Centerpiece "The Naiad", attributed to G. Denière, France, circa 1870

Exceptional planter by Maison Marnyhac in chiseled and gilded bronze and Algerian onyx representing a young African woman kneeling, carrying an oval bowl decorated with foliage. She is dressed with a loincloth, wearing an egret and adorned with many jewels. It rests on a square base decorated with gilded bronze. A model of a similar African Venus...

Elegant oval cut-crystal centerpiece decorated with stylized palmettes on a grid background, resting on a silver patina bronze mount representing blooming branches. Biography : The ...

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...

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...

A stunning and extremely high quality French 19th century Louis XVI st. Belle Époque period Rouge Griotte marble and ormolu centerpiece attributed to François Linke. The centerpiece ...

A stunning and extremely decorated French 19th century Louis XVI st. Ormolu and patinated Bronze centerpiece. This wonderful centerpiece is raised by a triangular Ormolu base with co...

A most attractive French 19th century Renaissance st. patinated Bronze and Ormolu centerpiece urn. The urn is raised by on an oval base with a patinated Bronze merman swimming above ...

Exceptional French figural doré bronze and cut crystal centerpiece, featuring two mounted cherubs and a swan.