." in the upper right. Date: 19th century Description: Half-length portrait of the south-east Indonesian king Naba-Leba in traditional court costume. The depiction probably originates from a historical ethnological work after an expedition to Indonesia in the 19th century. Keywords: 19th century, Romanticism, Fashion, Thailand, Size: Paper: 20,3 cm x 11,4 cm (8 x 4,5 in), Plate: 17,8 cm x 11,0 cm (7 x 4,3 in), Depiction: 12,0 cm x 7,6 cm (4,7 x 3 in)

        Fichter Kunsthandel
      • Two antique framed coloured engravings: I.) ROGER, Barthelemy (1767-1841, engraver); PETIT, Nicolas-Martin (1777-1804, artist) Nouvelle-Hollande. Cour-rou-bari-gal. II.) ROGER, Barthelemy (1767-1841, engraver); PETIT, Nicolas-Martin (1777-1804, ar
        May. 26, 2024

        Two antique framed coloured engravings: I.) ROGER, Barthelemy (1767-1841, engraver); PETIT, Nicolas-Martin (1777-1804, artist) Nouvelle-Hollande. Cour-rou-bari-gal. II.) ROGER, Barthelemy (1767-1841, engraver); PETIT, Nicolas-Martin (1777-1804, ar

        Est: $250 - $350

        Two antique framed coloured engravings: I.) ROGER, Barthelemy (1767-1841, engraver); PETIT, Nicolas-Martin (1777-1804, artist) Nouvelle-Hollande. Cour-rou-bari-gal. II.) ROGER, Barthelemy (1767-1841, engraver); PETIT, Nicolas-Martin (1777-1804, artist) Timor, Naba-Leba, King of Solor. from the first edition, 1807, , 35 x 45cm each overall

        Leski Auctions Pty Ltd
      • N. PETIT (1777-1804) Successor, Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching
        Feb. 24, 2024

        N. PETIT (1777-1804) Successor, Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching

        Est: €60 - €100

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777 Paris - 1804 ibid.) Follower: Portrait of Naba-Leba, King of Salor on the Indonesian island of Timor, 19th century, Etching Technique: Etching on Paper Inscription: Inscribed with the sitter's name below the depiction. Numbered "Taf. 3." in the upper right. Date: 19th century Description: Half-length portrait of the south-east Indonesian king Naba-Leba in traditional court costume. The depiction probably originates from a historical ethnological work after an expedition to Indonesia in the 19th century. Keywords: 19th century, Romanticism, Fashion, Thailand,

        Fichter Kunsthandel
      • Two antique framed coloured engravings
        Feb. 11, 2024

        Two antique framed coloured engravings

        Est: $250 - $350

        Two antique framed coloured engravings: I.) ROGER, Barthelemy (1767-1841, engraver); PETIT, Nicolas-Martin (1777-1804, artist) Nouvelle-Hollande. Cour-Rou-Bari-Gal. II.) ROGER, Barthelemy (1767-1841, engraver); PETIT, Nicolas-Martin (1777-1804, artist) Timor, Naba-Leba, King of Solor. 35 x 45cm each overall

        Leski Auctions Pty Ltd
      • N. PETIT (1777-1804), Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching
        Oct. 14, 2023

        N. PETIT (1777-1804), Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching

        Est: €60 - €100

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777 Paris - 1804 ibid.): Naba-Leba, King of Salor, 19th century, Etching Technique: Etching on Paper Inscription: Inscribed with the sitter's name below the image. Numbered "Taf. 3." at upper right. Date: 19th century Description: Half-portrait in half-profile of the south-east Indonesian King Naba-Leba in the traditional court costume. The depiction probably originates from a historical ethnological work after an expedition to Indonesia in the 19th century. Keywords: 19th century, Romanticism, Fashion, Thailand,

        Fichter Kunsthandel
      • N. PETIT (1777-1804), Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching
        Jun. 10, 2023

        N. PETIT (1777-1804), Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching

        Est: €60 - €100

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777 Paris - 1804 ibid.): Naba-Leba, King of Salor, 19th century, Etching Technique: Etching on Paper Inscription: Inscribed with the sitter's name below the image. Numbered "Taf. 3." at upper right. Date: 19th century Description: Half-portrait in half-profile of the south-east Indonesian King Naba-Leba in the traditional court costume. The depiction probably originates from a historical ethnological work after an expedition to Indonesia in the 19th century. Keywords: 19th century, Romanticism, Fashion, Thailand,

        Fichter Kunsthandel
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Oui-ré-kine, copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm. Oui-ré-kine, was an inhabitant of the area of Port Jackson.
        Nov. 28, 2021

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Oui-ré-kine, copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm. Oui-ré-kine, was an inhabitant of the area of Port Jackson.

        Est: $200 - $300

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Oui-ré-kine, copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm.   Oui-ré-kine, was an inhabitant of the area of Port Jackson.

        Leski Auctions Pty Ltd
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Grou-Agara, copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm.
        Nov. 28, 2021

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Grou-Agara, copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm.

        Est: $200 - $300

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Grou-Agara, copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm.  

        Leski Auctions Pty Ltd
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Arra - Maida, copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm.
        Nov. 28, 2021

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Arra - Maida, copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm.

        Est: $200 - $300

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Arra - Maida, copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm.   A portrait of the Tasmanian woman Ara-maida of Bruny Island, with her child slung across her back in a kangaroo-skin pouch. Arra-maida is one of the best known of any of the Tasmanian aborigines met by the French. When they were on Bruny Island they met a group of women with whom they began a lively exchange. The women 'listened attentively when surgeon Bellefin sang them a song which was applauded by them all, and then mimicked by one of them, whom Peron called Arra-maida. She added a song and a dance of her own and then applied charcoal-powder to the faces of Peron and Heirisson'. Her actions certainly troubled the French - Peron was quite critical of her "indecent" dancing.

        Leski Auctions Pty Ltd
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Bara-Ourou., copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807,
        Nov. 28, 2021

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Bara-Ourou., copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807,

        Est: $200 - $300

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT (1777-1804), Terre de Diemen : Bara-Ourou., copper-plate engraving from the Baudin Expedition "Voyages de Decouvertes...", Paris, 1807, 31.5 x 24cm. Portrait of an Aboriginal man from Oyster Bay on Maria Island off the east coast of Tasmania, Bara-Ourou, described by Peron as one of the handsomest of the Tasmanians. Drawn by Petit on the Baudin expedition of 1802 and subsequently published as a print in 1807 in Paris. Peron described Bara-Ourou as a young man of 24 or 25 years, 'who was more handsomely built than all the others'.

        Leski Auctions Pty Ltd
      • N.PETIT (1777-1804), Portrait of Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching
        Nov. 20, 2021

        N.PETIT (1777-1804), Portrait of Naba-Leba, King of Salor, Etching

        Est: €30 - €50

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777 Paris - 1804 ibid.), Portrait of Naba-Leba, King of Salor, 19th century, Etching Technique: Etching on Paper Inscription: Inscribed with the sitter's name below the image. Numbered "Taf. 3." in the upper right corner. Date: 19th century Description: Half-portrait in half-profile of the south-east Indonesian King Naba-Leba in the traditional court costume. The depiction probably originates from a historical ethnological work after an expedition to Indonesia in the 19th century. Keywords: 19th century, Romanticism, Fashion, Thailand, Size: 20,3 cm x 11,4 cm, Plate: 17,8 cm x 11,0 cm, Depiction: 12,0 cm x 7,6 cm Condition: Good Condition. Light foxing and age-related discolouration are visible throughout the sheet. There is slight damage along the left edge of the page, presumably caused by the page being removed from a book binding. Crease and bump marks are visible along the right edge of the page, as well as a full-page vertical pressure mark.

        Fichter Kunsthandel
      • Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777 - 1804) - An Aboriginal Warrior 24 x 19cm
        Mar. 14, 2019

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777 - 1804) - An Aboriginal Warrior 24 x 19cm

        Est: $50 - $70

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777 - 1804) An Aboriginal Warrior decorative print 24 x 19cm stamped lower left

        Lawsons
      • Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) - A possum on a branch (possibly a common brushtail possum, trichosurus...
        Dec. 14, 2018

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) - A possum on a branch (possibly a common brushtail possum, trichosurus...

        Est: £70,000 - £100,000

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) A possum on a branch (possibly a common brushtail possum, trichosurus... pencil and watercolour heightened with white on wove paper watermarked 'J WHATMAN' 9 ¼ x 11 ¾in. (23.6 x 30.3cm.)

        Christie's
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), RECTO: NOUVELLE HOLLANDE … MASSACRE D’UNE FEMME PAR LES SAUVAGES (ABORIGINAL WOMAN BEING COMPETED FOR BY TWO RIVAL GROUPS OF ABORIGINAL MEN, WITH FIVE FIGURES ON THE LEFT AND FOUR ON THE RIGHT),
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), RECTO: NOUVELLE HOLLANDE … MASSACRE D’UNE FEMME PAR LES SAUVAGES (ABORIGINAL WOMAN BEING COMPETED FOR BY TWO RIVAL GROUPS OF ABORIGINAL MEN, WITH FIVE FIGURES ON THE LEFT AND FOUR ON THE RIGHT),

        Est: $150,000 - $250,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), RECTO: NOUVELLE HOLLANDE … MASSACRE D’UNE FEMME PAR LES SAUVAGES (ABORIGINAL WOMAN BEING COMPETED FOR BY TWO RIVAL GROUPS OF ABORIGINAL MEN, WITH FIVE FIGURES ON THE LEFT AND FOUR ON THE RIGHT), prior to 1804, pen and ink on laid paper watermarked “Bugden 1801” SIGNED: bears inscription upper right: five-line ink note in Péron’s hand No. 23 au trait…. DIMENSIONS: 217 x 332 mm (sheet, irregular) ENGRAVED: Ultimately published as plate 104 in the Freycinet atlas of 1825, noted as Sébastien Leroy (dess.) after Petit RELATED WORK: No such scene recorded at Le Havre, but see the sheet of thumbnail “scenes from Aboriginal life” which alludes to an unpictured scene, “massacre d’une femme” (B:16009) ESSAY: The second preliminary sketch relating to the “Port-Jackson, Nlle. Hollande: cérémonie préliminaire d’un mariage, chez les sauvages”, plate 104 in the Freycinet atlas of 1825. If anything this is a yet more violent scene than the first version, here featuring ten figures in total: five men competing with four on the right, one of the latter holding his woomera above his head. The woman they are fighting over is here facing the viewer directly, her legs askew, her hair being pulled and with no fewer than seven of the men pulling on her arms. This makes the scene still more unsettling, but also means that it is possible to see the scarification Petit has figured on her torso, which may help unravel aspects of the scene. Again there is much here which helps us understand how Petit worked, notably the way he has very clearly highlighted one man (fourth from the left) as a way of trialling a slightly different overall composition. As with many of the Le Havre works this has notes relating to the planned plate at upper left (in Péron’s distinctive hand) which can be compared with similar notes on drawings lots 2, 3 and 12. Its significance regarding the dating of this drawing is discussed in the note to lot 12. Another intriguing inclusion here is the pencilled-in title “Nouvelle Hollande” at the top. Many of the Le Havre studies have a similar pencil title, which may have been meant as a way of visually tying all of the material together, but was not used in the finished plates. At the bottom of the sheet the series of rough sketches (discussed at lot 13b) has an original pencil caption, the quite blunt “[ma]ssacre d’une femme par les sauvages”, which is of course quite different from that used on the finished plate in 1825. When was the pencil caption to the present view added? Could it be that the later use of “mar iage” in the printed caption is a misprision?

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), RECTO: (ABORIGINAL WOMAN BEING COMPETED FOR BY TWO RIVAL GROUPS OF THREE ABORIGINAL MEN), prior to 1804, pen and ink on laid paper watermarked “Budgen 1801”
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), RECTO: (ABORIGINAL WOMAN BEING COMPETED FOR BY TWO RIVAL GROUPS OF THREE ABORIGINAL MEN), prior to 1804, pen and ink on laid paper watermarked “Budgen 1801”

        Est: $150,000 - $250,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), RECTO: (ABORIGINAL WOMAN BEING COMPETED FOR BY TWO RIVAL GROUPS OF THREE ABORIGINAL MEN), prior to 1804, pen and ink on laid paper watermarked “Budgen 1801” SIGNED: bears inscription upper right: ink note in Péron’s hand No. 23 (bis) voiez au dos… (referring to drawings on verso of sheet) DIMENSIONS: 188 x 327 mm (sheet, irregular) ENGRAVED: Ultimately published as plate 104 in the Freycinet atlas of 1825, noted as Sébastien Leroy (dess.) after Petit RELATED WORK: No such scene recorded at Le Havre ESSAY: LOT 12B, VERSO OF LOT 12: A SERIES OF EIGHT SKETCHES, probably 1804 or earlier, including (TWO PORTRAITS AND WHAT MAY BE A STUDY FOR THE PORT JACKSON WARRIOR WITH SPEAR) pen and ink on paper long pencil notes, not yet deciphered, perhaps further information referred to by Péron’s note on the recto of the sheet ENGRAVED None known RELATED WORKS None known Drawing related to the “Port-Jackson, Nlle. Hollande: cérémonie préliminaire d’un mariage, chez les sauvages” plate in the Freycinet atlas of 1825. This is the first of two remarkable working sketches by Petit, showing him trying to balance this violent scene. As many historians have commented (Konishi, Starbuck), there is no record of the French artist actually witnessing this scene, which would seem to derive, at least in part, from a written passage on “Courtship and Marriage” in David Collins’s published work, An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales (1798). The scene would have an afterlife when a version was included at the base of the famous Sydney Punchbowl, now in the State Library of New South Wales, that was commissioned and made in China in the 1820s. That the drawings in both lots 12 and 13 show letterfolds suggests that they are possibly the original artwork connected to the manufacture of the Sydney Punchbowl. A replica of this bowl was commissioned by Hordern House in 2013: examples are held by the State Library as well as Government House, Sydney. The basic composition here bears comparison with the finished plate except that by the time of publication a third man had been added to the group holding onto the woman on the left (a further hint, if any was needed, of the “classical” design of this scene – despite the shocking nature of the subject it is one of the times that Petit’s training under David seems most obtrusive). Here, as in the finished image, the woman is mostly facing away from the viewer. Despite its sense of having been constructed from different parts and given an invented structure, there is still a strong sense that all of the figures are individually identified, which does add to the importance of the work, and which may help further unravel some of the mysteries of the New South Wales portraits. It is, moreover, most unusual to have any surviving examples which show Petit’s style of working on these composite scenes. That no engraving was originally completed is basically confirmed by the fact that by the time it was included in the Freycinet account in 1825, it was noted as “dess.” by one of the Freycinet-era artists that worked on the Uranie images in Paris, Sébastien Leroy, after Petit’s original. It is difficult to be sure about the way in which this and the second similar study (lot 13) were actually composed. It is on a paper-stock definitely associated with other voyage works, particularly with Port Jackson drawings lot 10 and 11 which are on the same paper, and we can therefore reasonably assume that it was done on the voyage; perhaps the major additions such as the man who has clearly been added at left could be later. All of this is complicated by the sketches on the verso of both sheets [see separate catalogue for full description], which might just as well be shipboard s

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (ABORIGINAL MAN AND WOMAN FISHING WITH SPEAR FROM CANOE, WITH FIRE AT CENTRE), June – November 1802, pen, ink and graphite on laid paper watermarked “Budgen 1801”
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (ABORIGINAL MAN AND WOMAN FISHING WITH SPEAR FROM CANOE, WITH FIRE AT CENTRE), June – November 1802, pen, ink and graphite on laid paper watermarked “Budgen 1801”

        Est: $450,000 - $650,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (ABORIGINAL MAN AND WOMAN FISHING WITH SPEAR FROM CANOE, WITH FIRE AT CENTRE), June – November 1802, pen, ink and graphite on laid paper watermarked “Budgen 1801” SIGNED: signed and inscribed lower right: Nicholas petit à Bord Du géographe DIMENSIONS: 224 x 333 mm ENGRAVED: None known RELATED WORK: A particular study of canoes was a feature of the works of both Petit and Lesueur, but we are not aware of any study that is closely related to the present scene (but refer to the accompanying publication for more commentary on some of the more interesting comparisons held in Le Havre) ESSAY: A scene of tremendous importance, giving a detailed depiction of a man armed with a fiz-gig standing in the prow of a canoe while a woman tends a fire in the middle of the craft. These canoes were regarded as almost a trademark of Aboriginal life on the waterways of Port Jackson (they can be spotted scattered around on the water in most of the known views, including those done by Baudin’s artists), but it is rare to have such a finely realised study. Although men and women paddling canoes were not infrequently sketched by the artists, they were never the focus of any of the published plates. In the first edition of Baudin’s voyage two men are seen in a canoe in the background of the Tasmanian scene of plate XIV, for example, and another canoe is prominent in the matching New South Wales scene shown in plate XXIII. The present sketch must be compared with a similar scene held in Le Havre which also shows a man and a woman in a canoe (B:20025.1), but with the vital proviso that it is evident that the two scenes include different people. The man in the front of the boat is particularly intriguing, not least because of the obvious similarities with the sketch of the man with a spear (our lot 10). He has the same tightly curled glossy hair, the same prominent nose, and apart from the absence of the smaller vertical scars on the torso, quite similar scarification. If we accept that the headband and the belt were worn for ritual combat and not fishing, the identity becomes even more possible. However, there are enough differences to the brow, nose, lips and chin as to suggest that it is two individuals, and this is further underlined by the fact that several of the known men, notably Couribarigal and Mosquito, have similar but not identical scarring. In fact the closest resemblance is with the man on the right in two Petit sketches (B:20045.1 & 20045.2), shown working on a fire. Unfortunately because that man is shown hunched over, his torso is not visible. The woman in the canoe is more of a mystery, and given that fewer women were drawn then men, a very important inclusion in the scene. Once again identification is rather hampered by the fact that her back is turned to the viewer, and she is shown completely unadorned. The first edition of Baudin’s voyage (1807) included only one woman from New South Wales, “Oui-ré-kine”, plate XX, noted in pencil on one of Petit’s sketches as “Toulgra’s mère”, while the 1824 second edition added two more, both sadly unnamed, the second holding a young child (“Jeune Femme de la Tribe des Cam-mer-ray-gal”, plate 26 & “Jeune Femme de la Tribu de Bow-row-bi-ron-Gal”, plate 28). Apart from these three there is also an intriguing finished portrait of a woman named as “Oïe réquiné” (B:20035), which seems to be a secondary phonetic rendering of the above “Oui-ré-kine”, but clearly depicts a different woman; had the two swapped names in some way? Other than these four major portraits, a woman is also included in a rendering of a second man and woman in a canoe (B:20025.1). Lastly, there is an outline sketch of a woman with child (B:20026) and a woman with child is also at far right of a scen

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (ABORIGINAL WARRIOR WITH SPEAR), June – November 1802, pen, ink and graphite on laid paper with armorial watermark with fleur-de-lys
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (ABORIGINAL WARRIOR WITH SPEAR), June – November 1802, pen, ink and graphite on laid paper with armorial watermark with fleur-de-lys

        Est: $350,000 - $450,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (ABORIGINAL WARRIOR WITH SPEAR), June – November 1802, pen, ink and graphite on laid paper with armorial watermark with fleur-de-lys SIGNED: signed and inscribed lower right: N. Petit à Bord du géographe DIMENSIONS: 278 x 214 mm ENGRAVED: No engraving is based directly on this image. However the figure must be an early version of the man who would be included in the “Port-Jackson, Nlle Hollande cérémonie préliminaire d’un mariage, chez les sauvages” plate in the Freycinet atlas (no. 104) RELATED WORK: See particularly B:20030 and 20044.1 ESSAY: A finely-rendered portrayal of a warrior from New South Wales advancing with his shield raised and spear held in his woomera. Petit has not only signed the work but noted that he drew it while “on board the Géographe”, which firmly dates the work as another voyage piece. The man has a distinctive profile and, like many of the Sydney Aboriginal people drawn by Petit, has his hair tied back with a simple band. It is possible to make out several details of his distinctive scarification, with long vertical lines on both breasts, a series of shorter horizontal lines on his pectorals, and a long series of short lines around the torso. There is also evidence of some scars on his arms (but these are perhaps battlewounds rather than ornamentation?). Not only does the man brandish his spear, but the shield is very clearly of the famous crossed design seen in the finished plates as red on a white background, and he wears the belt or cincture around his waist which, as one of the plates in Baudin shows, was worn by men when facing combat so as to have a place to tuck in their club. There is no full chalk or pastel image antecedent to this portrait. For the great formal portraits for which Petit is best known, he would make a quick preliminary sketch and then quickly follow this up with a grander coloured portrait: in Tasmania this was done in gouache, in Sydney in pastel (although why Petit made the change has never been explained). These were then used by the studio in Paris to prepare finished engravings. There does however exist one preliminary sketch by Petit that is antecedent to the present work: it is largely done in outline but has identical scarification and obvious facial similarities, as well as the distinctive headband which allows the man’s very curly hair to fall forward on to his brow, as well as the unusual cincture of cloth around his abdomen (B:20030). These details might also mean that the present sketch is a profile of the man also shown at far left in a sketch of three men in a “corobré ou danse” (B:20044.1). We do not doubt that there is more to be discovered about this portrait and its relationship with the similar studies in Le Havre. Perhaps the key will prove to be the notorious “marriage” scene engraved by Sébastien Leroy for inclusion in the Freycinet atlas of 1825 as plate 104, “Port-Jackson, Nlle. Hollande: cérémonie préliminaire d’un mariage, chez les sauvages.” In the finished version of the scene six men (three on each side) fight over a struggling woman in the middle, a seventh man stands at far left holding a spear over his shoulder in his woomera (two early studies for this work can be seen at lots 12 and 13 following). A close comparison of the man standing to the left, most particularly his general pose and the scarification on his torso, confirms that this must be the same man. This is doubly important because the plate is stated to be created by Leroy after “N. Petit.” Given we know the ways in which Freycinet rehabilitated and used the Baudin-era drawings to supplement his own publication, this is further striking evidence not only of how this work was done, but also of Freycinet’s early stewardship of the collection. Moreover, it is also possible that the man was an important comp

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), SAUVAGE DE L’ÎLE VAN DIEMEN (DÉTROIT DE D’ENTRECASTEAUX), early 1802, probably late January or early February ink, watercolour and gouache on lightly tinted blue laid paper
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), SAUVAGE DE L’ÎLE VAN DIEMEN (DÉTROIT DE D’ENTRECASTEAUX), early 1802, probably late January or early February ink, watercolour and gouache on lightly tinted blue laid paper

        Est: $700,000 - $900,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), SAUVAGE DE L’ÎLE VAN DIEMEN (DÉTROIT DE D’ENTRECASTEAUX), early 1802, probably late January or early February ink, watercolour and gouache on lightly tinted blue laid paper SIGNED: signed lower left: N.m. petit inscribed with title below image: Sauvage de l’Île Van Diemen (détroit de D’Entrecasteaux). DIMENSIONS: 183 x 278 mm (image within an ink border, within ruled border) 212 x 323 mm (sheet) ENGRAVED: None known RELATED WORK: Le Havre holds a pencil and charcoal version of this portrait, also by Petit (B:20012) ESSAY: An extremely important work: not only a superb portrait in its own right, this example is one of the rare occasions when Petit included a full landscape in the background, here rendered with the sort of topographical accuracy and well-observed use of colour that marked the famous coastal profiles he painted. Previously known only from a later pencil sketch in Le Havre with no documentation of any kind, the caption to the present work therefore reveals that this is a man from the region of D’Entrecasteaux Channel and, as with the previous two items, is believed to depict a man from the interaction that took place at North West Bay. Not only is this a fine portrait, it is probably the finest of Petit’s major Tasmanian studies: it is certainly the most fully realised, and also one of the occasions on which he has really mastered the representation of the elongated but still muscular limbs. There is a sense of repose, but also of place, most particularly in the wonderfully accurate juxtaposition of the lush foliage in the middle ground with the blackened trunk on which the man is leaning. The mountain range in the background is rendered so precisely that it may yet prove possible to locate the spot quite accurately: certainly there can be no doubt that this is meant to be part of the ridge of higher ground on the mainland, as the topography of both Bruny and Maria Islands is somewhat gentler. Indeed, that the mainland is depicted here is further suggested by the fact that the man is leaning against a scorched tree trunk (the use of fires by the Tasmanians, and the partially scorched landscape of the mainland, was frequently described by the French). The man himself is quite beautiful. He has an incredibly strong profile with prominent brow and nose, tightly cropped hair with what would seem to be thin braids as decoration, and long elegant limbs. There is no visible scarification nor ornamentation of any kind (although of course the torso, where this was usually most prominent, is not visible), and he is wearing a very full kangaroo cloak draped over his right shoulder. Indeed, he is so attractive that the only sketch of this man in Le Havre had led to some debate about the sitter’s sex: the nineteenth century curator Hamy thought it showed a man, his twentieth-century colleague Bonnemains a woman. The use of “sauvage” in the caption here (and not “femme sauvage” as with the previous item), would seem to settle the debate. Apart from a similar but not as fully-realised work depicting a man seated before a fire (B:20005), and the full-length portrait of a boy standing on a beach in front of a heavily-wooded hillside, which also features carefully depicted mountains in the background (B:20021.4), this is only the third full Tasmanian view known to have been executed by Petit, and gives a tangible sense of his talent (and of the sort of work that was unfulfilled because of his early death). No full portrait of this man was ever published.

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), FEMME SAUVAGE DE L’ÎLE VAN DIEMEN (DÉTROIT DE D’ENTRECASTEAUX), early 1802, probably late January or early February ink, watercolour and gouache on lightly tinted blue paper
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), FEMME SAUVAGE DE L’ÎLE VAN DIEMEN (DÉTROIT DE D’ENTRECASTEAUX), early 1802, probably late January or early February ink, watercolour and gouache on lightly tinted blue paper

        Est: $700,000 - $900,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), FEMME SAUVAGE DE L’ÎLE VAN DIEMEN (DÉTROIT DE D’ENTRECASTEAUX), early 1802, probably late January or early February ink, watercolour and gouache on lightly tinted blue paper SIGNED: signed lower left: N.m. Petit inscribed with title below image: Femme Sauvage de l’Île Van Diemen (Détroit de D’Entrecasteaux). bears inscription in image upper right: Terre de Diémen DIMENSIONS: 205 x 200mm (image, within a ruled border) 235 x 212 mm (sheet) ENGRAVED: No full portrait, but very clearly related to the seated woman in plate XV (1807). It should be noted that the finished plated is noted as “Lesueur del.”, so clearly it was Lesueur who made the rather “stagey” arrangement of the finished plate using Petit’s original studies. RELATED WORK: Le Havre holds two pencil and charcoal versions of this portrait, both also by Petit, although only one is reproduced in Bonnemains (see nos. B:20013.1 & 20013.2) ESSAY: A superb portrait of a seated woman in three-quarter profile, her legs crossed in the way noted by many of the French, with short cropped hair and a kangaroo skin cloak loosely draped over her right shoulder, her left breast exposed. She has no ornamentation, scarification nor jewellery. The portrait is one of only a handful that Petit did of women, which in itself is significant. Once again the location has been noted with some precision in the caption, which is an important detail because it means it is very likely she too was sketched near the French observatory in North West Bay (see discussion in note to drawing lot 6). Unusually for works from this series by Petit, the scene includes an accurate and quite evocative display of local foliage, the dominant brown and blue tones of which give the scene an extremely realistic feeling. The picture does have some unusual dimensional aspects which, it is presumed, is Petit’s way of trying to represent the way in which the French described the long, thin limbs of the Aboriginal people. No full portrait of this woman was ever published, but a simplified and rather generic version was added to the group scene published as plate XV in the first edition of Baudin’s voyage.

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT 6, (1777 – 1804, French), SAUVAGE DE L’ÎLE VAN DIEMEN (CANAL DE D’ENTRECASTEAUX), early 1802, probably late January or early February, ink, watercolour and gouache on lightly tinted blue paper
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT 6, (1777 – 1804, French), SAUVAGE DE L’ÎLE VAN DIEMEN (CANAL DE D’ENTRECASTEAUX), early 1802, probably late January or early February, ink, watercolour and gouache on lightly tinted blue paper

        Est: $600,000 - $800,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT 6, (1777 – 1804, French), SAUVAGE DE L’ÎLE VAN DIEMEN (CANAL DE D’ENTRECASTEAUX), early 1802, probably late January or early February, ink, watercolour and gouache on lightly tinted blue paper SIGNED: signed lower left: N.m. petit inscribed with title below image: Sauvage de l’Île Van Diemen (canal de D’Entrecasteaux). DIMENSIONS: 177 x 151 mm (image, within a ruled border) 216 x 186 mm (sheet) ENGRAVED: None known RELATED WORK: The original outline pencil sketch of this man is lot 5b in this auction. Le Havre holds a pencil and charcoal version of this portrait, signed by Petit, that looks like an engraver’s study (B: 20014.1) and an ink version on brown tracing paper (B:20014.2) ESSAY: A magnificent and detailed portrait of a Tasmanian man in striking profile. Although Péron and many of the other journalists on board noted that a large number of the Tasmanian men they interviewed were naked, the present example shows a mature and initiated man not only wearing the familiar kangaroo-skin cloak, but with a matched headband as well. As in most of the gouaches in Le Havre, Petit has not added any background detail (not even some simple foliage), which gives such portraits a dramatic focus. The portrait has a number of precisely observed details of dress and scarification, not only the elaborate clothing, but the man’s full beard, his prominent and dazzlingly white teeth (the remarkably good teeth of the Tasmanians were much commented on by many of the French officers and savants), the hazel eyes, and particularly the scars (short vertical lines on the chest, round dots on the upper arms). As we discuss in the introduction to the Tasmanian section in the accompanying publication (pp. 29-31), one of the most important aspects of this portrait is that it includes a detailed caption identifying the man as a “sauvage de l’Île Van Diemen (Canal de D’Entrecasteaux)”. We take this precise wording to show Petit identifying the location, using the reference to the D’Entrecasteaux Channel to pinpoint the general region, and “Île Van Diemen” as a specific reference to the mainland (and not, that is, the more frequently used “Terre de Diemen”, which the French use to refer to the entire region including the outlying islands). The only major interaction between the French and the Tasmanians on the mainland is that which took place at North West Bay, where the two ships were anchored from 19 January to 5 February 1802, and where the astronomer Bernier set up his observatory tent on a tiny island near the shore. Bernier, and one of the officers appointed to assist him, Saint-Cricq, both reported having extensive meetings with a group of some 40 people including women and children, and our pictures presumably relate to this interaction (and would therefore be the only confirmed record of that period, given none of Petit’s other works include any similar reference to the Île Van Diemen). This hypothesis, we further suspect, has its strongest support in the gouache with mountainous background (catalogue lot 8): it is unlikely that the mountainous range dominating the background could be part of the topography of either Bruny or Maria islands. No full portrait of this man was ever published but that one was planned is clear from the collections in Le Havre, which include both a pencil and charcoal sketch by Petit (B:20014.1), while the man is also figured on a corresponding ink drawing on brown tracing paper (B:20014.2).

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), RECTO: (PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN PROFILE, HEAD AND PARTIAL SHOULDERS), January or February 1802, pastel on paper with watermark of crowned lion and sword with a pencil drawing of different man verso
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), RECTO: (PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN PROFILE, HEAD AND PARTIAL SHOULDERS), January or February 1802, pastel on paper with watermark of crowned lion and sword with a pencil drawing of different man verso

        Est: $300,000 - $400,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), RECTO: (PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN PROFILE, HEAD AND PARTIAL SHOULDERS), January or February 1802, pastel on paper with watermark of crowned lion and sword with a pencil drawing of different man verso DIMENSIONS: 270 x 191 mm (approx., irregular) ENGRAVED: No full portrait, but feasibly related to the seated man figured in plate XV (1807) RELATED WORK: Certainly B:20006, possibly B:20005 ESSAY: LOT 5B, VERSO OF LOT 5: (PENCIL PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN PROFILE, HEAD AND SHOULDERS), January or February 1802 pencil on paper 270 x 191 mm (approx., irregular) ENGRAVED None known RELATED WORKS The full pastel portrait of this man is lot 6 in this auction. Le Havre holds a pencil and charcoal version of this portrait, signed by Petit, that looks like an engraver’s study (B:20014.1) and an ink version on brown tracing paper (B:20014.2) A wonderful profile portrait, the only known Tasmanian example of Petit working with coloured pastel: the artist has really captured the man, which is testament to his ability in the medium. Given both the medium and the time constraints under which he was working this is an accomplished drawing, effortlessly capturing the man’s strong features, with a hint of a kangaroo-skin cloak draped over his right shoulder. He has a light beard and short hair, but not enough of his torso is shown to be confident about any scarification or other ornamentation. One of the points, often stated, about the ways in which original works were converted into published engravings is that there was some inevitable distortion from the original. This sense of distortion and variation is particularly in play here, and yet it is clear that the present portrait is the original study for a gouache in Le Havre (B:20006), as is underscored by the great similarity in profile, the sparse beard and open mouth, the cropped but not fully shaven hair, and even the cloak over the shoulder. It feels less immediately convincing, but the portrait does also bear a more than passing resemblance to another gouache (B:20005), showing a full-study of seated man at a fire (again, similar hair, nose, ears and beard, similar cloak over right shoulder, creased forehead, etc.). Significantly, assuming there is a connection between this simple profile in pastel and the fuller gouache, then it is clear that a version of this seated man was used in the composite plate XV. Bonnemains does not list any other studies of any kind associated with this portrait, much as one might expect. Because there is no specific engraving, and because neither this nor the associated portraits have any captioning, it is not possible to speculate about the precise locality in which this portrait was made; and therefore it is not possible to make any firm statement about its exact date of composition, beyond saying it is definitely from the period the French stayed in the region of Bruny Island—D’Entrecasteaux Channel—Maria Island. It is tempting, nonetheless, to assume that this also dates from the same meetings and the same period as the following portraits simply because one of the men from the “Île Van Diemen” is drawn on the verso, implying that the sketches were done straight after each other. A fine pencil sketch, clearly the original likeness that Petit then used to create his full portrait of a “Sauvage de l’île Van Diemen (Canal de d’Entrecasteaux)” (lot 6, following). The profile and general features of the man are unmistakable, as is the headband and elaborate cloak he is wearing; both of these would have been unusual in the French artist’s experience, given that the Tasmanian men were often said to be naked. In terms of style and execution, the sketch can be compared with at least one other in Le Havre, an equally quick pencil p

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (FULL–LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A TIMORESE WOMAN HOLDING HER BABY), August – November 1801, pen and ink portrait in outline on laid paper with armorial watermark with fleur-de-lys design
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (FULL–LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A TIMORESE WOMAN HOLDING HER BABY), August – November 1801, pen and ink portrait in outline on laid paper with armorial watermark with fleur-de-lys design

        Est: $35,000 - $55,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (FULL–LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A TIMORESE WOMAN HOLDING HER BABY), August – November 1801, pen and ink portrait in outline on laid paper with armorial watermark with fleur-de-lys design SIGNED: signed lower right: N. Petit bears inscription upper right: No. 15 (bis) and three lines in ink in Péron’s hand relating to the engraving process DIMENSIONS: 318 x 232 mm (sheet) ENGRAVED: None known RELATED WORK: See above, lot 2 ESSAY: A beautiful companion work to the previous item, importantly with the signature of Petit. This is a more highly refined drawing than the preceding portrait, its simplicity reflecting Petit’s neo-classical training, and the ability to compare the two works together so closely gives an insight into his technique. Especially given that no other version of the portrait is apparently known, the complementary nature of the two pictures becomes more important than ever. While the previous drawing is far more detailed around the face but extremely cursory in its depiction of both the appearance of the child and the woman’s flowing dress, both of the latter aspects are much more clearly defined here. As with many of the Petit sketches this bears marks of the process by which drawings were considered for engraving for publication. Although this image does not appear in the official account and is not known to have been engraved, the note at the top by Péron in his typical sepia ink, which reads “No. 15 (bis) pouvant offrir des détails pour la planche No. 15”, shows that it may have been consulted for use of detail in another image which ultimately may not have been used in the publication. Similar notes appear on drawings lots [2], [12] and [13]. A thorough study of such notes by Péron in the Le Havre collection has not yet been undertaken though many have been painstakingly deciphered by Bonnemains for BAW.

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (FULL–LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A TIMORESE WOMAN HOLDING HER BABY), August – November 1801, pencil on laid paper drawing squared-up in pencil
        Nov. 28, 2018

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (FULL–LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A TIMORESE WOMAN HOLDING HER BABY), August – November 1801, pencil on laid paper drawing squared-up in pencil

        Est: $35,000 - $55,000

        NICOLAS-MARTIN PETIT, (1777 – 1804, French), (FULL–LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A TIMORESE WOMAN HOLDING HER BABY), August – November 1801, pencil on laid paper drawing squared-up in pencil SIGNED: bears inscription upper right: No. 15 and five lines in sepia ink in Péron’s hand relating to the engraving process DIMENSIONS: 329 x 216 mm (sheet) ENGRAVED: None known, but worth comparing with plate XXVI RELATED WORK: See following, lot 3 ESSAY: An extremely fine pencil sketch of a nursing mother in Timor, with a particularly detailed depiction of the face and head. The child on her lap has been quickly sketched in, as has a spreading banana palm tree behind her. The first edition of the Baudin atlas of 1807 included only two Timorese portraits, that of the famous chief “Naba-Leba” (plate XXV) and of a woman called “Canda” in a bright red dress carrying water in two enormous pails suspended from a yoke (plate XXVI). The second edition added quite a lot more on Timorese life including four extra portraits, a Malay cavalryman on horseback (39), a Malay soldier (40), a “Malais Libre” (41), and a woman in a blue dress from the “Île de Rotti” (42). The present woman is conceivably (although not definitively) the original for the water-carrier named Canda, and if so, this would be one of those occasions when the engraver has really lost the fineness and subtlety of the original work. To date we have not discovered anything in any of the journals that would shed more light on this question. As with several other examples of Petit’s work in Le Havre this sketch has been neatly squared up and some secondary notes have been added, as part of the process of preparing the scene to be engraved. A technical note in sepia ink by Péron at the top shows that the drawing was being used in planning for engraved illustrations. From what is decipherable the note apparently concerns the need to reduce some of the proportions. Similar notes appear on drawings lots [3], [12] and [13].

        Deutscher and Hackett
      • Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) French, After, Paraberi, Terre de Dieman (Bruny Island) *AMENDED
        Jun. 17, 2018

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) French, After, Paraberi, Terre de Dieman (Bruny Island) *AMENDED

        Est: $18,000 - $25,000

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) French, After, Paraberi, Terre de Dieman (Bruny Island) *AMENDED Watercolour & pencil on paper, irregular Watercolor on paper (irregular paper, not industrial). In a round wooden frame with original J. Decailloz label attached verso. This painting was made from the original water colour paintings by Nicolas-Martin Petit and Charles Alexandre Lesueur , official artists for 1800-1804 voyage by the Baudin Expedition, in the French ships Geographe and Naturaliste under the command of Nicolas Baudin (1754-1803). It is probably not by the hand of Petit or Lesueur. Sketches such as these were often used as part of the production process & copies were made on board ship, therefore there are several copies extant PROVENANCE: Private Collection, France Galerie Renaud Vanuxem, Paris, September 2012. EXHIBITIONS: A copy of a similar work is in the Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra LITERATURE: A similar work is illustrated: Peron, Francois. Voyage de decourvertes aux Terres Australes, execute par ordre de sa Majeste, l'Empereur et Roi, sur les corvettes le Geographe, le Naturaliste et las goelette le Casuarina, pendant les annees 1800,1801,1802,1804 et 1804, L'imprimerie Imperiale, Atlas Paris, 1807-1817, Pl. XI OTHER NOTES: Petit, signed on to Nicloas Baudin's Voyage of exploration & discovery as a gunners mate along with Charles-Alexandre Leuseur but both were appointed as artists, after the 3 appointed artists left the expedition in Mauritius Dia. 23 cm

        Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers
      • PETIT NICOLAS-MARTIN (1777-1804) Terre de Diemens pair of works coloured engravings
        Jul. 02, 2015

        PETIT NICOLAS-MARTIN (1777-1804) Terre de Diemens pair of works coloured engravings

        Est: $300 - $500

        PETIT NICOLAS-MARTIN (1777-1804) Terre de Diemens pair of works coloured engravings 25 x 20cm (each)

        Leonard Joel
      • Soldat, Timor
        Sep. 26, 2007

        Soldat, Timor

        Est: £3,000 - £4,000

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) Soldat, Timor signed 'N. Petit' (lower right) pencil on paper 10 7/8 x 8½in. (27.5 x 21.6cm.)

        Christie's
      • Naba-Leba, Roi de Solor
        Sep. 26, 2007

        Naba-Leba, Roi de Solor

        Est: £20,000 - £30,000

        Nicolas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) Naba-Leba, Roi de Solor with inscription 'Drawn by PETIT TIMOR Roi de L'isle SOLOR for Atlas to Peron 8' on the mount watercolour on paper 8 x 6 5/8in. (20.3 x 16.7cm.)

        Christie's
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