Lot 164: JOSEPH POLLET

FRENCH 1814-1870 UNE HEURE DE LA NUIT (AN HOUR OF THE NIGHT) ivory, on an ebonised wood base with ivory mounts ivory: 32.8cm., 12 7/8 in. base: 11.3 by 29.8cm., 4½ by 11¾in.

When Joseph Pollet first exhibited his plaster version of Une heure de la nuit at the Paris Salon in 1848 it was an instant success, with critics and crowds alike delighting in its elegance and skilful execution. Right away, Pollet was inundated with requests for the right to produce editions of the model. The Empress Eugenié procured a small version, the Ministry of the Interior commissioned a marble version, while another marble version was exhibited at the Louvre and is now in the Museum of the Second Empire at the Palais de Compiègne. When a marble version was exhibited alongside its bronze reduction at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1855, the renowned art critic and poet, Théophile Gautier, noted that the marmoreal whites and transparency ‘avec leur mica scintillant’ were much better suited to the model’s subject than bronze. Ivory takes this striking effect even further. Joseph Pollet, born in Palermo to French parents, quickly gained recognition as a sculptor once he moved to Paris and began exhibiting at the annual Paris Salon. He received medals in 1847, 1848 and 1851. In 1856, he was awarded the cross of the Legion of Honour. At this point, he began receiving commissions from the Royal Court, the clergy and several French cultural institutions. Une heure de la nuit, however, remains his most popular and celebrated model. With its magical combination of beauty, elegance and whimsy, it is a remarkably accomplished sculpture. The present work, as a rare ivory version, enhances its particular effect of charm and finesse. RELATED LITERATURE R.H.R. Randall Jr., Masterpieces of ivory from the Walters Art Gallery, London, 1985, pp. 13 and 283; E. Bénézit, Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs, Gründ, 1999, vol. xi, pp. 108-109