This exceptional pair of ivory reliefs represents Bacchus and Ceres, deities associated with wine and grain respectively. The reliefs exemplify Francis van Bossuit's mastery of small-scale ivory carving and his sophisticated understanding of classical iconography. In the first relief, Bacchus appears as a youthful male figure in profile, his head crowned with vine leaves and grapes, holding a shallow bowl (patera) as he presses grapes. His idealized anatomy and graceful contrapposto pose demonstrate van Bossuit's thorough absorption of classical sculpture during his Roman sojourn. In the companion relief, Ceres—goddess of agriculture and grain—is depicted as a female figure with flowing drapery, her hand raised to her breast in a gesture of classical elegance. Both figures are carved in high relief against plain backgrounds, their half-length format allowing van Bossuit to focus attention on the expressive modeling of faces, the delicate rendering of attributes, and the sophisticated play of light across the ivory's luminous surface.

Francis van Bossuit, likely born in or near Brussels and possibly trained in Brussels and Antwerp, is considered the most important Dutch ivory sculptor of the 17th century. Such was his fame that his work was published posthumously by the Dutch engraver Matthijs Pool (Amsterdam, 1676–1740) in the so-called Beeld-Snyders Kunst-Kabinet (1727), with engravings by Pool after drawings by Barend Graat. This work is regarded as an early example of an artist's monograph and was published in Amsterdam in three languages, reflecting the artist's international significance. According to Pool, Van Bossuit settled in Amsterdam around 1680, where he worked until his death in 1692. His stylistic development was profoundly influenced by a long stay in Rome starting around 1655. The biography continues:

"Outstanding proofs of an ingenuity that, through prolonged practice, had amassed a wealth of beautiful ideas, arising from the observation of antique statues and extraordinary works of art visible in Rome. Not without reason, he (among the Bentvueghels) bore the name of 'The Observer,' (‘Waarnemer’) as one who perceived and made his own the particularly beautiful details.” [1]

In Rome, Van Bossuit likely worked in close proximity to the significantly younger German sculptor Balthasar Permoser (1651–1732). Mutual influences between their works can be identified. Van Bossuit’s work also suggests ties to the Florentine Academy in Rome, where sculptors like Foggini and Marcellini worked in a related late-Baroque style. Almost immediately after his move to Amsterdam, Van Bossuit’s Italo-Dutch classicism was highly admired by Dutch art collectors, and his work continued to be eagerly collected throughout the 18th century. His ivory works were included in many prominent art cabinets. The Beeld-Snyders Kunst-Kabinet also greatly contributed to his admiration and reputation across Europe during the 18th century.

The present pair of ivory reliefs is typical of van Bossuit's production. The artist favoured this type of half-length composition, which he produced in numerous small reliefs whose subjects could be drawn from biblical history or mythology; they could also be part of allegorical series, personifying, for example, the senses or the seasons (as in this case). The present reliefs were likely originally accompanied by representations of Spring (Flora) and Winter (an elderly figure warming himself by a fire), as described in the 1800 sale catalogue of Arnout Vosmaer's collection, which almost certainly included these works. A relief of Flora, certainly from a comparable series of the Four Seasons, demonstrates van Bossuit's repeated engagement with this theme. [2] 

A note on the provenance

The reliefs' distinguished provenance includes the collection of Arnout Vosmaer (1720-1799), director of the natural history cabinet of Stadtholder William V and an important collector. In the sale catalogue of his collection, the present pair were described as ‘Summer […] a Ceres with grain-crops. Autumn […] a Bacchus pressing grapes into a chalice’. [3] Most remarkably, they were later owned by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé, whose legendary collection was dispersed in a celebrated series of auctions at Christie's Paris in 2009. A period photograph shows the two van Bossuit  reliefs displayed in their library, mounted in their original 18th-century carved and gilded frames against sumptuous red velvet backgrounds—a presentation that emphasizes both their intimate scale and their status as precious objets d’art (see ill. 1)

END NOTES

[1] Matthijs Pool, Beeld-Snyders Kunst-Kabinet, Amsterdam, 1727, IV.

[2] Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, inv. 1928.8; see also C. Theurkauff, « Zu Francis van Bossuit (1635 – 1692), ‘ Beeldsnyder in yvoor’ », in: Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, 37, 1975, p. 152, ill. 52, and p. 171, no. 16.

[3 Sale catalogue, Scheurleer, The Hague, Livres en plusieurs langues & facultes, principalement d'Histoire Naturelle, voyages, Poësie, d'une collection importante de plus de mille catalogues: de portraits, d'estampes reliées & detachées & de dessins ... delaissés par feu m. Arnout Vosmaer, p. 301, lot 17-20: 'Vier uitmuntende stukken van Francis verbeeldende de vier getyden van 't jaar. De lente door eene Flora met bloemen. De zomer door eene Ceres met graan-gewas. De herfst door eenen Bacchus druiven in een schaal persende. De winter door eenen Grysaard, zig over eenig vuur warmende. Allen ter halver lijf verbeeld en van eene ongemeene schoonheid. Elk is hoog 7 ½ [19,3 cm] en breed 5 ½ [14,1 cm] D. in lysten agter glas. Ivoor. By Pool onbekend.']