Claude Beissonat (active in Naples and Spain in... Lot 10

Claude Beissonat (active in Naples and Spain in the last quarter of the 17th century) Immaculate Conception Carved ivory group Signed: "CLA.BEISSONAT.F.NEA" (for Claudius Beissonat Fecit Neapolis) Total height: 60 cm (group height: 55 cm) on a hexagonal base probably made of ebony and fragments of domestic ox horn (bos torus domesticus) painted in imitation of sea turtle shell (height: 5 cm). Weight: 9.8 kg Missing metal halo, angels fluttering on either side of the Virgin missing, original mounting fixing holes filled, left angel wings restored, angel on front repositioned later Provenance: believed to have come from the collection of the Comte de Miribel (Villars-Bonnot); private collection in Lyon, purchased from the previous owner in the 1990s. CITES certificate N°FR2306901173-K. Related works : -Claude Beissonat, Immaculate Conception, ivory, H. 66.2 Florence, Palazzo Pitti, inv. Bg Avori 1879 n°136 ; -Claude Beissonat, Assumption of the Virgin, ivory, signed, Madrid, Palacio de El Pardo; -Attributed to Claude Beissonat, Immaculate Conception, last quarter of 17th century, ivory, H. 68.5 cm, Sotheby's sale, May 18, 2004, lot 425. Related literature: -Luigi Coiro, 'Algardi e Napoli', in La cappella dei Signori Franzoni magnificamente architettata. Alessandro Algardi, Domenico Guidi e uno spazio del Seicento genovese, 2013, pp.157-181 ; -Ss dir. E.D.Schmidt and M. Sframeli, Diafane Passioni Avori barocchi dalle corti europee, cat. exp., Florence, Palazzo Pitti, July 16-November 3, 2013, Sillabe, 2013, notices 110 and 111 pp.304-306 ; -Marjorie Trusted, Baroque & Later Ivories, London, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2013, cat. no. 266, pp. 274, 5 ; -Luigi Coiro, "Aniello Perrone scultore di legnami famosissimo e il Calvario di Santa Maria di Montesanto a Napoli 2011", in Ricerche sul '600 napoletano. Saggi e documenti 2010-2011, pp.7-23 ; -M.M. Estella, "Sculturas italianas de marfil en España de los siglos XVI al XVIII con nuevas noticias sobre Gualterio, Beissonat y Caffieri", in Barocke Kunststückh. Festschrift für Christian Theuerkauff, a cura di R. Marth, M. Trusted, München 2011, pp. 22-29, fig.3 and 5 ; -S. Starita, Andrea Aspreno Falcone e la scultura della metà del Seicento a Napoli, doctoral thesis held in 2010-2011, pp.22 ff ; -Isabelle Di Liddo, La circolazione della scultura lignea barocca nel Mediterraneo. Napoli, la Puglia e la Spagna. Una indagine comparata sul ruollo delle botteghe, Roma, Nicola Salcillo, 2008, p.49-52 ; -A. Garcia Sanz, M.L. Sanchez Hernandez Guia, Monasterios de las descalzas reales y de la Encarnacion, Madrid, 2008, p.73 ; -Prosperi Adriano, "L'immaculée Conception à Séville et la fondation sacrée de la monarchie espagnole", in Revue d'histoire et de philosophie religieuses, 87ème année, n°4, Oct.-déc. 2007, pp.435-467; -A.M. Pedrocchi, "Claudio Beissonat", in G. Morello, V. Francia, R. Fusco, Una donna vestita di sole: l'Immacolata Concezione nelle opere dei grandi maestri, cat. exp., Vatican City, 2005, Milano, Federico Motta, 2005, p. 261. -Da una dimora di piazza farnese vol.II from a private collection located in piazza farnese, Rome vol.II catalog of [Sale] Sotheby's, lot 425, May 18, 2004 ; -Margarita Estella, La escultura barroca de marfil en España. Esculturas europeas y coloniales, Madrid, 1984, 92. cat n°112, n°103-106 pp.70-73 ; -S. Cassani, Civiltà del Seicento a Napoli, cat. exp. exhibition, Naples, Museo di Capodimonte, October 24 1984-April 14 1985, Naples, Museo Pignatelli, December 6 1984-April 14 1985, Naples, Museo nazionale Aragona Pignatelli, 1984, t. II, pp.188 and 333 ; -Francesco Abbate, La Scultura del Seicento a Napoli, Torino, Scriptorium, 1997; -Alfonso E. Pérez Sanchez, Nicola Spinosa, Jusepe de Ribera 1591-1652, cat exp, New York, The Metropolitan museum of art, September 18-November 29, 1992, New York, The Metropolitan museum of art, 1992, p.34 and notice 42 p. 121. This Immaculate Conception in ivory is a true masterpiece in terms of its material, its extraordinary dimensions and its extremely high quality of execution. It illustrates the triumph of this religious doctrine in 17th-century Europe, long before it was formalized as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in 1854. This highly prized devotional object, designed in Spanish-ruled Naples, is signed by Claude Beissonat. The work of this Franche Comté-born artist, still little known, has been progressively informed by successive discoveries and attributions over the last twenty years. This Immaculate Conception is undoubtedly a milestone in his production, revealing the extraordinary talent of an exceptional master ivory-maker. "Todo el mundo en general a vozes, Reyna escogida, diga que soys concebida sin pecado original'"