Jacques Philippe Imberton Furniture

This superb mirror with polychrome enamel decoration is an exceptional piece inspired by Nasrid art, representative of the architectural and decorative forms of the Alhambra Palace. Mr. Philippe Imberton is, at the present time, the king of enamel; he sows it on the glass, with a prodigal and brilliant hand, early by large plates, sometimes by light veins, but in such a way as to always produce the happiest decorative effects. Article by Louis Enault in La Presse, published on September 25th, 1884. The geometric and vegetal patterns are a real innovative achievement in the glass enameling industry. Arranged on a rectangular mirror, the enamels are elegantly composed and colored to form a Nasrid-inspired decoration, representative of a Mudejar architecture, and manifesting the cultural and artistic exchanges in the Iberian Peninsula in the 12th and 16th centuries. The outline of enamels in the form of a horseshoe arch is a typical element of Arabic-Andalusian architecture, visible from early Christian churches to converted mosques. The horseshoe arch is supported by very thin columns with a concave base and molded rings, a unique type of column that appears only in the Alhambra Palace and indicates the passage to a sacred or royal place. The capital is divided into two bodies, the first of which is cylindrical and has a voluptuous floral decoration. Above, a prism decorated with a plant frieze with a rounded base delicately curves the whole mirror. I have rarely seen more power combined with greater skill. Article by Louis Enault in La Presse, published on December 17th, 1880. The talent of the enameler is rendered by the richness of the polychrome ornamentation of the vegetal patterns, notably by the arabesques of the polylobed arch, that is to say small contiguous arches, each ending in a pointed arch, also polylobed. These arches also evoke the muqarnas vault, one of the most impressive decorative elements among the ornamentation used in the Alhambra. The alfiz, the frame that surrounds the outside of the arch, is decorated with intricate bands of red and yellow floral filigree. The entire portico is framed by regular and harmonious friezes, decorated with vegetal motifs and structured by lines of small white flowers. Six wild pomegranate flowers, also known as balaustes, are framed on a white enamel background by the eight-pointed star, a recurring figure throughout Islamic art. The flowers are slightly open and accompanied by small pomegranate seeds, a connotation of fertility and the literal symbol of the city of Granada, where the Alhambra is located. The decoration is also characterized by four mirrored fleur-de-lis, as if to express the meeting of the two monotheistic influences in Granada. We can see the extent of refinement in the detail of the rhinestone fixtures that attach the glass mirror to a wooden support. While the representation of human figures in Muslim art is prohibited, the reflections of faces in the mirror naturally thwart the ban. One can read in an article of the Arts Industriels, published in La Presse on September 25, 1884, some lines notifying a mirror preceding ours: It will not displease the women either to find themselves beautiful by reflecting their fresh faces in this pretty oriental mirror...