Fondali Emersi Large Oval Centrepiece

This elegant centerpiece in white clay features a base in dark grey supporting a conic body made of concentric steps that are finished in red on the outside and in vivid matte green ...

This sumptuous piece is entirely made in silver and will enrich a dining table or entryway with its superb craftsmanship and sophisticated details. This centerpiece is specifically d...

This superb set is made up of two centrepieces that can double as bowls to display small objects or a flower arrangement. They are both made entirely in silver and both feature side ...

An exceptional piece of craftsmanship, this Baroque-inspired, silver-plated brass centerpiece features a polished surface highlighting a stunning scalloped rim and lobed oval bowl. E...

Specifically designed to serve and display risotto dishes because of its generous surface and deep bowl, this elliptical dish is a sophisticated addition to the Frutta collection. It...

This exquisite oval-shaped bowl exemplifies craftsmanship and design innovation. Inspired by the sinuous forms of madrepore fossils, the shell-white exterior features a ridged, circu...

Hallmarked in London in 1908 by Charles Stuart Harris, this stunning and large, Edwardian, Antique Sterling Silver Centrepiece, is oval in shape, and features ornate chased decoratio...

Large Italian centerpiece in solid silver. The body is oval and completely smooth, under which a smooth base has been welded to elevate the o...

Oval centerpiece in solid 800 silver. The body, very well proportioned and balanced in its shapes and lines, has been embossed with pod motifs. The embossment was executed in an exem...

Unique centrepiece in green handblown glass, Belgium 1970s A unique translucent centrepiece made in Belgium in the 1970s This large scale hand blown glass bowl is of a beautiful gre...

Hallmarked in Sheffield in 1927 by P. Ashbury & Sons, this handsome, sterling silver centrepiece, stands on four scroll feet, and features ribbon and reed detailing, acanthus scroll ...

A Large Louis Philippe Period Gilt-Bronze Table Centrepiece or Corbeille (Fruit Basket). Attributed to Guillaume Denière (1815-1903), Paris, Circa 1840. The four sculptural figures of seated children are attributed to Jean-Jacques Feuchère (1807-1852) and represent the four elements of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Each figure is accompanied by its corresponding attribute. Fire holds a flaming torch and sits atop a dragon. Water sits atop a dolphin and perhaps originally held a trident spear. Earth holds grapes and ears of wheat accompanied by a lioness and cub. Air holds a billowing robe and sits atop an exotic bird. The circular top of the centrepiece with beaded rim and cast in relief to the basin with strapwork and lion masks. The underside of the basin similarly cast with additional detail of herm figures above a belt of intertwined vine leaf and mice. The whole supported on a baluster upright hung with volutes and fruiting swags above a spreading socle and oval foot. This impressive centrepiece dates to the late 1830s or early 1840s when the patronage of King Louis Philippe I of France heralded a pronounced flourishing in the sculptural art of metallurgy. Such a specific dating can be made with reference to a surtout de table which was commissioned in 1834 by Ferdinand-Philippe, duc d’Orléans and eldest son of King Louis Philippe. That famous and documented surtout de table, comprised centerpieces, candelabra and tazze modelled in a new sculptural style with figures, animals and naturalistic decoration. Designed in the Renaissance revival style by Claude-Aimé Chenavard (1798–1838) and Jean-Baptiste-Jules Klagmann (1810–1867) and made by Chenavard’s pupil Guillaume Denière, the duc d’Orléans surtout was a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ with input from many designers, modellers and sculptors including from Jean-Jacques Feuchère (1807-1852), Pierre-Jules Cavelier (1814- 1894) and Antoine-Louis Barye (1795–1875). The surtout was delivered to Ferdinand-Philippe’s apartments at the Tuileries Palace in April 1839. Ferdinand Philippe, duc d’Orléans died in a carriage accident three years later, on 13 July 1842 and following the French Revolution of 1848 the extensive surtout was sold by his widow, the former Duchesse Hélène of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1814-1858) at Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 18-20 January 1853. It was divided into multiple lots with the sculptural centrepieces by Antoine-Louis Barye, candelabra and decorative dishes widely dispersed. The present centrepiece compares closely to multiple elements of the duc d’Orléans surtout de table, most obviously in the profusion of Renaissance revival strapwork and the figures of children which in appearance, pose and allegorical purpose are directly comparable to related figures of children variously employed as attributes for music, feasting and hunting across the centrepieces and candelabra which make up the Orléans surtout de table. Compare a pair of candelabra titled ‘candelabra with woman playing flute...