French Ormolu Pedestal

This beautiful French vitrine clock styled in the Moroccan taste is an exquisite work of artistry and craftsmanship. Featuring a clock, thermometer and barometer, no detail has been overlooked regarding its functionality, design and construction. This magnificent clock rests on four bracket feet with gadrooned ormolu bases atop a square red marble plinth...

This exceptionally rare circular expanding dining table was designed by Robert Jupe and crafted by the English cabinetmakers Johnstone & Jeanes, successors to Johnstone, Jupe & Co. One of only a handful known from the firm, this table illustrates the Victorian era's quest to combine technical innovation with superb and beautiful craftsmanship. Complete with its original leaves, the table’s circular top is formed from eight separate segments. When the top is rotated, an ingenious swivel mechanism causes the sections to diverge, allowing a set of small or large leaves to be inserted for an adjustable increase in size. The design for the table was patented by Robert Jupe in 1835, who had envisioned “an improved expanding table so constructed that the sections composing its surface may be caused to diverge from a common center and that the spaces caused thereby may be filled up by inserting leaves or filling pieces.” The first of these fascinating tables were created between 1835 and 1840 during his partnership with John Johnstone and their firm of Johnstone, Jupe & Co. in London. Jupe left the company in 1840, after which the firm changed its name due to a new partnership and became Johnstone & Jeanes. The firm would eventually achieve international fame for its remarkable designs, exhibiting a "circular table made on the expanding principle" like this one at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Jupe was not alone in his fascination with combining the technical merits of engineering and mechanics with the more artful pursuit of cabinet making. The first half of the 19th century saw a prolific increase in the popularity of applying new ideas to furniture principles, which allowed furniture to serve many purposes. The resulting “patent” furniture...

This ingenious late Regency card table was designed with both beauty and entertainment in mind. When not in use, its folded D-shaped top sits against the wall providing an elegant si...

The exquisite art of pietre dure is at its absolute finest in this spectacular pair of Russian ormolu and malachite plinths. True works of art of the Restauration period, these plinths each feature a matching pietre dure mosaic crafted of the finest stones, all chosen to create a sense of depth and dimensionality in the final work. Depicting an onyx vase with tulips, roses, daffodils, magnolia and other flowers, these pietre dure panels are among the finest examples of this ancient art we have seen. The pietre dure is complemented by malachite panels of the highest quality, exhibiting exceptional depth through its extraordinary cellular structure. Malachite is one of Russia’s most precious stones, and its presence in these plinths indicates commission and ownership by an individual of considerable status. Mounted in an excellent stepped ormolu base, these plinths originally served as bases for vases or candelabra. The overall execution and appearance of these plinths is very characteristic of the taste associated with the immensely wealthy collector Nicolas Demidoff. As early as 1806, Demidoff had commissioned the Parisian goldsmith Henri August to supply a guéridon; in 1819, he ordered famed French bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire to supply mounts for a massive malachite vase (now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), as well as a console table with legs in the form of Nike. Other commissions included a table given as a gift to Grand Duke Leopoldo II of Florence, now in the Pitti Palace. Demidoff eventually settled in Florence in 1822 and became Russian minister to the Tuscan Court. Elevated to the rank of Count of San Donato by the Grand Duke, he built a magnificent villa at San Donato on the site of lands formerly owned by the Medici. The villa was later inherited by Anatole, his son, Prince of San Donato, and there are records which confirm transactions he had with the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. The 19th century proved to be the golden age of Russian malachite. The stone became a sign of prestige and a token of wealth, so much so that Russian papers of the time wrote: "To afford having a big piece wrought in malachite is synonymous to owning diamonds." Year after year the Russian (Romanov) treasury paid increasingly unreasonable prices to hoard the best malachite, much of which went into Romanov palaces and extravagant objets d'art. The Hermitage Museum possesses a collection of over two hundred examples of this “palatial” malachite...

This beautiful French clock garniture, styled in the Louis XV taste, is a charming work of artistry and craftsmanship. Crafted of richly veined and brightly-hued fluorspar mounted wi...

This elegant Italian pedestal is hewn from a striking piece of Rouge de France marble. Quarried only in France, Rouge de France marble has been hotly sought-after since ancient times...

Magnificent French Neoclassical Ormolu Mounted Verdigris Marble Pedestal France, Paris, Late 19th century This magnificent French neoclassical ormolu mounted verdigris marble pede...

French Empire ormolu-mounted vitrine cabinet pedestal, circa 1840. Very good quality bronze mounts of typical Empire period heads. Very useful pedestal vitrine combination tha...

Pair of large French Neoclassical ormolu, glass and marble pedestals French, 20th century Height 112.5cm, width 36cm, depth 36cm These exceptional pieces are a pair of large Fre...

Wonderful French fine ormolu bronze-mounted mahogany pedestal with marble top and two drawers. Measures: 52" H x 16" W.

Antique late 19th century French ormolu mounted Empire-style pedestal, cast and figurine depicting a Greek goddess along with sculpted heads overlaid with flora. The middle design de...

A Palatial very fine and rare pair of French 19th century Louis XV style Ormolu and Malachite Pedestal side tables, attributed to Frédéric-Eugène Piat (French, 1827-1903), the bronze...