The Pelletier Brothers: A ‘Verre-y’ Important Mirror

July 23 2010, 4:14am

The highly accomplished carved giltwood frame of this important overmantel, dating from the early years of the eighteenth century, is almost certainly the work of Thomas and René Pelletier. Thomas and René, together with their father Jean, practiced as carvers, gilders and engravers. The family came from Paris and settled in London during the 1680s after a brief period spent working in Amsterdam.  Between 1699 and 1702 they received commissions to produce over six hundred pounds worth of giltwood furniture for William III’s State Apartments at Hampton Court, proof of the high regard in which the Pelletiers were held.  Thomas Pelletier took over the management of the family business in 1702, and the present mirror probably dates from this period of the firm’s output. Figure 1: Example of carved picture frame with scrolling acanthine decoration supplied by Jean Pelletier, circa 1702. As well as their Royal commissions, the Pelletiers also worked for the Duke of Montagu at Boughton House, Northamptonshire. Indeed, the scale and importance of the present piece suggests it was designed for a grand  house such as Boughton, often described as ‘the English Versailles.’ The carving of the frame compares very closely to the work of Jean Pelletier and his sons at Boughton.  In particular, the frame of the painting above the mirror, with its scrolling acanthine decoration, bears a strong similarity in execution and design to a number of carved picture frames at Boughton, supplied by Jean Pelletier in 1702 (figure 1). In addition to its fine carving, the present overmantel also retains its original decoratively beveled mirror plates.  The plates are surrounded by a band of black and gold verre églomisé decoration. This technique of engraving on gold under glass was considered an art form in itself and was especially favored in the years around 1700.  The present mirror is unusual in that the the strapwork decoration on the verre églomisé is enriched by the use of figures.  Examples of comparable verre églomisé decoration, also with figures, can be found on two mirrors attributed to the Pelletiers which are now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (figures 2 and 3). Figure 2: Mirror from Halnaby, Yorkshire, Attributed to Thomas and Rene Pelletier, circa 1707, Victoria and Albert Museum.

Figure 3: Mirror attributed to Thomas and Rene Pelletier, circa 1707, Victoria and Albert Museum.

The painting above the mirror is centered by Apollo at the summit of Mount Parnassus surrounded by his nine muses, a subject which reflected the learned nature of an enlightened patron. One of the twelve Gods of Olympus, Apollo embodied the rational and civilized side of the classical spirit, his muses each representing different branches of learning and the arts. The mirror is featured in an article by Tessa Murdoch, published in the June 1998 issue of The Burlington Magazine entitled Jean, René and Thomas Pelletier, a Huguenot family of carvers and gilders in England 1682-1726; Part 2 (p 369).