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Shopfront from 3, quai de Bourbon, Île Saint-Louis, Paris

between 1775–77, with later replacements
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 545
This Parisian shopfront, from the north bank of the Ile Saint-Louis, stood on a site favorable to commerce, close to the junction of the Quai Bourbon and the Pont Marie, an early seventeenth-century bridge over the Seine. It was superimposed on the masonry of an existing seventeenth-century building, the modest outlines of which can still be seen. Chroniclers of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Paris drew attention to the charm and rarity of this isolated little shopfront, which was thought to be the only surviving eighteenth-century example in the city. By the time it was dismantled in World War I, the original painted surface had weathered to the bare oak and the woodwork had suffered some losses. When the shopfront was restored at the Museum, the natural tone of the wood was retained. The missing elements were supplied in accordance with a measured drawing of the shopfront published in 1870.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Shopfront from 3, quai de Bourbon, Île Saint-Louis, Paris
  • Maker: Etienne Séjournant (master in 1772)
  • Date: between 1775–77, with later replacements
  • Culture: French, Paris
  • Medium: Oak
  • Dimensions: Overall: 13 ft. 1 in. × 20 ft. 5 3/4 in. × 25 1/2 in. (398.8 × 624.2 × 64.8 cm)
  • Classification: Woodwork
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1920
  • Object Number: 20.154
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Audio

Cover Image for 2294. Shopfront from Paris, Overview

2294. Shopfront from Paris, Overview

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JEFFREY MUNGER: Several of our most important . . . pieces of French silver are exhibited in this 18th-century shop front.

NARRATOR: Curator Jeffrey Munger. Look to the right of this 18th-century French store front, on the middle shelf.

JEFFREY MUNGER: One of our most important pieces . . . is the tureen that you see on the left of the shelf that is surmounted by a finial in the form of a wonderful hunting scene, a veritable three-dimensional still-life on the cover of the tureen.

NARRATOR: It’s part of the only surviving silver service made for the Crown. In fact, relatively little French silver from the late 17th- and 18th-centuries actually survives. A long series of costly disastrous wars led to edicts that required artistocrats and courtiers to bring their silver to the mint. There it was melted down and reissued as currency. But largely through the generosity of Catherine D. Wentworth, the Metropolitan has the finest collection of 18th-century French silver in America. On this same middle shelf is a coffee-pot that is perhaps the most exquisite piece of silver in the Museum’s collection.

JEFFREY MUNGER: And it is a tour de force of French silversmithing. The spiraling of the body perfectly encapsulates the Rococo spirit of the day. And the coffee leaves and beans that encircle the handle and that decorate the spout are a very clever . . . allusion to the contents inside.

NARRATOR: Spend some more time here. When you’re ready, press play to hear about the snuffboxes in the two cases behind you.

    Listen to more about this artwork

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