Château des Caramans, Historical castle in Roissy-en-France, France.
Château des Caramans is a castle in Roissy-en-France of which an eastern wall and southern orangery gate still survive today. These remains feature carved stone work and decorative pilasters that accent the preserved facades.
Jean-Antoine de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux, had the earlier building demolished in 1704 and began a new château, continued until his death in 1709. Long credited to the Swedish architect Nicodème Tessin, it was reassigned to Germain Boffrand after excavations in 1999 and 2003 and a 1707 masonry estimate found in the Archives nationales. The château was sacked and largely destroyed in 1794 during the Revolution; the surviving east gable was listed as a monument historique on 21 October 1925.
The surviving sculpture, carved between 1703 and 1709, is attributed to René Chauveau (1663–1722). The pediment's tympanum shows female figures around a vase of flowers and fruit, and below it two symmetrical cherubs hold grape bunches around a shell. A griffe and vine leaves decorate the arch keystone. A relief once on the west gable, now in a private property on rue de Paris, bears arms wrongly attributed to the ambassador Claude de Mesmes.
The castle remains are located on the grounds of the town hall of Roissy-en-France, north of Paris and easily accessible. The preserved structures can be viewed from the public areas, though interior access is not available to visitors.
The triangular pediment above the surviving orangery wall carries a relief of female figures around a vase of flowers and fruit, with two cherubs holding grape bunches below. The carving, made between 1703 and 1709, is attributed to sculptor René Chauveau (1663–1722). A relief from the west gable, showing arms wrongly ascribed to the ambassador Claude de Mesmes, is now kept in a private property on rue de Paris.
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