Spurgeon Lewis Antiques Decorative Objects

19th century Grand Tour bronze statue of the ancient Greek Dionysus. Dionysus also known as Bacchus, was the god of wine, fertility and festiv...

A very handsome George III tea caddy, made from Mahogany and beautifully inlaid with panels and highly decorative foliate marquetry to the front and top. The top has a handsome cast ...

Finely cast and exhibiting a fine dark brown patina overall.  

An antique English George III tea caddy offers rosewood construction in casket form with gadroon elements and raised on bun feet, c1820 Measures - 8"h x 13.5"d x 7.5"d

A pair of gilt bronze Grand Tour urns mounted on marble bases.

Although the first American President has been much portrayed in paint and bronze; I have not been successful in locating another bronze on which this is based. He is dressed as General Washington...

Pair of Japanese bronze bookends, circa 1880.

A very handsome pair of 19th century silvered bronze 3 branch candelabra in the style of Louis XV. Both showing a trio of richly cast foliate shaped branches fitted with detachable t...

The term Vieux Paris, or "Old Paris" porcelain does not refer to one particular maker, but is used to describe French porcelain pieces made by one of more than thirty manufacturers o...

A pair of large and finely patinated bronze models of a standing bull and a running cow after models by Isidor-Jules Bonheur, Cast on a Naturalistic Base. French, circa 1890. Signed 'I BONHEUR' and stamped 'PEYROL EDITEUR'. Bonheur was a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon and his naturalistic depiction of farm animals, including cattle, was one of his most popular subjects. The bronze was cast by his brother-in-law, Hippolyte Peyrol, who ran one of the most successful art foundries in Paris at this time. Isidore-Jules Bonheur (1827-1901) was the son of the painter Raymond Bonheur and younger brother of Rosa Bonheur, the famous sculptor. He was born in Bordeaux and studied painting, at first with his father and then with the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, moving on to sculpture in 1848. He made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1848 with a painting and plaster study of the same subject ‘African horseman attacked by a lioness’. From then onwards, Bonheur exhibited regularly at the Salon as well as other exhibitions, winning medals in 1865 and 1869 together with the prized Gold Medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1889. He was awarded the Legion d’Honneur in 1895. Most of Bonheur’s casts were by his uncle by marriage, Hippolyte Peyrol, whose tiny foundry mark is often very difficult to find. Bonheur’s studies range from farm animals, bears and tigers in a very naturalistic vein to equestrian groups. Although noted primarily for his small groups he did complete two large scale commissions, one to his sister Rosa, at Fontainbleau and the other, two stone lions at the steps of the Royal...

A decorative pair of Grand Tour bronze-patinated urns of ancient Greek 'volute krater' form,  Italy, 19th century. Why we like them We love the decorative look of these urns, evoking the Grand Tour travels of the 19th century. Perfect for lamp conversion. Design This shape was introduced in the late 6th century B.C. and was favoured by significant artists who worked in terracotta and in bronze. The earliest example in bronze belongs to the late 5th century B.C. and was found in a tomb in Agrigento. A characteristic of volute-krater handles is the fine articulation of the volute itself and of the lower terminals where they rested on the shoulder of the vase. Here, as in most metal examples, they assume the form of swans' heads. A pair of handles of this design is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Chiurazzi, De Angelis and Sommer where the main Neapolitan foundries that catered for the needs and tastes of the grand-tourists throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. They produced a wide range of fine quality objects, often using the museum casts...

A fine antique French porcelain vase. With extensive gilding and painted floral decoration to each side. Simply a great piece of Ol...