Sarah Bernhardt

Sphinx Inkwell

1880

HENRI CROS (1840-1907) Female Relief Plaque, polychrome enameled stoneware, c. 1895; signed in black ink verso: “H. Cros”, and a scrap of paper from A.A. Hebrard, Paris attached verso; measuring h: 11.25 x w: 9.38 inches. The symbolist bust in relief of a nude young woman with strawberry blonde hair is a depiction of pensive reverie. With lips slightly pursed, she is lost in thought, looking inward. The female visage hovering just over the nude’s shoulder, perhaps an allusion to a fountain, is by contrast flat and lifeless. With lips parted to reveal a watery blue orifice and wavy tresses of hair blending into a watery expanse, the purely decorative nature of the fountain’s face...

Published by F. Champenois, Paris. "Bénédictine shows two girls pressing flowers amid book leaves, to remind us of the herbs that go into making the liqueur; the bottom part of the poster has a panorama of the Fecamp Abbey where the drink originated. Around 1510, one of the monks, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, prepared a liqueur using local wine and native herbs found in nearby woods, together with a few imported ingredients including muscat, ginger, clove and cardamom" (Wine Spectator, 70). As with all poster this size, the lithograph was made, in color, on two panels and joined at the center. Alphonse Mucha was a painter and decorative artist best known for the sensual Art...

“One of Mucha’s best Czech posters, printed by the firm of V. Neubert in the Smichov quarter of Prague, was for Princezna Hyacinta, a fairy-tale ballet and pantomime with music by Oskar Nedbal and libretto by Ladislav Novák. The portrait of the popular actress Andula Sedlácková as the princess dominates the poster. The plot develops as a dream of a village blacksmith who falls asleep after digging for a buried treasure. In his dreams he becomes lord of a castle, and his daughter Hanicka becomes the Princess Hyacinth. Of her three suitors, one is a sorcerer who abducts her to his underground palace, but she is rescued by a poor knight who looks like her real-life lover. Mucha used the motif of the hyacinth throughout the entire design, from embroideries to silver jewelry, and for an elaborate circle sparkling against the mossy green background. The portrait of the actress is seen against a sky full of stars and encircled with images from the dream: the blacksmith’s tools...

Alphonse Mucha worked mainly as a poster artist and became an influential figure of Art Nouveau in late 1890s, when poster illustrations were emerging as popular art form and new pri...

Alphonse Mucha worked mainly as a poster artist and became an influential figure of Art Nouveau in late 1890s, when poster illustrations were emerging as popular art form and new pri...

Framed lithograph, signed ("Rónai") and numbered ("no. 50") by the artist. Also includes a silver József Rippl-Rónai coin, made in 1977 for the 50th anniversary of his death. The li...

Unsigned bronze buste of a woman, with fine characteristics. The sculpture was mounted on a hand-made ceramic socle with a marble top. Very heavy, solid and qualitative piece.

"The Song" by Félix Charpentier (1858-1924) A very fine bronze sculpture with nuanced dark brown patina Signed "Fx. Charpentier" Cast by "E. Colin & Cie Paris" France around 1900 he...

Nature unveiling in front of Science by Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841-1905) Bronze sculpture with multiple patina. Signed "E. Barrias" on the side of the base cast by "Susse Frères" (foundry mark and stamp) The model of this statue was commissioned in 1889 to decorate the new medical school in Bordeaux. When he had finished the first version in white marble for the school, Barrias designed a second marble and onyx statue in 1899 for the ceremonial staircase of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in Paris. France circa 1900 height 58 cm Biography : Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841-1905) was a French sculptor . He came from a family of artists. His father was a porcelain painter and his older brother, Felix-Joseph Barrias, a recognized painter. Louis-Ernest Barrias entered the School of Fine Arts in Paris in 1858, he abandoned painting to move towards sculpture under the direction of François Jouffroy. In 1864, he won the Prix de Rome, on the theme of "The Foundation of Marseille", and was engaged on the site of the Paris Opera house. He later produced many sculpted works, most of them in marble. In 1881, Louis-Ernest Barrias was awarded a medal of honor of the fine arts and named knight of the Legion of Honor in 1878, then promoted officer in 1881 and commander in 1900. The artist replaced Auguste Dumont at the Institute in 1884, then succeeded Jules Cavelier as a professor at the School of Fine Arts, where, among his most notable students, there were Victor Ségoffin, Charles Despiau and Paul Landowski.

"Woman-Flower" Lamp by MARS-VALLETT (1869-1957) Art Nouveau sculpture forming a table lamp, made in gilded bronze with two light arms Signed on the base "Mars-Vallett" Old edition ast France circa 1900 height (without light bulbs) 35 cm width 25 cm Biography: Mars-Vallett, pseudonym of François Marius Vallet (1869-1957), was a French caricaturist and sculptor. Son of a marble worker from Chambéry, Mars-Vallett was a student at the Paris School of Fine Arts. Working as a caricaturist during his youth, he worked for numerous Parisian publications such as the newspaper “Soleil du Dimanche”. Mars-Vallett won several awards at the Salon of French Artists and the Salon of the National Society of Fine Arts. He was also the curator of the Savoy museum in 1904 and the Charmettes museum (Jean-Jacques Rousseau's house) in 1907. He was one of the founding members of the Society of Friends of Old Chambéry in 1933. During his life in Paris, Mars-Vallett received visits to his studio, among others, from Auguste Rodin and Albert Bartholomé. He was very close with the painter François Cachoud...

Agathon LÉONARD (1841–1923) Lamp "Danseuse à L'Écharpe" "Dancer with the scarf" lamp A very rare sculpture forming a table lamp, made in gilded bronze The scarf hides the light bulb Signed on the side of the dress "A. Léonard Sclp" Cast by Susse Frères (with founder stamp) France circa 1905 height 60 cm A similar model is reproduced in "Les bronzes du XIXe siècle", P. Kjellberg, Les éditions de l'amateur, 2005, page 460. Biography: Léonard Agathon Van Weydeveldt, said Agathon Léonard (1841-1923) was a sculptor of Belgian origin naturalized French. After studying art at the Lille Academy of Fine Arts and then at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Agathon Léonard settled in Paris for a long time, where after having exhibited at the Salon of 1868, he joined the Society of French artists in 1887, then to the National Society of Fine Arts in 1897. Very involved in the artistic movement of the Art Nouveau style, he exhibited many pieces (medallions, bronze statuettes and ceramics) finely worked. Following an order from the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, dating from 1898, Agathon Léonard exhibited at the Universal Exhibition of 1900 in Paris his famous table centerpiece "Game of the scarf" in porcelain biscuit, composed of fifteen statuettes representing dancers with pleated dresses reminiscent of Loïe Fuller's choreographies or Neo-Greek dancers...

JUAN CLARÁ AYATS Spanish, 1878 - 1958 A GIRL BUST signed "Juan Clara" and Buenos Aires stamp mark (on the back ) bronze figure 6-3/8 x 4-1/8 x 4-1/8 inches (16 x 10.5 x 10.5 cm.) 8 x 4-1/8 x 4-1/8 inches (20 x 10.5 x 10.5 cm.) base included PROVENANCE Private Spanish Collector Art Noveau bronze...