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Neo-Greek Inkwell by C.G. Diehl, E. Frémiet and J. Brandely, France, Circa 1867

About the Item

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 with marquetry and silver plated bronzes (Orsay Museum, Paris, Inv. O.A. 10440). Diehl was again rewarded with a medal of honour at the Union Central Exhibition of 1869 and a progress medal at the Universal Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 (Sideboard in blackened pear wood and lemon wood with galvanic bronzes, designed by J. Brandely with a low relief by E. Guillemin, Orsay Museum, Paris, Inv. O.A.O. 336). Showered with praise by the critics, Diehl is considered as one of the most innovating artists of the 19th century. His final appearance was at the 1878 Universal Exhibition in Paris where he presented outside the competition, his most recent creations, including a work table in marquetry which with its naturalistic grasshopper motif anticipated “Art Nouveau” (Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy, Nancy).

Creator:

Jean Brandely (Artist),Charles-Guillaume Diehl (Cabinetmaker),Emmanuel Fremiet (Sculptor)

Dimensions:

Height: 17.72 in (45 cm)Width: 19.69 in (50 cm)Depth: 9.06 in (23 cm)

Style:

Greek Revival (In the Style Of)

Materials and Techniques:

Copper,Wood,Silvered

Place of Origin:

France

Period:

1860-1869

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1867

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

PARIS, FR

Reference Number:

Seller: 1307/421stDibs: LU3860312730271

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Shop All Emmanuel Fremiet

Emmanuel Fremiet

Emmanuel Frémiet was born in Paris, France in 1824 and was brought into an upper middle-class family that had very close ties to the world of art. His family was filled with great artists and this included his Cousin Sophie who married a famous sculptor called Francois Rude. Emmanuel’s mother was also an accomplished artist who constantly encouraged him and brought him up into the world of art. At the age of five, he was already was receiving formal training in art in a private school. The start at a young age meant he was able to be accepted at the spectacular Ecole des Arts Decoratifs School at the age of sixteen. Throughout this period he learned everything he needed to then become employed by Werner as his head lithographer within a year, whose duties were to prepare drawings of both animals and men. After a long period of convincing by Sophie and Emmanuel, Francois Rude took Emmanuel as a pupil in his studio to further his learning in modeling and sculpture work. Throughout his young life, he spent a lot of time in zoological gardens and participated in dissections of any animals which had passed away during this time. By the age of seven, he had been exposed to a wide range of different wild animals. To further Emmanuel’s path in art, he was appointed the successor of Antoine Louis Barye as Professor of Drawing after Antoine’s death in 1875. With this new position and like many other great sculptors, he spent a lot of time studying and drawing at the morgue and even went to various embalmers across Paris. This was all of his training to give him the exact measurements and to be able to reproduce the muscle and bone structure of the many men and animals that he witnessed. His first sculpture was exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1843 when he was nineteen and he continued to exhibit his magnificent sculptures for the rest of his life at the Salon. He was even awarded various medals and awards from many of his pieces. As he began with the bronze sculptures, he made many small animal bronzes with very fine detail which are nowadays highly sought after by collectors and museums alike. There were many sculptors during this time that crafted pieces in which showed a cruel nature, but Emmanuel was known for the soft and gentle pieces of work which often were amusing. At the age of twenty-five, he was to receive more commissions than any other sculptor before or during his time. It became near impossible to be able to walk the streets without seeing one of Emmanuel’s many smaller bronze sculptures. This amazing sculptor continued crafting works, but also proceeded to train new sculptors, taking on near twenty pupils each time. Unfortunately, this great sculptor passed away in 1910.

Shop All Charles-Guillaume Diehl

Charles-Guillaume Diehl

Charles-Guillaume Diehl 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. It was his luxury boxes, however, (liqueur cellarettes, cigar cabinets, games boxes, cashmere cases, jewelry cases) which assured Diehl’s renown. 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”. 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” and a jewelry case where “The head in fine Grecian style makes up the essential part of the fine gilt bronze ornamentation”. 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 and Emmanuel Frémiet (1824–1910), who executed the low relief for a cedar medal cabinet with marquetry and silver-plated bronzes. Diehl was again rewarded with a medal of honor at the Union Central Exhibition of 1869 and a progress medal at the Universal Exhibition in Vienna in 1873. Showered with praise by the critics, Diehl is considered one of the most innovative artists of the 19th century. His final appearance was at the 1878 Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he presented outside the competition, his most recent creations, including a work table in marquetry, which with its naturalistic grasshopper motif anticipated Art Nouveau.