Page 323 - Beholding Liberty!

HALL OF THE TROPHIES
II.8.B.6
French studio
Lord Byron inspired
table clock of gilded bronze, 51 × 32 × 15 cm Michael and Demetra Varkarakis Collection
A DECORATIVE TABLE CLOCK, with a full-length portrait of Lord Byron. The poet is de- picted with noble features, seated, facing right, in a thoughtful pose. The scroll in his left hand (“Don
II.8.B.7
French factory at Montereau
Juan”) suggests that he is seeking inspiration for his epic, satirical poem of the same title (1819-24). This kind of portrayal of Byron transformed him into the archetype of the Romantic artist and hero.
Lord Byron at the head of a Greek detachment, ca. 1826-30
faience plate, diameter 21 cm
inscribed: LORD BYRON À LA TÈTE D’UN DÉTACHMENT GREC. (low centre)
CANARIS / FABVIER // MAIULIS / BYRON // BOTZARIS / EYNARD (on periphery, in pairs, within wreaths) Michael and Demetra Varkarakis Collection
MONTEREAU POTTERY, at the confluence of the Rivers Yonne and Seine, was active since the mid-eighteenth century; at the time of the Greek Revolution, it was owned by Saint-Cricq-Casaux and run by Louis Leboeuf and Tribault.
Around 1826-30, it produced a series of black and white faience plates, with geometric patterns around the perimeter and printed decoration on philhellenic themes in the centre.
The subjects were drawn – as in the Choisy-le-Roy series [cat. no II.1.24-27] – from the lithographs ti- tled Battles for Greek Independence, produced by the painter and printmaker Henri-Charles [Karl] Loeil- lot [Loeillot-Hartwing] (1798-1864) and printed by Bové in 1824-25 in Paris.
The images in these decorative plates are ren- dered in meticulous detail and accompanied by inscriptions at the bottom.
Here, the interest focuses on the most celebrated philhellene, Lord Byron, already heroicised after his
untimely death in 1824. The poet is shown in the centre, on horseback, in formal military attire, lead- ing soldiers; the civilian population, on the right, looks at him hopefully.
SCENES AND FIGURES OF FREEDOM The phenomenon of Philhellenism 323