Antique-Inspired Console and its Mirror, Italy, 19th Century

Center table made exclusively in richly carved wood and attributed to A.E. Beurdeley ; with a fine pierced belt ornamented with laurel branches. Raised on four legs joined by a stret...

Beautiful ceremonial table in mahogany veneer, black stained wood and gilded bronze. The top with symmetrical decoration presents an important marquet...

Important two-tiered sideboard attributed to H.A. Fourdinois made in natural and carved wood : the lower part made up of four panels, two concave ones and two doors, richly ornated with a polychrome enameled floral decoration and gilt bronze plaques. A large dual drawer is surmounted by the upper part of the sideboard, opening with two glazed doors, framed by detached columns. The entire unit is topped with a pediment onto which a female bust is carved in relief within a medallion on a gilt background. With a matching set of twelve chairs. The Forney library in Paris preserves order registers of the Fourdinois as well as sketches books and pictures representing pieces of furniture made by the Fourdinois workshops. In this documentation, some elements enable us to link this sideboard with Henri-Auguste Fourdinois’ productions, such as the large scrolls linking the upper part to the lower part of the sideboard, as well as the detached columns carved at their lower third. (picture n°1 attached) Notebook containing ink-sketches coming from the Fourdinois workshop shows a project for a pelmet, beautified with a centering trophy composed of a torch and a quiver within in a foliage wreath, this motif obviously reused by the Fourdinois on the central decoration of the panels of our sideboard. (picture n°2 attached) The firm of Fourdinois, considered during the Second Empire as the greatest furniture manufacturer in Paris, was founded in 1835 by Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (1799-1871). It was developped in the context of the Expositions Universelles. At the time, the firm already produces furniture of the Neo-Renaissance style, such as a dresser that won the Great Medal at the London Universal Exhibition of 1851. The son, Henri-Auguste Fourdinois (1830-1907), joined the firm in 1860 and will become head of the firm in 1867. The high quality of his designs was remarked at the Universal Exhibition in 1862, when the jury awarded him two medals « for Excellence of Composition and Execution ». Henri-Auguste, now sole in charge, brought the firm to the summit of its achievements at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris by winning the Grand Prize for his stand. Apart from the commissions he executed for the « Mobilier de la Couronne », he also produced high quality furniture for the Parisian bourgeoisie. The firm is at its zenith during the years 1862-1880. At this time, it is considered as an example to follow for other cabinet-makers, whether they are French, British or American. Through the quality of execution and the extreme care taken in the decoration of furniture, H.-A. Fourdinois was particularly appreciated by Napoleon III and Eugenie...

A similar model was exposed at the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition ( see picture attached) Patinated and gilded bronze gueridon with four paw feet joined by X-shaped stems, attributed to Sévin and Barbedienne. Round green marble top mounted with a bronze rim adorned with oves and pearls motif. Born in 1821 and dead in Paris in 1888, Louis-Constant Sévin was apprenticed to the parisian sculptor Marneuf. In 1839, he joined the sculptor-modelors Phénix and Joyau, as designer, and designed silver-smith’s objects for famous firms like Denière, Froment-Meurice, Morel and Duponchel. During the Revolution in 1848, C. Sévin joined Morel in London, as workshop manager and designed pieces that Morel exhibited in 1851. Back in France in 1851, C. Sévin went to Limoges and designed models for the porcelain factories of Jouhanneaud and Dubois of which many pieces were exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in 1855. From this date on, he worked for Ferdinand Barbedienne as sculptor-ornemanist until the end of his life. Sévin’s works are considerable, he designed furniture bronzes for the « hôtel de La Païva ». At the London Exhibition in 1862, he was awarded a medal « pour l’excellence artistique des meubles qu’il a dessinés et qui sont exposés par Barbedienne » : for the artistic excellence of the furniture he designed and which is exhibited by F. Barbedienne. He won a second class medal at the Union centrale des Arts décoratifs Exhibition in 1863 and was awarded a gold medal as « cooperator ». F. Barbedienne said that posterity would remember Sévin’s compositions. The most extraordinary object designed by C. Sévin for F. Barbedienne, was a Renaissance style gilded bronze monumental clock...

We present you a massive console table, circa 1835, from the period of the regency of Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies (1806-1878). The whole is sup...

Antique console table consisting of a wall-mounted table and a mirror above it. This neoclassical-style set features a lacquered base and gilded friezes, a white marble top with beau...

Fine Spanish Empire console with mirror in mahogany and rosewood with satinwood inlays, circa 1810.

A striking Italian 19th century Neo-Classical st. patinated, giltwood and faux painted marble matching console and mirror. The freestanding console is raised by a wonderfully execute...