Tobogan Antiques Decorative Objects
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Maison Millet, Pair of “ Tritons” Candelabras, France, Circa 1870
By Pierre Gouthiere, Maison Millet
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of Louis XVI style amphora-shaped vases in gilded bronze and "canon de fusil" patinated bronze attributed to Maison Millet. The neck, decorated with twisted fluting, i...
Category
Antique 1870s French Napoleon III Candelabras
Materials
Bronze
Royal Dux Bohemia, Art Nouveau Centerpiece, Bohemia, circa 1900
By Royal Dux Bohemia
Located in PARIS, FR
Bearing the mark Royal Dux and numbered 1252
Large enamelled porcelain centerpiece with golden highlights, representing a nymph sitting on a shell like a ship sailing on the waves, ...
Category
Antique Early 1900s Czech Art Nouveau Decorative Bowls
Materials
Porcelain
H. Dasson, Pair of covered Vases « with Lions », France, Circa 1880
By Henry Dasson
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of green marble covered vases, set in an elegant chiseled and gilded bronze mount, decorated with lion heads alternating with garlands of flowers. The molded lid is to...
Category
Antique 1880s French Louis XIV Vases
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Louchet Frères, Pair of Orientalist Candlesticks, France, circa 1890
By Charles Louchet, Paul Louchet
Located in PARIS, FR
Charming pair of orientalist candlesticks in Algerian ribboned onyx and gilded bronze, with a barrel in the shape of a molded column. The binet, the central ring and the square base ...
Category
Antique 1890s French Other Candlesticks
Materials
Onyx, Bronze, Enamel
Porcelain Bowl, Compagnie des Indes, France (mount) - China, 18th/19th Century
Located in PARIS, FR
China 18th Century (bowl) – France 19th Century (mount)
Beautiful enameled porcelain bowl in the pink-purple tones characteristic of the “Famille Rose” with polychrome decoration o...
Category
Antique 19th Century French Chinese Export Decorative Bowls
Materials
Bronze
Earthenware Planter attr. to F. Barbedienne, France, Circa 1880
By Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in PARIS, FR
Marked M.s.L. et G.S.
Planter in earthenware of Montigny-sur-Loing decorated with painted flowers (so-called "à la barbotine") inserted in a blanc and gilded bronze mount, attrib...
Category
Antique 1880s French Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Bronze
Impressive Pair of Vases with Covers Attributed to Samson & Cie, France, c. 1890
By Samson & Cie
Located in PARIS, FR
Bearing the mark AR interlaced
A pair of large Chinese style white porcelain baluster shaped vases and covers attributed to Samson & Cie. Each finely painted with polychrome 18th c...
Category
Antique 1890s French Vases
Materials
Porcelain
Pair of « Rams » Perfume Burners attr. to Maison Millet, France, Circa 1870
By Maison Millet
Located in PARIS, FR
Diameter base : 16 cm
Provenance : Michahelles Collection, Hamburg
Beautiful pair of Louis XVI style perfume burners in fluorite with elegant chiseled and gilded bronze mount. The l...
Category
Antique 1870s French Napoleon III Vases
Materials
Stone, Bronze
Pair of "Clair de lune" Vases attr. to Baccarat & E.Rousseau, France, circa 1880
By Cristalleries De Baccarat
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of blue-tinted crystal “rouleau” vases decorated with Japanese-style enameled decoration representing a gilded full moon reflecting a tree with flowering branches, sur...
Category
Antique 1880s French Japonisme Vases
Materials
Crystal, Bronze, Enamel
The « Nymphs » Bowl by A-E Carrier-Belleuse and H. Journet & Cie, France, c 1878
By H. Journet & Cie, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed Carrier et H Journet et Cie, 24 bd des Italiens, Sté des Onyx and numbered 2326
Diameter Base : 44 cm (17,3 in.) ; Diameter bowl : 49 cm (19,3 in)
Important and rare circular...
Category
Antique 1870s French Decorative Bowls
Materials
Onyx, Bronze
Pair of Serpentine Cassolettes attr. to H. Dasson, France, circa 1880
By Henry Dasson
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of Louis XVI-inspired baluster-shaped serpentine cassolettes, with an elegant chiseled and gilded bronze mount. The lid, resting on an openwork gilded bronze frieze, i...
Category
Antique 1880s French Louis XVI Urns
Materials
Serpentine, Bronze
Cup with Cherubs attr. to A. Giroux, France, Circa 1870
By Alphonse Giroux et Cie
Located in PARIS, FR
Charming oval-shaped cup, in gilded bronze and polychrome enamel with arabesque decoration. The leafy handles are surmounted by doves, and it rests on a polylobed base topped with le...
Category
Antique 1870s French Napoleon III Decorative Bowls
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
Pair of Paris Porcelain Vases, France, circa 1880
By Porcelaine de Paris
Located in PARIS, FR
Lovely pair of amphora vases in Paris porcelain, with polychrome rotating decoration of lilacs, roses, clematis, fuchsias and other natural flowers, on a white background. The foot a...
Category
Antique 1870s French Napoleon III Vases
Materials
Porcelain
Napoleon III Planter by E.-J. Masselotte, France, circa 1865
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed MASSELOTTE and numbered 1064
Elegant oval Napoléon III planter in gilded bronze, with a rim decorated with braces intertwined with laurel leaves. It rests on four feet in the...
Category
Antique 1860s French Napoleon III Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Crystal Vases Attributed to Baccarat, France, Circa 1920
By Baccarat
Located in PARIS, FR
Pair of baluster shaped vases attributed to Baccarat, made in fine cut-crystal, all-over decorated with star and diamond motifs. Mounted at the mouth with a large sterling silver ring...
Category
Vintage 1920s French Vases
Materials
Crystal, Silver
Important Pair of "Breche sanguine" Ewers by Maison Millet, France, Circa 1880
By Maison Millet
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of Louis XV style ewers in « Brèche sanguine » marble and gilded bronze. Rich Rocaille decoration with asymmetrical foliage motifs, resting on an elegant openwork scal...
Category
Antique 1880s French Louis XV Vases
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Gilded Bronze Japanese Couple by E. Laurent & Raingo Frères, France, circa 1880
By Raingo Frères, E. Laurent
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed E. LAURENT and Raingo Fres and numbered 375 and 321 on the base
Charming pair of gilded bronze sculptures representing a Japanese couple in traditional clothing. The man pla...
Category
Antique 1880s French Japonisme Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Orientalists Vases by F. Barbedienne, France, circa 1880
By Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed F. Barbedienne
Charming pair of small vases in partially enameled gilded bronze, with orientalist decoration of arabesques and foliage. They are adorned with cartouches with ...
Category
Antique 1880s French Other Vases
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
Pair of Vases with Elephants by F. Barbedienne, France, circa 1880
By Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed F. Barbedienne
Charming pair of small vases in gilded and enameled bronze, with orientalist decoration of arabesques and polychrome foliage on a blue background. They are dec...
Category
Antique 1880s French Vases
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
Ormolu Clock "with a Swing", France, circa 1820
Located in PARIS, FR
Very fine floral and decorated Restauration period ormolu clock, figuring two baluster columns joint together by a floral arch, and topped by a crown of roses. Roman numbers indicate...
Category
Antique 1820s French Restauration Mantel Clocks
Materials
Bronze
Pair of "Holy Family" CandleHolders attr. to P.Poussielgue-Rusand, France, c1880
By Poussielgue-Rusand
Located in PARIS, FR
Rare pair of gilded and silvered bronze candle holders with engraved shafts decorated with rings embellished with colored cabochons in imitation of semi-precious stones. The religious character of these candles is recalled by the presence of angels in medallions in the center of the shaft, and by the presence of members of the Holy Family in a mandorla on each side of the tripod foot.
A rich bestiary of fantastic animals inspired by the Middle Ages adorns the whole.
The abundance of details transforms these candle holders from simple utilitarian objects during a religious celebration into a decorative artwork.
Biography :
Placide Poussielgue-Rusand (1824-1889) is a Parisian goldsmith and bronze maker known above all for his liturgical objects (chalices, ciboriums, patens, monstrances, etc.) and church bronzes...
Category
Antique 1880s French Medieval Candelabras
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
"Pagoda" Clock attr. to L'Escalier de Cristal, France, circa 1885
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful Japonisme clock in openwork patinated bronze with gold and silver highlights in the shape of a pagoda, at the corners presenting stylized dragons above uprights imitating b...
Category
Antique 1880s French Japonisme Mantel Clocks
Materials
Bronze
"Minerva" Crystal Bowl attr. to Baccarat, France, circa 1890
By Cristalleries De Baccarat
Located in PARIS, FR
Charming oval-shaped engraved crystal bowl with scalloped edges and decorated with a Greek frieze centered with a profile portrait of Minerva in a medallion. It rests on a gilded bro...
Category
Antique 1890s French Greek Revival Decorative Bowls
Materials
Crystal, Bronze
"Dragon Turtle" Bowl attr. to Baccarat & F. Barbedienne, France, circa 1890
By Cristalleries De Baccarat, Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful square-shaped bowl in engraved crystal decorated with bamboo and birds.
It rests on a gilded bronze dragon turtle, a legendary Chinese creature with the body of a dragon an...
Category
Antique 1880s French Japonisme Decorative Bowls
Materials
Crystal, Bronze
Pair of Crystal & Gilded Bronze Girandoles attr. to H. Vian, France, circa 1890
By Henri Vian
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of Louis XVI-inspired cage-shaped girandoles in gilded bronze, with a crystal baluster shaft and with six light-arms. The whole is nicely decorated with crystal pendan...
Category
Antique 1890s French Louis XVI Candelabras
Materials
Crystal, Bronze
Pair of Neo-Greek Amphoras Vases by F. Levillain and F. Barbedienne, Circa 1880
By Ferdinand Barbedienne, Ferdinand Levillain
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed F. Levillain Fecit and F. Barbedienne
Pair of Greek style vases made two patina bronze. Each, designed in the shape of an amphora with a flare...
Category
Antique 1880s French Greek Revival Vases
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Cloisonné Vases Attributed to A. Giroux, France, Circa 1860
By Alphonse Giroux et Cie
Located in PARIS, FR
Pair of cloisonné enamel square vases attributed to A. Giroux, with flared neck decorated on the belly with flowering lambrequins with oriental patterns on a blue and golden geometric. The mount in patinated and gilded bronze is composed of an openwork frieze on the neck, side grips with Fô dog heads forming the handles, the whole resting on four feet in the shape of elephant heads.
Alphonse Giroux and Company, famous curiosity and luxury goods shop was situated in Paris, at No. 7 rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré and in business from the time of the Consulate until the end of the Second Empire. The company was founded by Francois-Simon-Alphonse and continued in 1838 by his two sons, Alphonse-Gustave (1810-1886) and André (1801-1879). The father became a close associate of the royal family and specialized in the manufacture of refined items for gifts. Kings Louis XVIII and then Charles X were both supplied with gifts for « The Children of France » by Giroux. Making progressively small furniture, they were mentionned for the first time in 1837 in the class « cabinet...
Category
Antique 1860s French Vases
Materials
Enamel, Bronze
Large Imari Porcelain Planter, France, Circa 1880
Located in PARIS, FR
Japanese porcelain and French gilded bronze mount.
Important Imari Porcelain planter with a polychrome and golden decoration of cranes, carp and lion, on a blue vermiculated backgro...
Category
Antique 1880s French Louis XV Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Bronze
"The Source" Gilt bronze Clock attr. to L. Messagé & F.Linke, France, circa 1890
By François Linke
Located in PARIS, FR
Charming clock in the shape of a Rocaille-inspired cartel in chiseled and gilded bronze. Scalloped marine-inspired decor representing a trophy with oars, dolphins, reeds and flowers ...
Category
Antique 1890s French Rococo Revival Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
Paris Porcelain Pair of Vases "The Flowering", France, Circa 1880
By Porcelaine de Paris
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of white porcelain vases richly decorated with beautiful polychrome floral compositions and butterflies enhanced with gold on a blue background, framed by golden porce...
Category
Antique 1880s French Napoleon III Vases
Materials
Porcelain
Neo-Egyptian Marble Clock Attributed to G. Servant, France, Circa 1870
By Georges Emile Henri Servant
Located in PARIS, FR
Black and red marble pyramid shaped Egyptian style clock attributed to G. Servant, surmounted by a patinated bronze figure representing the Egyptian goddess Isis sitting on her throne. Wearing the Hathor hairdress (the solar disc surrounded by the sacred cow horns), she holds in her right hand the Ouadj, the goddesses scepter surmounted by a canopy of papyrus, symbolizing health and eternal youth and in her left hand, the cross of life Ankh, symbol of rebirth and eternity.
That Egyptian style in fashion since Napoleon the First and his military campaigns in Egypt around 1799 was rediscovered in France in the 1830's and above all in the 1860's. Some renowned French artists, such the sculptors and bronze-casters Guillaume Denière (1815-1903), Emile Hébert (1828-1893) et Georges Servant (1828-1890), presented at the 1867 and 1878 Paris Universal Exhibitions, an a-part section dedicated to their Egyptian style production. Their shows drew then considerable attention from the public and the wealthy collectors. During the 1867 Universal Exhibition, one could admire the Stand realized by the French silversmith-jeweller Gustave Baugrand (1826-1870), where his works executed in most Fine materials took inspiration from the Egyptian Antiques, exhibited then in the Louvre museum.
Georges Emile Henri Servant (1828-c.1890), who took over his father in 1855 at their foundry, rue Vieille-du-Temple, in Paris, specialized in the production of neo-Egyptian style clocks, very popular in France since 1860’s, and also the making of Greek style decorative objects. He drew considerable attention to the high quality of his bronzes at the 1855 Paris Universal Exhibition and then at the 1862 London Exhibition. At this time Servant exported up to 40% of his production, principally to the United States, where for instance, his clocks were sold with great success by Louis Tiffany Inc. or Hamann & Roche of New York. But his success came really at the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition, where he was awarded a gold medal for his neo-Greek and Egyptian works (Les Merveilles...
Category
Antique 1870s French Egyptian Revival Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Marble, Bronze
"Chinese" Giltwood Clock After a Design by Thomas Johnson, England, circa 1860
By Thomas Johnson, London 1
Located in PARIS, FR
Important giltwood clock with a mirror background of Rococo inspiration with a rich sinuous and asymmetrical decoration representing a Chinese couple ab...
Category
Antique 1860s English Chinese Chippendale Mantel Clocks
Materials
Giltwood
'African Venus' Bronze Sculpture by C. Marnyhac, France, Circa 1878
By Maison Marnyhac 1
Located in PARIS, FR
An exceptional life-size two patina bronze figure, representing a young African woman taming a snake, dressed with a feathered loincloth and a long drape in her hair, and wearing Afr...
Category
Antique 1870s French Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Ginger Jars with Phoenixes, China, 19th Century
Located in PARIS, FR
Large pair of baluster-shaped ginger jars in polychrome porcelain from the Famille Rose.
With rich rotating decoration, it is adorned on the body with a pair of phoenixes, symbolizin...
Category
Antique 19th Century Chinese Jars
Materials
Porcelain
Porcelain "Dove" Planter by L'Escalier de Cristal, France, circa 1880
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in PARIS, FR
Inscribed HA et Cie and numbered 403
Signed in red Escalier de Cristal Paris
Beautiful planter in gilded and painted porcelain. The rounded belly with a platinum background is decor...
Category
Antique 1880s French Napoleon III Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Porcelain
Vase with Cranes by the Villeroy&Boch Manufacture, Mettlach Germany, Circa 1900
By Villeroy & Boch
Located in PARIS, FR
Model n° 1567
Beautiful Japanese inspired baluster-shaped vase in tinted stoneware. The rich polychrome rotating decoration illustrates cranes in the moonlight, near a lake lined wi...
Category
Antique Early 1900s German Japonisme Vases
Materials
Stoneware
Japanese Style Bronze Planter by L'Escalier de Cristal, France, Circa 1890
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed H.P for Henri Pannier.
Lovely hexagonal shaped planter in patinated bronze with gold highlights. Adorned on three sides with a dragon framed by a rhombus frieze on an openwor...
Category
Antique 1890s French Japonisme Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Bronze
Four Baccarat Crystal Vases, by H. Vian ; H.Dasson & Baccarat, France, C. 1880
By Baccarat, Henri Vian, Henry Dasson
Located in PARIS, FR
A very fine and rare set of four baluster-shaped covered vases made of faceted ovoid cut Baccarat crystal and adorned with a bronze mount of exceptional quality and kept with its ori...
Category
Antique 1880s French Louis XVI Jars
Materials
Crystal, Bronze
"Geniuses of the Arts" Gilded Bronze and Marble Clock Set by G. Fabre, c. 1900
By G. Fabre, Samuel Marti
Located in PARIS, FR
Dial signed G. Fabre, 4 rue des Filles du Calvaire, Paris
Clockwork signed Samuel Marti – Médaille d’Or 1900
A Louis XVI style gilt-bronze and statuary Carrare marble clock set, consisting of a clock and a pair candelabra...
Category
Antique Early 1900s French Louis XVI Mantel Clocks
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Charming enamel and gilded Bronze Ewer by F. Barbedienne, France, circa 1870
By Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed F. Barbedienne & Cie
Height : 31,5 cm (12,4 in.) ; Width : 12 cm (4,7 in.) ; Depth : 10,5 cm (4,1 in.)
Charming baluster-shaped ewer in gilded bronze decorated with red and blue polychrome cloisonné enamel. Two beaded handles connect the body to the slender neck, ending in a flared pouring spout, and it rests on a circular piedouche. The whole is decorated with abundant engraved decoration of foliage interlacing.
Barbedienne and the Cloisonné enamel :
Ferdinand Barbedienne continuously 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
Antique 1880s French Napoleon III Vases
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
Leila and the Giaour Gilded Bronze Clock, France, Circa 1830
Located in PARIS, FR
Dial signed Polti Frères
Measures: With base or glass: Height 61 cm (24 in.), width 51,5 cm (20.3 in.), depth 23.5 cm (9,2 in.)
Without base: Height 52 cm (20,5 in.), width 42 cm (16.5 in.), depth 12.5 cm (4.9 in.)
Important philhellenic clock in burnished and amati gilded bronze, finely chiseled, representing on the terrace a couple elegantly dressed in "the turkish style", and richly decorated with foliage, scrolls and flowers. The feet, decorated with water leaves, rest on an oval wooden base covered with a globe.
The theme of the clock comes from The Giaour, a fragment of a Turkish Tale, an English poem by Lord Byron published in may 1813 which tells the thwarted love of a Venetian, the Giaour – term by which the Turks designate infidels and especially Christians – and of Leila, a slave belonging to Hassan’s seraglio, military leader of a Turkish province. The betrayal of Leila discovered, she will be thrown into the sea and her lover will avenge her by killing Hassan, then taking refuge in a monastery.
Symbol of prestige and modernity, the decorative clocks are a reflection of the taste of the era of a wealthy bourgeoisie and may be the subject of diplomatic gifts or between individuals.
Beyond the purely decorative aspect of such objects, watchmaking in the 19th century is part of a subtle mix of political, historical and literary references.
This philhellenic movement converning the West finds a particular echo in France, one of the countries with the United Kingdom and Russia having suported the Greeks during their war of independance (1821-1830) to free oneself from the grip of the Ottoman Empire. Many clocks...
Category
Antique 1830s French Mantel Clocks
Materials
Bronze
Pair of porcelain “swallow” vases , L'Escalier de Cristal, France, 1890
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of Chinese porcelain vases. On a blue background of stylized clouds, two cartouches display a design of pairs of swallows flying among flowering branches. The reverse ...
Category
Antique 1890s French Aesthetic Movement Vases
Materials
Bronze
"Giuditta" by Ezio Ceccarelli, Italy, Circa 1900
By Ezio Ceccarelli
Located in PARIS, FR
Great female statue of Judith in bronze with brown patina and white marble from Carrara. This young woman holds in her hands, stretched over his head, a scimitar in its scabbard, ready to draw it. The weapon is fitted with a hilt decorated by a stylized lion on the top of the sword guard...
Category
Antique Early 1900s Italian Beaux Arts Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Carrara Marble, Bronze
« The Musician » Japanese style Clock attr. to L'Escalier de Cristal, FR, c.1890
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in PARIS, FR
Amusing bronze with double patina and porcelain clock in the shape of a covered jar.
This clock, with a dial with Arabic numerals decorated in its center with a seated lute player, i...
Category
Antique 1890s French Japonisme Mantel Clocks
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Louis XVI style Cassolettes attr. to H. Vian, France, circa 1890
By Henri Vian
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of Louis XVI-inspired baluster-shaped cassolettes in white marble, enriched with an elegant bronze mount with a double patina. The lid is topped with a seed-shaped gri...
Category
Antique 1890s French Louis XVI Jars
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Neo-Greek Inkwell by C.G. Diehl, E. Frémiet and J. Brandely, France, Circa 1867
By Emmanuel Fremiet, Jean Brandely, Charles-Guillaume Diehl
Located in PARIS, FR
Signed Diehl à Paris.
Wood and silvered copper inkwell. Central drawer ornamented with an escutcheon and flanked by two small lateral drawers forming two containers, surmounted by a lid representing a nestling. Central niche ornamented with a winged creature. Inkwell flanked by two felines. Toped by a penholder representing a Moorish head resting on an eagle claw.
This exceptional piece was realized thanks to the collaboration of ornemanist J. Brandely, sculptor E. Frémiet and cabinet-maker C.-G. Diehl. The motif of the fantasy creature dear to Diehl, is to be seen on the famous cabinet made by him in 1867 and now exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Inv. 1989.197).
Arriving in Paris in about 1840 Charles-Guillaume Diehl (1811-1885) founded his cabinet making and decoration firm at 19 rue Michel-le-Comte in 1885. His workshops produced elegant little pieces of furniture in rosewood and thuja and novelties with bronze and porcelain embellishments (see “Les ébénistes du XIXème siècle”, D. Ledoux-Lebard, Ed. de l’amateur, 1982, p.164). It was his luxury boxes, however (liqueur cellarettes, cigar cabinets, games boxes, cashmere cases, jewelry cases) which assured Diehl’s renown (see “l’Art en France sous le Second Empire”, Exposition Grand-Palais, Paris, 1979, p.133). Already rewarded with a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 in Paris, he exhibited a jardinière with china columns and a liqueur cabinet at the Industrial Arts Exhibition in 1861.
In collaboration with the designer Jean Brandely (active from 1867 until 1873), Diehl renovated his decorative repertory and created astonishing pieces of furniture in the Grecian style which had a dazzling success at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867, where his cabinets also won a silver medal. Certain motifs were so typical of Diehl’s work that they received extensive commentary by the art critic J. Mesnard in his book “Les Merveilles de l’Exposition Universal de 1867” (vol. II, pp. 133 & 149). He writes of a table of which “the pendant bearing hooks and the fan shaped radiating motif which ornaments the entablature are engraved with love” (p. 133) and a jewelry case where “The head in fine Grecian style makes up the essential part of the fine gilt bronze ornamentation” (p. 149).
For this Universal Exhibition Diehl also formed a partnership with two famous sculptors: Emile Guillemin (1841-1907) who carved the relief for a mahogany sideboard with galvanic gilt bronzes (Orsay Museum, Paris, Inv. O.A.O. 992) and Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910) who executed the low relief for a cedar medal cabinet...
Category
Antique 1860s French Greek Revival Inkwells
Materials
Copper
Japanese Style Planter Attributed to l'Escalier de Cristal, France, circa 1880
By L'Escalier de Cristal, Edouard Lievre
Located in PARIS, FR
Large planter decorated on the belly with a rotating decoration of polychrome flowers and geometric patterns in cloisonné enamel on a red background. It is inserted in an important p...
Category
Antique 1880s French Japonisme Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Enamel, Bronze
Large Neo-Greek Vase by F. Levillain & F. Barbedienne, France, circa 1890
By Ferdinand Levillain, Ferdinand Barbedienne
Located in PARIS, FR
After the model presented at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1878
Important neo-Greek vase in the shape of an Amphora, made in two patina bronze. The body is decorated with a rich continuous frieze in bas-relief presenting a procession of characters carrying their offerings to the temple, underlined by a decoration of theatrical masks among olive trees. The 's'-scroll handles decorated with grape vines, resting only on the shoulder of the vase, are supported by a ram’s head. Numerous palmettes and friezes adorn the whole. Resting on a molded marble circular base.
Height without marble base : 116,5 cm
Biography
Ferdinand Levillain (Paris, 1837-1905) studied under the sculptor Jouffroy (1806-1882), before making his debut in 1861 at the French Artists Salon where he continued to exhibit until 1903. At the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris, he was praised for a Neo-Greek style bronze cup he made for the firm Blot and Drouard. He was not to become really famous, however, until 1871 thanks to his association with the great bronze founder Ferdinand Barbedienne, who began to exhibit Neo-Greek style lamps...
Category
Antique 1890s French Greek Revival Vases
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Fine Pair of Baluster Vases, J.Vieillard & Cie and A. de Caranza, France, C1880
By Amedee de Caranza
Located in PARIS, FR
Manufacturer’s Mark of J.Vieillard & Cie à Bordeaux
A fine pair of polychrome earthenware baluster vases, decorated on a brown background with anchored crosses...
Category
Antique 1880s French Other Vases
Materials
Bronze
Japanese Style Clock attr. to L'Escalier de Cristal, France, Circa 1885
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in PARIS, FR
Rare Japanese clock in double patina bronze with suspended dial.
The portico and dial, with calligraphic Kanji numerals complemented by hands featuring an undulating dragon, are deco...
Category
Antique 1880s French Japonisme Mantel Clocks
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Trumpet-Shaped Byzantines Vases, L.C. Sevin&F. Barbedienne, France, 1880
By Ferdinand Barbedienne, Louis-Constant Sevin
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
Antique 1880s French Other Vases
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
Pair of Oriental Style Amphora vases, Porcelaine de Paris, France, 1880
By Porcelaine de Paris
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful pair of amphora vases in white and blue porcelain, richly decorated on each side with beautiful polychrome floral compositions framed by handles with openwork motifs of ori...
Category
Antique 1880s French Revival Vases
Materials
Porcelain
Covered Vase with Atlantes, attr. to A. Giroux, France, circa 1880
By Alphonse Giroux et Cie
Located in PARIS, FR
Beautiful ovoid-shaped covered vase in patinated bronze with golden highlights, with rich rotating decoration in relief. The lid, symbolizing Night, is decorated with a turtle, a moon, a dragon flying among the clouds ; and the belly, symbolizing the Day, is decorated with a rising sun, mountainous landscapes, and cherry tree branches.
The whole, topped with a flamed seed, is supported by three African-type atlantes dressed in a loincloth.
Historical and artistic context
This work of art combines elements of Japonism and Orientalism, two important movements representative of the taste of the time for exoticism. Indeed, this taste for Chinoiserie was revived at the end of the 19th century following the Franco-English military campaign against the imperial army in China in 1860. Napoleon III’s French troops bring back part of the treasure from the Summer Palace, constituting in 1863 the famous Chinese Museum of Empress Eugénie at the Palace of Fontainebleau. First in painting, the movement quickly spread to decorative arts and furniture.
This craze for the Far East is encouraged in France by the diffusion of Chinese ornamental works renewing the interior decoration of the luxurious Parisian residences of a clientele eager for something new.
It was also under the Second Empire that the Orientalists were propelled to the forefront. Emperor Napoleon III, aristocrats as well as wealthy bourgeois in search of exoticism fill the order books of the most renowned artists. It is then not the predominantly academic style of the Orientalists that counts but above all the exoticism that they show to a fascinated public.
Biography
Alphonse Giroux and Company, famous curiosity and luxury goods shop was situated in Paris, at No. 7 rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré and in business from the time of the Consulate until the end of the Second Empire. The company was founded by Francois-Simon-Alphonse and continued in 1838 by his two sons, Alphonse-Gustave (1810-1886) and André (1801-1879). The father became a close associate of the royal family and specialized in the manufacture of refined items for gifts. Kings Louis XVIII and then Charles X were both supplied with gifts for « The Children of France » by Giroux. Making progressively small furniture, they were mentionned for the first time in 1837 in the class « cabinet...
Category
Antique 1860s French Napoleon III Decorative Boxes
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Limoges Enameled "Marquis and Marquise" Vases, France, circa 1900
Located in PARIS, FR
Charming pair of tight neck vases made in Limoges enamel on copper decors of galante scenes characters, the Marquis and Marquise.
Category
Antique Early 1900s French Belle Époque Vases
Materials
Copper, Enamel
Pair of Vases with Bouquets, Gien Manufacture, France, C1880
By Theodore Deck, Gien
Located in PARIS, FR
A charming pair of polychrome earthenware vases with gold-leaf interleaving, a technique in which Théodore Deck had become a specialist.
These oblong-shaped vases are decorated on e...
Category
Antique 1880s French Other Vases
Materials
Gold Leaf
Orientalist Style Planter, France, Circa 1870
Located in PARIS, FR
Elegant Orientalist style rectangular planter in patinated and gilded bronze, resting on four lion paws. It is adorned with decorative friezes of water leaves, stylized floral medall...
Category
Antique 1870s French Neoclassical Revival Planters, Cachepots and Jardin...
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Marble and Bronze Urns on Marble Pedestals, France, Early 20th Century
Located in PARIS, FR
Measures: Height : 29 cm (11,4 in.) ; width : 61,5 cm (24,2 in.) ; depth : 55,5 cm (21,8 in.)
Total height : 139 cm (54,7 in.)
Important pair of rare Greek...
Category
Early 20th Century French Neoclassical Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Pair of "Cloisonne" Enamel Vases, Attr. to l'Escalier de Cristal, France, C.1870
By L'Escalier de Cristal
Located in PARIS, FR
Pair of Japanese-style roll-shaped vases, made in “cloisonné” enamel and gilded bronze. The cylindrical body is decorated with polychrom floral branches, flowers and butterflies on a...
Category
Antique 1870s French Japonisme Vases
Materials
Bronze, Enamel
Planter and Decorative Dish Attributed to Samson & Cie, France, Circa 1880
By Samson & Cie
Located in PARIS, FR
Important porcelain planter and decorative dish attributed to Samson & Cie.
They are decorated with golden and red friezes of intertwined lotus, fruits and flower cups, fans and two...
Category
Antique 1880s French Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Materials
Porcelain
Important Five Pieces Marble and Gilded Bronze Clock Set, France, Circa 1860
By Henri Picard
Located in PARIS, FR
Marked on the dial Furet & Bon, Hrs du Roy, à Paris
Measures: Clock – Height 98 cm (38 1/2 in.), width 70 cm (27 1/2 in.), depth 25 cm (9 3/4 in.)
Candelabra – Height 116 cm (45 ...
Category
Antique 1860s French Louis XVI Mantel Clocks
Materials
Marble, Bronze
