19th Century Napoleon III Kingwood Marble Top Inlay Hippolyte Edme Pretot, 1830s

19th Century Kingwood and marble top credenza, the stepped top having the original shaped white marble with decorative engraved ormolu moulding below, the credenza consisting of a la...

A stunning and most unique French 19th century Napoleon III Period ebony, ormolu, tortoiseshell, brass, pewter, Lapis Lazuli, mother of pearl, and black Belgian marble vitrine cabinet, signed Pretot. The four door buffet is raised by a beautiful scalloped shaped base with most elegant scrolled movements. The base is adorned with striking richly chased ormolu mounts of lovely rosettes, foliate Rinceaux designs, and a most impressive central mask of a bearded man amidst large acanthus leaves, all set on an ebony background with fine brass fillets. The two central doors are decorated with stunning masterfully executed scrolled foliate brass designs with intricately detailed maiden's faces, birds, and central pewter and colorful pietra dura urns above an exceptional lattice design with a Lapis Lazuli background and a bottom mother of pearl palmette all set on a superb tortoiseshell background. Each outer door retains its original glass pane set within a foliate ormolu band and a sensational inlaid frame with additional brass designs of interlocking geometric patterns, lovely scrolled foliate movements, finely detailed palmettes at each corner, and striking most charming pietra dura inlaid floral reserves. All four doors display foliate ormolu keyhole escutcheons and open to reveal two adjustable upholstered shelves...

French sideboard from the first half of the 19th century. Charles X cabinet finely inlaid in high quality walnut, rosewood and maple. Original white marble top of excellent size and ...

A magnificent rectangular black 2-door cabinet in Napoleon III style. Large and small details are gilt, bringing antique and luxurious looks. Brass medallions are centrally mounted on each door and also adorn the upper facade of the cabinet. The inside of the cabinet is divided into three horizontal shelves. At the bottom of the cabinet, there is a figure of a woman's mask, decorated with floral motifs, notably acanthus leaves and it is completed on the side with a rich ornamentation of gilded bronzes caryatides. The borders running along the cabinet are all gilt and engraved with beautiful patterns. On the two cabinet doors, there are two big figures encased in an oval border, representing Apollo, the god of music, and Hermes, the messenger of the gods. Both are the son of Zeus, and they are also frequently present in mythological tales about the other. When Hermes was just a toddler, he once left his cradle to steal the cattle of his half-brother Apollo. Apollo soon discovered that his flock was missing and began to search the surrounding area. Of course, Apollo was the god of prophecy, so he soon found out about the thief and furiously went to Mount Cyllene to find Hermes in his cave. He grabbed the infant and took him to Mount Olympus, to be judged by their master Zeus, the king of the gods. In front of Zeus, Hermes initially denied everything, but in the end, he had to confess. Zeus found the story quite amusing, so he did not punish Hermes, but only required him to return the flock. Hermes regretted what he had done and offered Apollo his lyre as a gift. The lyre was a musical instrument that Hermes had created all by himself from the shell of a turtle. To repay Hermes for his kindness, Apollo returned the gesture by giving Hermes a golden staff...