A surtout as an allegory for the power of the Bourbons A surtout de

A surtout de table
A surtout as an allegory for the power of the Bourbons
Order, luxury, and majesty
Hardstone figures to glorify the Spanish monarchy
At a supper given in March 1692 at the Palais Royal in Paris to celebrate the wedding of a prince,
a new sort of table centrepiece appeared for the first time, “ a large contraption in silver-gilt, of recent
invention, and called a surtout de table ”. Over the course of the following years, silversmith Nicolas
Delaunay provided Louis XIV with several of these objects for his personal service. They were originally both
decorative and functional, being a practical way to group saltcellars, spice boxes, oil and vinegar bottles,
and sugar bowls all together in one place, whilst at the same time acting as a girandole providing lighting
during suppers. The surtout was the epitome of luxury, made of precious metal, porcelain, and hardstones
decorated with bronze, and over the course of the 18th century it developed into a grand decorative set
of pieces used as a central ornament for the tables of people of high social rank. It provided guests with a
fantastic spectacle, a miniature world generally inspired by architecture, the garden arts, or the recently
rediscovered world of Antiquity. During the time of the Empire, the Sèvres Manufactory produced a surtout
in biscuit porcelain for the Emperor’s personal service, in which the Genius of the Arts rides in a triumphal
chariot drawn by Victory, set amongst miniatures of the objects from Antiquity that had been seized around
Europe and were housed in the Napoleon Museum.
In the 18th century the Spanish Bourbons had a pronounced taste for hardstones. Charles III, initially
King of Naples and founder of the Capodimonte Manufactory, and subsequently King of Spain
(1759-1788), founded the Buen Retiro Manufactory in Madrid, where there was a Laboratorio de Piedras
Duras or hardstone workshop directed by an Italian, Ferroni. This workshop sometimes altered an existing
surtout, such as the one Luigi Valadier had made in Rome and which had been bought by the Bailli de
Breteuil, before being sold in 1786 in Paris to the Prince of Asturias, the future Charles IV of Spain. This
surtout takes its inspiration from the Circus maximus in ancient Rome, and was completed in Madrid to grace
the table of the Spanish royal family.
The Laboratorio de Piedras Duras could also make an entire surtout for the sovereign if desired, based
on a drawing by a Spanish architect. The work was very slow, but it was this workshop which produced
the surtout for the Real Casa del Labrador ( Royal House of Labrador ) in the gardens of the Palace of
Aranjuez.
With their majestic symmetry and powerfully architectural elements, the surtouts designed by Buen
Retiro represent an ideal and ordered world set out as a public square, echoing the palace ceilings painted
with allegories to the glory of the Spanish monarchy.
The El Escorial surtout, kept in the “ Casita del Principe ”, was composed of a set of small-scale
monuments. Most of its surviving pieces, which make up this exhibition, have subsequently been
transformed. Amongst the elements placed on the plateau were a central obelisk ( that no longer exists )
glorifying the Spanish sovereigns, flanked on either side by two fountains surmounted by a sculpted group,
then two large octagonal temples, referred to as ‘ cabinets de verdures ’, and finally two entrance porticos
at either end. The surtout also had numerous candelabra and more modest pieces, such as one hundred and
forty-seven vases made from various precious materials.
The reduced size architectural pieces and certain candelabra were made from hard- and semiprecious
stones such as porphyry, jasper ( of various colours ), aventurine, lapis lazuli, amethyst, and so on,
associated with elegant materials such as oriental alabaster, various sorts of marble, and pink granite. The
sugar bowl and pieces used for serving drinks ( bottle seals and verrières - bowls filled with iced water in
which glasses were placed ) - were made from alabaster. All were ornamented with bronzes or cameos and
intaglios representing ancient and modern subjects, and often with both.
Bronze figures glorified the reigning king and attributed him with various qualities, expressed
allegorically. Minerva ( referring to both Spain and the Monarchy ), the goddess of wisdom, strategy, and
good governance, led the way accompanied by the Virtues such as Justice, and the Arts such as Culture and
Arithmetic, followed by a procession including Vestals and other figures that can no longer be identified,
having lost their distinctive attribute.
It is this surtout from El Escorial that Charles IV of Spain chose to take with him in his baggage-train
when he went to meet Napoleon in Bayonne.
Surtout designed by Isidro Velasquez, 1802-1805, Aranjuez, the Royal House of Labrador, Patrimonio Nacional Collection
A surtout made in Rome by Luigi Valadier, and completed in Madrid at Buen Retiro Manufactory, as it was presented at the “Charles IV of Spain, patron and
collector” exhibition in 2009 at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
Overview
Central element surmounted
by a seated statuette of Spain
Equestrian statuette of
Charles IV of Spain
A surtout as a tribute to the master of Europe
A gift dismantled by the Garde-Meuble Impérial
A gift from Charles IV, a weak king who was dependent on Napoleon
Pieces transformed and dispersed to French palaces
Spain was ruled by the Bourbons, who were descendents of
Louis XIV, and the country had close links with Napoleonic France.
Charles IV, who was king from 1788 to 1808, was a not very effective
but loyal ally, who lost nearly all of his fleet during the Battle of
Trafalgar in October 1805, but who nevertheless hoped to get hold
of part of Portugal thanks to the Treaty of Fontainebleau in October
1807. The haughty French elite regarded him disparagingly, seeing
him as backwards and outmoded ally. Though he knew Italy well,
Napoleon did not have any knowledge of Spain and he thought it
would be an easy country to “ regenerate ”.
The Spanish Bourbons are unsparingly represented in all their
physical and moral degeneration in this group portrait, The Family of
Charles IV, executed in 1800 by Francisco Goya, their official painter.
Spain was poorly governed in the hands of the Royal favourite, Godoy,
Laurent Dabos: Trompe-l’œil, 1801
and for the insatiable Napoleon the country was a tempting prey,
Paris, Marmottan-Monet Museum
especially as it was undergoing major political convulsions at the top,
for the impatient Prince of Asturias had taken advantage of a riot to depose his father, and was recognised
as King of Spain and the Indies under the name of Ferdinand VII. The deposed father turned to the French
Emperor for help. In April 1808 Napoleon summoned the two kings to Bayonne to decide between their rival
claims, and settled the affair in his own manner by forcing them both to withdraw. Napoleon thus had the
crown of Spain at his disposal, and he gave it to his elder brother Joseph, who was called back from his
kingdom of Naples to try to establish his rule over the country, which was in a state of havoc.
The former Charles IV stopped off briefly at the Château de Fontainebleau in May 1808 on his way
to Compiègne, whilst his son, who despite having officially withdrawn his claim to the Crown was still
regarded as Ferdinand VII by the Spanish people ( who rose up in his name ) was sent into gilded exile at
Talleyrand’s residence, the Château de Valençay.
The surtout, which had been rapidly put in crates at El Escorial, was not unpacked in Bayonne.
On the orders of Duroc, the Grand Marshal of the Palace, this embarrassing gift was handed over to
the Garde-Meuble Impérial, which was in charge of maintaining and commissioning furnishings for the
Imperial palaces, then unpacked and carefully examined in a drawing room in Versailles. It was at this
stage that the damage and breakages caused in transit were noted. Daru, the severe Intendant General
of the Household of the Emperor, considered that the surtout was of no use whatsoever in its current
state. In fact the French could not understand this spectacular object, and so disregarded it.
The decision was taken to dismantle the set and restore certain elements, but to transform most of
them. This task was entrusted to Belloni, a sculptor and mosaicist, Thomire, a producer of gilt-bronze
objects, and Lepaute and Bailly, both clockmakers.
Certain pieces remained intact, such as the sugar bowl, or else were largely unaltered, such as the
monuments forming a circular temple, and the vases, with pedestal bases by Thomire. Other elements
were substantially reworked, especially to produce candelabras, or else entirely dismantled, such as the
porticos and octagonal temples which were used as a clock casing composed of architectural facades.
Certain elements, having undergone varying degrees of modification, were allocated to the palace of
Fontainebleau, and took their place in the Emperor’s Small Apartment. Such was the case for two pairs of
candelabra ornamented with a vestal, which were in his bedchamber, and the imposing clock in the form
of a temple that was in his second drawing-room. Most of the pieces were dispersed amongst the various
imperial palaces, such as the Tuileries, the Grand Trianon, and Meudon, or else remained in storage at
the Garde-Meuble Impérial.
The pieces from Charles IV’s surtout were gathered together again for the first time in 1867 at the
Château de la Malmaison, at the instigation of Empress Eugenie. From 1906 to 1984 Malmaison,
by then a national museum, placed thirty-one pieces on exhibition, presenting them on the plateau from
Duc Braschi’s surtout, which had been made in Rome by Valadier around the time of the Buen Retiro
Manufactory. Most of the fifty-four known, restored pieces and currently on display at Fontainebleau
come from this palace, from the Grand Trianon, and from the Mobilier National, which has generously
consented to place four vases on long-term loan, and so after the exhibition they will return to their
place in the Emperor’s Small Apartment in the Château de Fontainebleau, where they used to be during
the First Empire.
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes: The Family of Charles IV,
1800, Madrid, The Prado Museum
Spanish (statuettes) and French (candleholders) elements combinated by French
craftsmen to form a candelabrum. Château de Fontainebleau, Napoleon I Museum
The surtout transformed, as it was presented in the Malmaison dining
room in the early 20th century.