Jean-Valentin Morel (1794 in Paris-1860) was a French gold and silversmith noted for the quality of his work. He was trained under Adrien-Maximilian, whom was the maker of gold boxes to Louis XVI and Napoleon
Family
Jean-Valentin Morel was born in Paris. He was the son of
lapidary
Lapidary (from the Latin ) is the practice of shaping stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameos), and faceted designs. A person who practices lapidary is known as a lapidarist. A la ...
Valentin Morel, and his mother's family (the Mauzié) were
silversmiths
A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...
.
Morel had a son Prosper whose daughter married Joseph
Chaumet
The House of Chaumet (), founded in 1780, is a jeweller based in Paris.
Chaumet is a jewellery and watchmaking designer founded in 1780 by Marie-Étienne Nitot. Fourteen artisans ply their trade in the workshop on Place Vendôme under the dire ...
, who inherited the family jewelry business in 1885. It now bears his name.
Biography
Early career
Jean-Valentin Morel learned the lapidary craft from his father and apprenticed with goldsmith
Adrien Vachette
Adrien-Jean-Maximilien Vachette (born 9 January 1753 in Cauffry – deceased 23 September 1839 in Paris) was a French goldsmith best known for the production of ornate gold boxes and the use of unusual and natural materials like tortoiseshell ...
who worked in the production of gold boxes to
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. In 1818, he launched his own business, and registered his mark on 2 August 1827. Jean-Valentin Morel specialized in high-quality inlay and in the production of hard stone cups in a revival of 16th-century style.
At one time, Morel was forced to close his shop because of health problems and lost a year of work.
Between 1834 and 1840, he was chef d'atelier for
Jean-Baptiste Fossin, where he worked in embossing on gold and hard stone.
In 1842 he signed a contract with silver and goldsmith
Henri Duponchel
Henri Duponchel (28 July 1794 – 8 April 1868) was in turn a French architect, interior designer, costume designer, stage designer, stage director, managing director of the Paris Opera, and a silversmith. He has often been confused with Char ...
, establishing a craft shop called ''Morel & Cie'' on rue Neuve Saint Augustin in Paris which was highly successful and quickly gained an international reputation. The business produced ornamental vases, jewelry sets, table silverware, a missal binding for
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...
, a table service for the King of Sardinia, works for the future
William III of the Netherlands
William III (Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 18 ...
, the future
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
, a snuffbox for
Henri, Count of Chambord
Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (french: Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné d'Artois, duc de Bordeaux, comte de Chambord; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883) was disputedly King of France from 2 to 9 August 1830 as Hen ...
in 1847.... The shop employed 80 employees and won a gold medal at the
French Industrial Exposition of 1844
The French Industrial Exposition of 1844 (french: Exposition des produits de l'industrie française en 1844), held in a temporary structure on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, was the tenth in a series of eleven French national industrial expositions ...
.
London
The economic climate declined and the partnership was dissolved after disagreements. Duponchel filed a lawsuit in 1848 which prevented Morel from working in Paris, and Morel established a partnership with Jules Fossin and moved his business to London in 1850.
In London, Morel was on 7 New Burlington Street - with financial backing from collector Edmond Joly de Bammeville - near the Piccadilly firms of
Garrard and
Storr & Mortimer, but he found it difficult to establish an English clientele. He gained the support of French exiles from the 1848 Revolution, and was granted a royal warrant by Queen Victoria.
Sèvres, France
Despite this, he received only modest commissions and by the end of 1852, he was in difficult financial straits. He left London and opened a new workshop in
Sèvres
Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for i ...
, France.
In 1854-1855, he made a
lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color.
As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, ...
cup for the French patron of the arts
Duc de Luynes The Duke of Luynes (french: duc de Luynes ) is a territorial name belonging to the noble French house d'Albert. Luynes is, today, a commune of the Indre-et-Loire ''département'' in France. The family of Albert, which sprang from Thomas Alberti ( ...
, an elaborate piece that won the grand medal at the
Exposition Universelle (1855)
The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris from 15 May to 15 November 1855. Its full official title was the Exposition Universelle des produits de l'Agriculture, de l'Industrie et des B ...
.
In 1860, Jean-Valentin Morel died in financial difficulties, after which Duponchel took over exhibition of his work.
Awards
* 1851: Council Medal at Great Exhibition
*1855: Chevalier of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
by
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morel, Jean-Valentin
1794 births
1860 deaths
French silversmiths
French jewellers
French goldsmiths
19th-century French businesspeople