Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 159 6 Mar 2021
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Physionotrace Portrait of Engraver Jean-Pierre Droz
Fouquet, Jean-Baptiste, with Gilles-Louis Chrétien. PHYSIONOTRACE PORTRAIT OF JEAN-PIERRE DROZ. c. 1790s. Circular portrait measuring 6 cm in diameter, printed from a plate measuring 8.5 by 7 cm on paper measuring 13 by 10 cm, matted within a modern gilt frame measuring 24.5 by 28 cm. Signed by the subject in pencil. Fine. A physionotrace of Swiss engraver Jean-Pierre Droz (1746–1823), given to Richard Margolis by the great-great-great-grandson of J.P. Droz, during a visit in Chantilly on January 31, 1984. Droz was the subject of considerable research by Richard Margolis, who was particularly interested in Droz's short-lived employment by Matthew Bolton and in Droz's participation in the French monetary competitions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Richard Margolis recalled receiving this gift in the Bulletin of the Société Américaine pour l'Étude de la Numismatique Française: "Michel Kampmann, at the time president of the IAPN, and a director of the Paris firm Maison Platt, had catalogued some outstanding items (dies, drawings, trial pieces, etc.) owned by descendants of the famous engraver, Jean-Pierre Droz, for a March 1, 1982 auction sale in Paris, at which I acquired a few unusual items... Subsequently, knowing of my interest in Droz, and being acquainted with the family, Michel was good enough to drive me to Chantilly, where they lived. There I was able to meet the then head of the family, also named Jean Pierre (no hyphen) Droz, who was the great-, great-, great-grandson of the engraver. During this visit he was kind enough to give me the physionotrace portrait of Droz ... which was drawn and engraved in Paris, no doubt in the 1790s, by Fouquet and Chrétien." We believe, based on comparing the signature here with that published in Gallet's study of Droz and available elsewhere, that this was signed by Droz himself, though in the absence of better evidence this cannot be guaranteed.
Fouquet, Jean-Baptiste, with Gilles-Louis Chrétien. PHYSIONOTRACE PORTRAIT OF JEAN-PIERRE DROZ. c. 1790s. Circular portrait measuring 6 cm in diameter, printed from a plate measuring 8.5 by 7 cm on paper measuring 13 by 10 cm, matted within a modern gilt frame measuring 24.5 by 28 cm. Signed by the subject in pencil. Fine. A physionotrace of Swiss engraver Jean-Pierre Droz (1746–1823), given to Richard Margolis by the great-great-great-grandson of J.P. Droz, during a visit in Chantilly on January 31, 1984. Droz was the subject of considerable research by Richard Margolis, who was particularly interested in Droz's short-lived employment by Matthew Bolton and in Droz's participation in the French monetary competitions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Richard Margolis recalled receiving this gift in the Bulletin of the Société Américaine pour l'Étude de la Numismatique Française: "Michel Kampmann, at the time president of the IAPN, and a director of the Paris firm Maison Platt, had catalogued some outstanding items (dies, drawings, trial pieces, etc.) owned by descendants of the famous engraver, Jean-Pierre Droz, for a March 1, 1982 auction sale in Paris, at which I acquired a few unusual items... Subsequently, knowing of my interest in Droz, and being acquainted with the family, Michel was good enough to drive me to Chantilly, where they lived. There I was able to meet the then head of the family, also named Jean Pierre (no hyphen) Droz, who was the great-, great-, great-grandson of the engraver. During this visit he was kind enough to give me the physionotrace portrait of Droz ... which was drawn and engraved in Paris, no doubt in the 1790s, by Fouquet and Chrétien." We believe, based on comparing the signature here with that published in Gallet's study of Droz and available elsewhere, that this was signed by Droz himself, though in the absence of better evidence this cannot be guaranteed.