Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, New York (1874–d. 1887; commissioned from the artist)
Paris. Salon. May 1–?, 1874, no. 588 (as "Cristal de roche gravé (XVIe siècle), agates et émaux, poignard de Philippe II, collerette de Louis XIII, etc.," lent by Mlle Wolf).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Taste of the Seventies," April 2–September 10, 1946, no. 86 (as "Objects of Art: Vase in Rock Crystal").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Samuel P. Avery: Pioneer American Art Dealer," September 11–October 31, 1979, unnumbered cat.
Edward Strahan [Earl Shinn], ed. The Art Treasures of America. Philadelphia, [1880], vol. 1, p. 134.
Mrs. Schuyler van Rensselaer. "The Wolfe Collection at the Metropolitan Museum. II." Independent 39 (November 24, 1887), p. 9.
"Gallery and Studio: The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Art Amateur 18 (December 1887), p. 7, as "Objects of Art".
Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 29.
Charles Sterling and Margaretta M. Salinger. French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 2, XIX Century. New York, 1966, pp. 184–85, ill., note that Wolfe commissioned this picture as a "faithful record of some of her favorite objects in the Louvre"; identify a Daguerre and Weisweller writing table made for Marie Antoinette, a crystal vase from Louis XIV's collection, a sardonyx ewer and onyx cup belonging to the French Crown, a dagger belonging to Napoleon and later to King Louis Philippe, a Limoges enamel goblet cover, and a sixteenth-century silver tankard.
William H. Gerdts. "The Bric-a-brac Still Life." Antiques 100 (November 1971), p. 747, fig. 1, notes that Desgoffe made several versions of this picture.
Jean-Pierre Cuzin and Marie-Anne Dupuy inCopier Créer, De Turner à Picasso: 300 œuvres inspirées par les maîtres du Louvre. Exh. cat., Musée du Louvre. Paris, 1993, p. 294, fig. 198b.
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 438, ill.
Rebecca A. Rabinow. "Catharine Lorillard Wolfe: The First Woman Benefactor of the Metropolitan Museum." Apollo 147 (March 1998), pp. 51, 54 n. 21, fig. 7, remarks that Wolfe's commission was probably inspired by a similar painting made for John Wolfe in 1871.
Sarah de Maistre. Collection de tableaux de Blaise-Alexandre Desgoffe (1830–1901). Exh. cat., Cabinet Blondeau-Bréton associés. Paris, 2009, pp. 4, 25, 41, no. 14, ill., calls it "Cristal de roche gravé, agates et emaux, poignard de Philippe II"; identifies the objects in this picture, noting that the crystal vase reappears in several subsequent Desgoffe compositions, including "Nature morte à l'aiguière en cristal gravée de scènes des histoires de Suzanne et de Judith" (1879, present location unknown) and "Vase en cristal de roche" (1887, Musée du Louvre, Paris).
Margaret R. Laster in "The Collecting and Patronage of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe in Gilded-Age New York and Newport." Power Underestimated: American Women Art Collectors. Ed. Inge Reist and Rosella Mamoli Zorzi. Venice, 2011, p. 85.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
