Cartier Silver and Enamel Picture Frame Circa 1900s

Our pair of rare two-light gilt silver candlesticks from Cartier from the early 20th century feature finely carved jade stone figures of fish. Each 10 by 10 3/4 by 3 1/2 inches. Ma...

Our magnificent antique gem-set and enameled silver-gilt tazza from northern India, circa 1800, features a lotus form dish decorated with concentric rings o...

Our important parcel-gilt and patinated silver and glass-mounted vase and matching oil lamp were designed by Paul Legrand (1840-1910) and crafted by the silversmith, Charles Glachant, for Boucheron of Paris, circa 1878-1880. 21 in tall and 16.5 in wide (53.4 by 41.9 cm). 28.56 lbs, 457 oz, 14,210 g. Provenance: presented to or purchased by Jean-Baptiste Pezon (1827-1897); acquired by a European private collector, perhaps on the death of Jean-Baptiste Pezon in 1897, by descent; acquired by YM Antiques, 2017. This double walled vase has an amphora form, with body and foot with silver, gilt and patinated and stylized flowers, anthemions and sprays of cherries against an etched and matted ground pierced to reveal a gilt inner wall. The upper body is detachable via a slip-lock, and mounted on both sides with arched panels formed of hexagonal beveled glass tiles. One glass panel applied with bacchic infants taunting a rearing goat and the other side with infants feeding grapes to a lioness under a looming bust of a satyr. The patinated and gilt upswung loop bifurcated handles are mounted with fully modeled figures of Pan bearing a syrinx and thyrsus and a draped maenad playing two flutes, both above roaring lion heads, the rim inset with a slip-lock detachable gilt bowl etched with masks of various representations of Bacchus spaced by ribbons and trophies and with scrolling fruiting vines. The base of interior with detachable base metal drip pan to accommodate the removable oil lamp designed to illuminate the glass tiles from within. The lamp is raised on four hoof feet, the upturned ends cast underneath with masks and with detachable cover mounted with two infant satyrs and flanked by gilt loop handles. The bacchic themed design featuring cartouches depicting infants taunting a goat and lion, plus prominent lion masks at the handles, certainly appealed to Boucheron's customer, Jean-Baptiste Pezon (1827-1897), who is believed to have commissioned the piece. Pezon was the celebrated lion tamer and headliner of the Grande Menagerie whose profession brought him great fame and fortune in Paris. Born a shepherd boy in Lozere, he is said to have left his home at the age of seventeen in the company of a wolf he had captured and trained years earlier. He headed to Paris and by the age of twenty-one purchased his first lion who he named Brutus. The animal is said to have inspired the Lion of Belfort, the monumental red standstone sculpture by Frederic Bartholdi erected in Belfort in 1880. Toulouse-Lautrec was among his admirers and friends, visiting Pezon's Great Lozerian Menagerie to sketch animals. A large bronze sculpture of Pezon atop a female lion adorns the Pezon family tomb in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, as seen in our image here. The vase and detachable bowl are marked on the underside with the silversmith's mark of Charles Glachant. The underside and upper rim of the lower body is engraved "Fic Boucheron Paris". The lamp is marked on underside and flange of cover for Glachant. Boucheron archives indicate the vase was inspired by the amphora vases created by the Greek potter, Nikosthenes, 550-510 BC. The Nikosthenic amphora vases are a form of Attic vase recognized for their angular amphora form with broad flat handles. Potted of bright orange-red clay, they were decorated with plant and animal motifs within distinct friezes, with the most significant defining feature being the black figure painting, often highlighted with white accents. In this vase Legrand re-imagines the striking contrast of the black figures against a warm ground through the use of patina and gilding. His inventive use of piercing and double-wall construction create additional levels of texture and depth throughout the body. The same combination of ornamentation was employed in a ewer designed by Legrand in 1880 in the Islamic taste. (See lot 77 of Christie's sale in New York on October 22, 2009.) Edmé Bouchardon (1698-1762), royal sculptor to Louis XV, may have provided Legrand with inspiration for the vase's iconography. The panel featuring bacchic infants taunting a rearing goat is very similar to a bas relief representation of Winter designed by Bouchardon for the Fontaine des Quarte-Saisons on rue de Grenelle, Paris. Bouchardon debuted his plaster model for the bas relief in 1741, and the fountain was completed in 1745. The Boucheron firm, founded by the celebrated jeweler, Frédéric Boucheron...

Our exceptional watercolor on paper by the American painter and illustrator, William Thomas Smedley (1858-1920), depicts a distinguished gentleman smoker standing beside a street lamp. Signed and dated 1894. Mounted in period giltwood frame originally glazed and now missing glass. We may install new plexiglass prior to shipment. William Thomas Smedley was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1858 and died in Bronxville, New York in 1920. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and later entered the Paris studio of Jean Paul Laurens. He submitted paintings regularly at prestigious exhibitions both in America and abroad during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including the Paris Salon and the Universal Exposition of 1900. Around the turn of the century the village of Bronxville, located just north of Manhattan, became the center of a small suburban artists' colony. Otto Bacher settled there in 1896 and was followed a year later by Will Hicock Low. Smedley moved to Bronxville in 1898 and was soon joined by his fellow Pennsylvanian, Milne Ramsey.

Our pair of elegant silver-gilt ewers are attributed to the Austrian maker, Johann Georg Hann of Vienna, circa 1780-1800. Heights: 17 7/8 and 22 1/2 in; 45 a...

Our extraordinary Chinese candelabrum dates from as early as the 18th century with later 19th century additions is exquisitely crafted from rock crystal and gilt metal with enamel de...

Big and rare French oak and golden moulding picture frame from the 1900s. Beautiful quality.

Modern double picture frame. Retailed by Cartier in New York. Two vertical (portrait) rectangular windows in horizontal (landscape) rectangular surround. Sterling silver borders and ...

Mid 20th Century Signed CARTIER Sterling Silver Handmade Picture Frame Original box Maker stamped. Prior engraving present. 9.25 w x 11.25 x .25 thick Preowned unrestored original vi...

A classic picture frame. Made by Cartier. There is a wide border of 1" and four applied Cartier logos in the corners. Made of silver plate in 1988. Stampe...

Modern sterling silver picture frame. Retailed by Cartier in New York. Rectangular window in same surround with tapering front and flat sides. Midcentury chic in hard-to-find landsca...

CARTIER 925 Sterling silver table picture frame very sober and elegant.