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Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

French, 1810-1892

Founded by one-time Parisian wallpaper dealer Ferdinand Barbedienne and engineer Achille Collas, one of the most revered foundries in 19th-century France began with the invention of a revolutionary 1830s-era device that could produce proportional reproductions — large or small — of sculptures. Collas’s machine, which yielded miniature likenesses of antiquities for the interiors of homes the world over, was pivotal to the success of the F. Barbedienne Foundry. The successful firm earned prestigious awards and critical acclaim and created exquisite bronze candleholdersclocks and lamps for a range of wealthy and prominent clients. 

The duo first launched their company under the name Société Collas et Barbedienne, and early on, they optimized chemical processes for pigmenting and patinating their bronze statuettes. After Collas died in 1859, Barbedienne forged on alone, and the company’s name changed to simply F. Barbedienne.

Barbedienne employed more than 300 workers at that point, and the Maison created a range of furnishings and decorative objects that featured the integration of marble and ormolu accents. However, with the onset of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the foundry was forced to retrofit its molds, and the production of cannons replaced sculpturesfurniture and vases.

When Ferdinand Barbedienne passed away in 1891, his nephew and heir, Gustave Leblanc, took over as president, changing the name to Leblanc-Barbedienne. Leblanc expanded production into Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, carrying on the company's legacy with monumental sculptures, and models and securing production rights for famous statues. Paul-Alexandre Dumas, an Art Nouveau maker and student of Louis Majorelle, succeeded Leblanc until the company's closing in 1952.

Barbedienne pieces had been exhibited regularly in the 19th century and were especially prevalent at Europe’s international expositions and world’s fairs, where they received numerous prizes. Today, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris holds dozens of Barbedienne works in its collection, including intricate mirrors, vases and cups created by Louis-Constant Sévin at the foundry. For more than two decades, Sévin created lamps, boxes and more at Maison Barbedienne. Working alongside award-winning chaser Désiré Attarge, Sévin designed Napoleon III-era works that greatly appealed to European nobility.

Other notable artists who collaborated with Barbedienne included Eugene AizelinEmmanuel FremietAntonin MerciéEmile GuilleminEdouard LievreFerdinand Levillain and Auguste Rodin.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of antique Ferdinand Barbedienne decorative objects, lighting and more.

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Creator: Ferdinand Barbedienne
Dealer: Alexander's Antiques
A 19th Century French Ormolu Elephant Handle Lamp, Signed F. Barbedienne
By Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in New York, NY
A 19th Century French Ormolu Elephant Handle Lamp, Signed Barbedienne, Most Probably Commissioned for a Maharajah. This Louis XVI style dore bronze lamp is the quintessential display of French empire decorative opulence. Its exaggerated urn shape is meticulously cast with ormolu detailing that covers the entire surface of the lamp. On either side of the vase are two decorative handles, made out to be fancifully embellished elephant’s heads. The inclusion of elephants—which were introduced to French culture...
Category

1860s French Louis XVI Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Bronze

19th C. French Islamic Champleve Enamel Vase and Underplate, Signed Barbedienne
By Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in New York, NY
A Fantastic 19th century French Islamic/Orientalist Style Champleve Enamel Vase and Underplate, Signed F. Barbedienne. The wide-mouthed vase terminates down a narrowing body and is m...
Category

1850s French Islamic Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

Pair of Doré Bronze Mtd Rouge Marble 9-Arm Candelabras, Signed by Barbedienne
By Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in New York, NY
A fantastic pair of Louis XVI style doré bronze mounted rouge marble 9-arm candelabras with doré Bronze Hercules Masks and doré bronze swirling S-style...
Category

1860s French Louis XVI Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Pair of French Japonisme Ormolu Vases E. Lièvre, Executed by F. Barbedienne
By Edouard Lievre, Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in New York, NY
An important and monumental pair of very fine 19th century French Japonisme/Orientalist ormolu vases designed by Edouard Lièvre and Executed by Ferdinand Barbedienne. Each body with an oval shape, finely sculpted in a floral design, fringed by orientalist style handles with cartouches, the neck surmounted by a circular pierced scrolling dragon frieze. Each vase resting on a group of four orientalist style jeweled elephant...
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1870s French Japonisme Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Bronze

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A Champlevé Enamel Jardinière by Ferdinand Barbedienne
By Louis-Constant Sevin, Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in Brighton, West Sussex
A Champlevé Enamel and Gilt-Bronze Mounted Jardinière by Ferdinand Barbedienne, the design attributed to Louis-Constant Sévin. This fine jardinière is decorated all over with foliate...
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19th Century French Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

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Bronze, Enamel

Pair of 19th Century Miniature Gilt Bronze and Champlevé Enamel Vases
Located in London, GB
A pair of gilt bronze and champlevé enamel vases Constructed from solid fire-gilded bronze, the miniature decorative vases supported on square plinths rising from paw feet, the co...
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19th Century French Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

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Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu

Pair of 19th Century Gilded Ormolu Lamps
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A good quality pair of French 19th century gilded ormolu lamps, each having two putti seated on a scrolling foliate base.
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Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

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Ormolu

Pair of 19th Century Gilded Ormolu Lamps
Pair of 19th Century Gilded Ormolu Lamps
H 15.75 in W 9.06 in D 9.06 in
19th Century Tinned Copper Indo-Persian Islamic Vase
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Antique Islamic metal copper hookah bottle base of spherical form and decorated with a recessed repeated floral, geometric motif with a deer figure. 19th century Bronze tinned copper...
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Ferdinand Barbedienne, a French Ormolu and Champleve Enamel Jardiniere, C. 1870
By Louis-Constant Sevin, Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in New York, NY
Ferdinand Barbedienne, A French Ormolu and Champleve Enamel Jardiniere, C. 1870, The Design Attributed to Louis Constant Sevin. An exceptional qualit...
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19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

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Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu

Pair of Porcelain Vases Ormolu-Mounted in Lamps by Gagneau Paris XIXth Century
By Gagneau Paris
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Pair of large Japanese Porcelain Cone Shape Vases with Imari decoration Important mounts in ormolu and gilded metal, the base decorated with a laurel wreath, the upper part of falling leaves and a frieze of knotted ribbon. The mounts signed Gagneau, 115 R. Lafayette. Circa 1860 With their original aluminium bulb cover and original gilding Vase it self Height 47 cm The Gagneau Company is one of the most famous lighting factories in Paris in the nine-teenth century, established in 1800 at 25 rue d'Enghien in Paris and later at 115 rue de Lafayette. She has participated in many exhibitions throughout this century. She began in 1819 with the Exposition des Produits de l'Industrie and later participated in the Universal Exhibitions where she was part of the jury in the category of art bronzes (class 25) at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889. "Imari" was simply the trans-shipment port for Arita wares, from where they went to the for-eign trading outposts at Nagasaki. It was the kilns at Arita which formed the heart of the Japanese porcelain industry. Arita's kilns were set up in the 17th century, after kaolin was discovered in 1616. A popular legend attributes the discovery to an immigrant Korean potter, Yi Sam-Pyeong (1579–1655), although most historians consider this doubtful. After the discovery, some kilns began to produce revised Korean-style blue and white porcelains, known as Early Imari, or "Shoki-Imari". In the mid-17th century, there were also many Chinese refugees in northern Kyushu due to the turmoil in China, and it is said that one of them brought the overglaze enamel coloring technique to Arita. Thus Shoki-Imari developed into Ko-Kutani, Imari, and later Kakiemon, which are sometimes taken as a wider group of Imari wares. Ko-Kutani was produced around 1650 for both export and domestic market.Kutani Ware is characterized by vivid green, blue, purple, yellow and red colors in bold designs of landscapes and nature. Blue and white porcelain pieces continued to be produced and they are called Ai-Kutani. Ko-Kutani Imari for the export market usually adopted Chinese design structure such as kraak style, whereas Ai-Kutani for the domestic market were highly unique in design and are ac-cordingly valued very much among collectors. Ko-Kutani style evolved into Kakiemon-style Imari, which was produced for about 50 years around 1700. Kakiemon was characterized by crisp lines, and bright blue, red and green designs of dramatically stylized floral and bird scenes. Imari achieved its technical and aes-thetic peak in the Kakiemon style, and it dominated the European market. Blue and white Kakiemon is called Ai-Kakiemon. The Kakiemon style transformed into Kinrande in the 18th century, using underglaze blue and overglaze red and gold enamels, and later additional colors. Imari began to be exported to Europe when the Chinese kilns at Jingdezhen were damaged in the political chaos and the new Qing dynasty government halted trade in 1656–1684. Ex-ports to Europe were made through the Dutch East India Company, and in Europe the des-ignation "Imari porcelain" connotes Arita wares of mostly Kinrande Imari. Export of Imari to Europe stopped in mid-18th century when China resumed export to Europe, since Imari was not able to compete against Chinese products due to high labor costs. By that time, however, both Imari and Kakiemon styles were already so popular among Eu-ropeans that the Chinese export porcelain copied both, a type known as Chinese Imari. At the same time, European kilns, such as Meissen and English potteries such as Johnson Bros. and (Royal) Crown Derby, also imitated the Imari and Kakiemon styles. Export of Imari surged again in late 19th century (Meiji era) when Japonism flourished in Europe.Thus, in the western world today, two kinds of true Japanese Imari can...
Category

1880s French Japonisme Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Bronze

Ferdinand Barbedienne, A French Ormolu and Champleve Enamel Jardiniere, C. 1870
By Louis-Constant Sevin, Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in New York, NY
Ferdinand Barbedienne, A French Ormolu and Champleve Enamel Jardiniere, C. 1870, The Design Attributed to Louis Constant Sevin. An exceptional qualit...
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19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

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Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu

Antique Islamic Persian Brass Etched Vase 19th c.
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Antique Persian Brass Engraved Vase. Persian engraved brass vase with intricate detailed foliage and birds. The vase has been expertly etched by ha...
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19th Century Islamic Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Brass, Bronze

Unusual Russian-Made Silver and Enamel Islamic Vase
Located in London, GB
This Russian-made Islamic vase is an exquisite piece of craftsmanship that was intended for the Turkish market. The piece is colourfully enamelled and painted. The vase is hexagonal ...
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Late 19th Century Russian Islamic Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Silver, Enamel

Wonderful Pair of Tiffany Studios Dore Bronze Art Nouveau Two Arm Candelabras
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Roslyn, NY
A wonderful pair of Tiffany Studios Poppy flower bud centers candelabrum, in the Art Nouveau Design finished in doré bronze gold finish Stamped: Ti...
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20th Century American Art Nouveau Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Bronze

Pair of Neo-Greek Amphora Vases by Barbedienne and Levillain, France, circa 1880
By Ferdinand Barbedienne, Ferdinand Levillain
Located in PARIS, FR
Pair of Greek style vases made two patina bronze. Each, designed in the shape of a tripod amphora adorned with Hercules heads, is decorated in low-relief...
Category

1880s French Greek Revival Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Griotte Marble, Bronze

Pair of Trumpet-Shaped Byzantines Vases, L.C. Sevin&F. Barbedienne, France, 1880
By Louis-Constant Sevin, Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed F. Barbedienne A pair of charming trumpet-shaped vases in gilt bronze with a polychrome cloisonné enamel decoration, one blue and the other green and red. They feature two annular handles and stand on four feet surmounted by a stylized palm. The vases are ornated with a Byzantine decoration. The high quality of the enamel is typical of Barbedienne’s production. It enhances this pair of vases especially with the wide range of colours used to create the decoration. The enamel is smooth and shiny and shows many shades to form the Byzantine decoration. The partitioned cloisonné is finely engraved and contributes to the decoration by adopting vegetal and foliage shapes. The Model These two vases can be linked to a vase presented by Ferdinand Barbedienne at the 1862 London Universal Exhibition and purchased at this time by the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Inv. 8026-1862). This vase has on its belly a polychrome cloisonné enamel decoration standing out against a turquoise background as show these vases. This decoration, called Byzantine, covers all the vase with coloured arabesques and scrolls. It rests on four claw feet with lion heads from a design near of our vases. Barbedienne and the Cloisonné Enamel Ferdinand Barbedienne continously innovated and he revived the use of enamel on art works during the second half of the 19th century. The Sèvres Manufacture enamel workshop had ever tried it in 1854-1855, but Barbedienne was the one who succeeded to join enamel to an industrial decorative objects production. From 1858 “At Mr Barbedienne’s, enamels in copper ornaments have got their former prestige back” (Les bronzes de la Maison Barbedienne, C. Simon, in L’Art du XIXe siècle, 1858, n°21, p. 252). The Barbedienne Company had now an enamel workshop where objects ornamented with oriental style or medieval style enamels were made. Four years after, Barbedienne’s cloisonné...
Category

1880s French Other Antique Ferdinand Barbedienne Furniture

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

Ferdinand Barbedienne furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Ferdinand Barbedienne furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Ferdinand Barbedienne furniture, although gold editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Ferdinand Barbedienne were created in the neoclassical style in europe during the 19th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Eugene-Antoine Aizelin, Mathurin Moreau, and Henri Picard. Prices for Ferdinand Barbedienne furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $611 and can go as high as $350,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $15,800.

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