Jean-Valentin Morel (1794-1860) was born in Paris to Valentin Morel, a diamond cutter, and his mother was from a family of silversmiths. Morel learned the lapidary trade from his father and later studied and worked with the goldsmith Adrien-Maximilian Vachette, famous for his gold boxes for Louis XVI and Napoleon. In 1818, Morel opened his own business and registered his trademark on August 2, 1827.
Fatimid rock crystal jug in gold and enamel frame by Jean Valentin Morel from the Queira Islamic Art Collection.
Between 1834 and 1840, Jean-Valentin Morel worked for the company of the jeweler Jean-Baptiste Fossin, and in 1842 he signed a contract with the silver and goldsmith Henri Duponchel, establishing a shop called “Morel & Cie” on rue Neuve Saint-Augustin in Paris. The products of the firm, with up to 80 employees, were a great success and quickly gained an international reputation. The company produced decorative vases, jewelry sets, silverware designed by Jules Peyre and Constant Seven. The quality of the company’s products was awarded a gold medal at the French Industrial Exhibition of 1844.
Over time, the partners had disagreements that led to the partnership being dissolved. Duponchel filed a lawsuit in 1848 that prohibited Morel from working in Paris.
Bloodstone tazza in a gold frame with enamel and pearls supported by figures of a satyr and a girl height 20.4 cm Jean Valentin Morel circa 1855.Agate bowl set in gold and silver with enamel and rubies height 20.8 cm Jean Valentin Morel 1836 1840.
Morel exhibited a set of salt shakers at the London Exhibition of 1851, where they were described in the Official Catalog and noted by the press. This design of salt shakers was later produced by other English firms: John Samuel Hunt, Barnards, Garrard and Fox. Morel probably sold his designs to them when he left London due to financial difficulties in 1852.
Goblet with an agate lid framed in gold and enamel height 20.5 cm Jean Valentin Morel for Jean Baptiste Fossin 1845 from the Louvre Collection.
Morel returned to France in 1852 and opened a new workshop in Sevres, he continued to work, but began to experience financial difficulties that haunted him until his death in 1860. At the Paris International Exhibition of 1855, he received the Grand Medal for his gold jewelry. There he exhibited his famous bloodstone bowl, commissioned by the French philanthropist Duc de Luyne.
Silver pitcher height 21.4 cm Morel Cie 1845 from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.Silver gilt box inlaid with blue enamel on the lid there is a sculptural group of mother and children height 16.5 cm Morel Cie circa 1842 1848.Ice bucket in silver 38.5 cm high Morel Cie circa 1844 from the Louvre Collection.A bottle of rock crystal in a gilded silver frame the cork is decorated with a cherub with a straw in its mouth blowing a soap bubble in the form of a pearl height 12 cm 1844.Royal silver gilt tea and coffee service set with pearls Jean Valentin Morel Paris circa 1845 from the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts Paris.Coffee pot from a tea and coffee service from the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts Paris.Golden birds nest bracelet set with pearls 1845 from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.Agate tazza in a silver frame with enamel height 10.5 cm 1845.Rock crystal goblet exhibited at the London Exhibition of 1851 height 23.5 cm Jean Valentin Morel 1850 1851 from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York.Pair of figurative silver salt shakers gilded in the form of girls on donkeys with baskets Jean Valentine Morel London 1850.A set of figured salt shakers in the spirit of Rococo in silver and gilt in the form of children with baskets Jean Valentin Morel London 1850.Agate bowl in a gilded silver frame with enamel diameter 23 cm Jean Valentin Morel London 1850.Paperweight in the form of a heron holding a snake in its beak height 13.5 cm Jean Valentin Morel circa 1851.Neo Renaissance tazza in gilded silver with glass insert Jean Valentin Morel 1849 from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.Rock crystal bowl in silver gilt and enamel frame height 22.5 cm Jean Valentin Morel circa 1850.Gold bracelet set with enamel and pearls by Jean Valentin Morel circa 1850 from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.Enamelled golden bowl with views of the Bosphorus made for sale in the Ottoman market height 11 cm Jean Valentin Morel circa 1850.Bloodstone tazza set in gold decorated with enamel emeralds rubies sapphires and cameo height 28 cm Jean Valentin Morel 1854 1855 from the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.Silver jug height 101 cm Jean Valentin Morel designed by Jean Baptiste Jules Klagment circa 1856 from the Louvre Collection.Antique rock crystal bowl possibly 14th 15th century set in gold and silver with enamel and rubies height 20.8 cm Jean Valentin Morel 1858 1860 from the Khalili Collection.
