(AUCTION CATALOGUE: CROZAT, Louis Antoine, Baron de Thiers).

Catalogue des Estampes, Vases de Poterie étrusques, figures, Bas-reliefs & Bustes de bronze, de marbre & de terre cuite, Ouvrages en marqueterie du célebre Boule pere, Pièces de Méchanique, & autres Objets curieux du Cabinet de feu… Par P. Remy.

viii, 185 pp. Small 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Muzier, 1772.

An uncommon catalogue describing the famed collection of the Crozat dynasty of collectors. Louis Antoine (1700-70), a general and sophisticated collector in his own right, was the son of Antoine Crozat (1655-1738), and the nephew of Pierre Crozat (1665-1740), both wealthy merchants — though Pierre was ironically known as “Crozat le Pauvre,” compared to his brother who was reputed to be the wealthiest man in Paris. Together, they patronized Watteau and other Rococo artists, and amassed one of the most important private art collections of the 18th century.

Upon Pierre’s death, the art passed to Louis Antoine and his two brothers, who all considerably supplemented the family’s collections. Finally, with the death of Louis Antoine, who had no male heirs, the Crozat collection was put up for sale. Diderot and François Tronchin, one of the first collectioneurs-marchands, acted as the agents for the sale of about 400 paintings to Catherine the Great for the enormous sum of 460,000 livres. The rest of the collection is described herein, including a formidable collection of prints, illustrated books and books of prints (nos. 672-865), ceramics, sculpture, scientific instruments, and various curiosities, such as a telescope, microscopes, a bronze moving sphere, and a machine pneumatique devised by Abbé Nollet.

1125 lots, of which 194 are important illustrated books and bound collections of prints. Lot 672 is a thoroughly described ensemble of the works of Jacques Callot bound in red morocco.

Nice copy.

❧ Lugt 2004. N.B.G., Vol. 12, cols. 552-55. The Hermitage website, “The Acquisition of Baron Pierre Crozat’s Collection,” accessed 22 January 2018.

Price: $1,500.00

Item ID: 6135