PELLETIER, Jean

Jean Pelletier (d.1704) and his sons were the leading carvers and gilders in London.  He was originally from Paris and came to London in 1682.

Pelletier had  two sons, René  and Thomas, who also worked in the family business.  Pelletier was a prominent framemaker and gilder who made and gilded a huge set of picture frames for  Ralph, 1st Duke of Montagu’s home at Montagu House. Montagu had served as Charles II’s ambassador in Paris and had a taste for French Baroque, and on his return he patronised many Huguenot refugee craftsmen. Pelletier also worked at Queen Mary’s apartments at Kensington Palace and many of his frames are  now at Boughton House, Northamptonshire.The frames were of elaborately carved wood, gilded with gold leaf. They interpreted the new style being introduced by Daniel Marot and  used the technique of ‘verre églomisé’ introduced from France. The mirror glass was decorated on the back by applying gold leaf, engraving a pattern in the gold and then applying a layer of blue paint to fill the pattern. This was called ‘mosaic work’, later given the name verre églomisé after the Parisian picture framer Jean-Baptiste Glomy.

During William III’s reign he supplied the Crown with carved and gilded table frames, stands, screens and mirrors. He also  supplied over £600 worth of furnishings for the State Apartments at Hampton Court and three pairs of carved and gilded side tables at Windsor Castle.

Sources:

Tessa Murdoch, “Jean, René and Thomas Pelletier, a Huguenot family of carvers and gilders in England 1682-1726.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O52802/mirror-pelletier-rene/

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