Cut-Glass Sulphide Portrait Plaque of Jean-Pierre Boyer, President of Haiti.
France: c. 1825. Oval clear lead-glass plaque with serrated edges, enclosing a finely molded white sulphide cameo of President Boyer (inscribed “Pt. Boyer” at the base of the bust). The reverse is deeply sunburst-cut and polished. Original gilt-bronze suspension mount. Height 11 cm (excluding mount). Some tiny chips to a few serration tips and minor surface wear from handling.
Rare French cut-glass sulphide portrait plaque of Jean-Pierre Boyer, Haiti’s president of African descent — such depictions of Black leaders in this prestigious medium appear to be virtually unknown.
A rare French glass medallion depicting Jean-Pierre Boyer (1776–1850), a key figure of the Haitian Revolution and the second President of Haiti, serving from 1818 to 1843. Born in Port-au-Prince to a French tailor and an African mother, a former slave from the Congo, Boyer rose to prominence during the struggle for independence. Following the death of Alexandre Pétion and the assassination of Henri Christophe, he emerged as Haiti’s leading political and military figure, ultimately bringing the entire island of Hispaniola under Haitian rule. His long presidency encompassed both the consolidation of revolutionary gains and the immense challenges of governing the first free Black republic in the Americas.
The portrait was almost certainly produced to commemorate the historic 1825 Franco-Haitian treaty, a landmark event in the aftermath of the Revolution. On 11 July 1825, Boyer signed an agreement presented in Port-au-Prince by Baron de Mackau, commander of a French naval squadron dispatched by King Charles X. Under the threat of overwhelming military force, Boyer accepted the French terms: recognition of Haitian sovereignty in exchange for a massive indemnity of 150 million francs to be paid to former French planters. While this agreement marked Haiti’s formal entry into the international community, it also bound the young nation to decades of crippling debt.
The medallion was crafted using the sulphide glass technique, perfected by leading French glasshouses during the early 19th century. Cristallo-cérame refers to this type of work: a molded ceramic relief embedded in crystal, often inspired by contemporary medallic designs and produced in very limited numbers by houses such as Baccarat and Saint-Louis for an elite clientele between c. 1800–1830. After cooling, the plaque was hand-cut and polished, with a deeply engraved sunburst pattern on the reverse and serrated edges to enhance light refraction. These objects were produced only in small, carefully finished series, never as mass-market goods, and reserved for commemorating notable individuals and events. The exceptional clarity of the crystal on this piece, the precision of the cutting, and the finely crafted mount all point to production by one of France’s foremost glasshouses, likely Baccarat.
Sulphide medallions portraying figures outside the European tradition — particularly leaders of African descent — were virtually unheard of, making this portrait of Boyer especially significant as a tangible link to the formative years of Haiti’s independence and its complex relationship with France. It stands as a significant relic of early 19th-century political history, French decorative arts, and Haitian material heritage.
Provenance: Collection Léon Darnis; reproduced in Léon Darnis, Cristallo-cérames — Personnages et Célébrations du XIXe siècle (La Pensée Romantique, 2019), no. 40; attributed to Baccarat by Darnis.
Sale: “Collection de Monsieur Léon Darnis — Partie III,” Chauviré & Courant (Angers), 24 April 2025.
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Price: €20,000.00