Louis XVI Decorative Art

With ribbon and bow carved and trailing bell flower over the barometer dial. The dial with grisaille painted maker inscriptions and dial pointers , within a circular giltwood frame. ...

The circular glazed white enamel dial with Roman and Arabic chapters, set within a pierced case with ribbon-tied fruiting laurel trails, each side with a ram’s mask capped pilaster, ...

View of Paris from Pont-Royal to Pont-Neuf, Engraving by Pierre-Gabriel Berthault, 1786 This elegant late 18th-century engraving by Pierre-Gabriel Berthault (1748–1819) offers a swe...

A remarkable pair of French 19th century Louis XVI st. Belle Époque period ormolu and Mahogany decorative wall plaques signed F. Barbedienne. Each plaque is set on an elegant Mahogany backplate with fine scalloped bases and tops. The central ormolu plaques...

Hand carved during the reign of Louis XVI, this linden wood and oak plaque was originally a boiserie panel that would have adorned the wall of a French manor...

Little friezes in gilded wood. They used to be thicker, same front and back, but someone made them thinner: he cuts them in half to obtain two. They were probably parts of a spark ar...

A Very Large and Exceptionally Fine Quality Antique Italian Micro-Mosaic Plaque Depicting "The Saint Peter Square" in Rome. The center medallion surrounded by a beautiful Laurel Wreath in multiple shades of Green Mosaic amidst a black Belgium Marble border. The interior rounded subject depicts Saint Peter Square which is found in Rome, Italy. The entire center panel is made up of a captivating array of tesserae in a variety of shapes and colors, which create this stunning mosaic construct. When inspected from up-close, small rectangular tesserae are found in an assortment of colors, which include: white, green, blue, red, black, brown, orange etc. When the subject is seen from afar, a fantastic image of the entire Saint Peter Square can be viewed as if a painting has been created. The oil on canvas of this scene, by was sold in Christie's Auction for over $2,000,000 USD. The plaque rests in a custom ebonized and gilt square frame. This can be used as a decorative object on the wall to serve as a painting, or, be converted to a table-top by mounting it on a table stand. Rome, Circa: 1850 Giovanni Paolo Panini (Piacenza 1691-1765 Rome), View of Saint Peter's Square, Rome. From Christie's Auction: Giovanni Paolo Panini arrived in Rome in 1711, painting capricci and architectural pieces in a vigorous if slightly eccentric style, and by 1719, when he was admitted to the Academy of St. Luke and the virtuosi al Pantheon, he was a rising star in the Roman art world. From around 1719-1726 he was much in demand for decorative frescoes, including quadratura, ornament and landscape and other genres, often in collaboration with figure or flower painters. During this period he worked for Cardinal Patrizi at Villa Patrizi, Cardinal Annibale Albani at Palazzo Albani (now del Drago) alle Quattro Fontane, Livio de Carolis at Palazzo de Carolis, Cardinal Alberoni at Palazzo Alberoni, Innocent XIII Conti in the Quirinal and in the library of S. Croce in Gerusalemme. In 1724 he married Caterina Gosset, the sister-in-law of Nicolas Vleughels, the director of the French Academy in Rome, to which he was admitted in 1732, and as a result he was much patronized by the French. During the 1720s he developed his figure style away from the awkwardness of his early works into one that concentrated on groups of stylishly-dressed aristocrats and skillfully modelled bystanders, sibyls and pseudo-antique figures. These he noted down in drawings (such as a sketchbook in the British Museum) that he drew upon to populate his paintings. He also began to receive commissions to design and record temporary festivals, often for French ambassadors to Rome. By the beginning of the 1730s Panini was developing a distinctive subgenre of the capriccio in which recognizable monuments are placed in imaginary topographical relationships, which were well-received in the classicizing era of Clement XII Corsini. In 1732 he was one of the panel of judges for the competition instituted by Clement for the Lateran façade, and in the following year painted an impressive View of Piazza del Quirinale for the pope. At about this time he was developing his best-known topographical subjects, interior views of St Peter's and the Pantheon, which were much in demand, to judge by the number of extant versions extending into the 1750s. By about 1734 he was beginning to attract the attention of English patrons, who ordered sets of Roman views, such as those at Marble Hill House (1738) and Castle Howard. In 1736, through Filippo Juvarra, he received important commissions from Philip V of Spain for scenes of the life of Christ in the Chinoiserie room at La Granja in Spain (1736). From as early as the 1720s he had been producing some vedute (view-paintings), initially based on prototypes by Gaspar van Wittel, and he developed the genre in subsequent decades in works that would include impressive panoramic views of the Forum or Palatine, although his staple genre was the capriccio rather than the veduta. He also expanded his repertory of church interiors, adding such churches as S. Paolo fuori le Mura and S. Agnese in Piazza Navona, as well as church interiors recording special events. His son by his first marriage, Giuseppe (1718-1805), began to support him in architectural and festival design projects. By the 1740s Panini was at the peak of his powers, and evidently had a considerable workshop helping him meet demand, especially of capricci to be used as overdoors and other decorative installations. Giovanni Paolo was successful in elevating himself socially above the usual artisanal status of genre painters, and would sometimes include a self-portrait in paintings commissioned by the great and powerful. He also appears to have been successful financially, and owned a substantial palazzo in via Monserrato. He increasingly concentrated on important commissions, such as a view of the Lottery in Piazza Montecitorio (London, National Gallery, 1743-1744), the designs for the festival decorations for the birth of the Dauphin in Palazzo Farnese (Waddesdon Manor, 1751), or the view of an imaginary picture gallery housing the collection of Cardinal Valenti Gonzaga (Wadsworth Atheneum, 1749). In the mid-1750s he received an important series of commissions from the Duc de Choiseul, French ambassador to Rome and soon to become one of the most powerful men in France, that included his best-known compositions, Ancient Rome (Roma Antica) and Modern Rome (Roma Moderna). These large paintings, of which there are three sets (in Boston and Stuttgart, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Louvre) represent imaginary picture galleries based on the Valenti Gonzaga composition but hung with what purport to be Panini's own vedute of ancient and modern sites respectively (with corresponding pieces of sculpture). These paintings sum up the eighteenth-century canon of the greatest works of architecture and sculpture, and the equivalence between modern and ancient Rome. By this time Panini was being assisted by his son by his second marriage, Francesco (1748-1800), who was a skilled draughtsman and painter who continued his father's work after his death in 1765. The Farnborough Hall paintings The Piazza S. Pietro and the Campidoglio are important vedute by Panini painted in 1750 and originally installed, with other works by Panini and Canaletto, in the seat of the Holbech family, Farnborough Hall, Warwickshire (National Trust). Farnborough Hall had been inherited in 1717 by William Holbech (circa 1699-1771), who is documented on the Grand Tour in Florence, Rome and Venice from late 1732 until his return home at the end of April 1734 with his brother Hugh. Holbech is said to have gone on the Grand Tour to recover from a broken heart and to have spent a considerable time there prior to these documented appearances. During his time in Rome he acquired two Paninis, which were seen by an anonymous antiquary around 1746, who referred to various sculptures "all brought from Rome with two pictures, one of the Rotunda, and the other of diverse buildings by Panino" (British Library, Add. MS 6230, pp. 31-32). The Rotunda (the Pantheon) is a painting now in a private collection in New York, and is signed and dated 1734. The Diverse Buildings, which was probably one of Panini's capricci, has not been identified. On his Grand Tour Holbech seems also to have acquired two Canalettos, although they are not mentioned by the antiquary, who may only have had eyes for things Roman. In about 1746-1747, Holbech remodelled the house by creating a Saloon, now the dining room, at the back of the house. This room, the entrance hall, the staircase, library and closet were stuccoed by William Perritt of York, and a bill for this work dated 14 November 1750 survives (or survived until recently; G. Beard, Decorative Plasterwork in Great Britain, London, 1975, p. 233). The two Canalettos acquired on the Grand Tour were installed in the Saloon, together with two new works commissioned from Canaletto, who was then in England and working nearby at Warwick Castle in 1748. The two Paninis acquired on the Grand Tour may have been installed in the Library, as Alastair Laing assumes (op. cit.), while three new works commissioned from Panini in Rome were placed in the Hall and Saloon: the Piazza S. Pietro for the overmantel in the Hall (fig. 1), the Campidoglio as the overmantel in the Saloon (fig. 2), and an Interior of St Peter's (now in Detroit) (fig. 3) on the adjacent wall facing the windows. Two of the Canalettos flanked the Campidoglio, while the others were on the opposite wall. The Interior of St Peter's was therefore effectively the fifth member of the Canaletto set, distinct from the two overmantels. Holbech's installation of his Canalettos and Paninis in fixed stucco frames was unusual for England in 1750, and had probably been inspired by what he had seen on his Grand Tour in Northern Italy, where fixed stucco installations of canvases were common in the 1720s and 1730s (Cornforth, II, p. 51). The Campidoglio and the Interior of St Peter's are both signed and dated 1750, a date that corresponds to the payments for the stucco. The commission for the new Paninis would have been made through an agent, possibly the Roman dealer in antiquities Belisario Amidei from whom some of the antique busts in the Hall were acquired in 1745, who was also a picture dealer; or perhaps the painter Pietro Berton, who on 7 December 1750 shipped a Panini to England. The paintings were sold to Savile Gallery in 1929 and replaced by copies by one Mohammed Ayoub. The four Canalettos were exhibited at Savile Gallery in 1930 and entered the London art trade, finding their way at various times to Augsburg, Melbourne, Ottawa and a private collection. The Paninis seem to have been resold immediately to Knoedler & Co. in New York. When the stucco was removed from the library by Holbech's great-grandson, another William Holbech, shortly after his succession in 1812, the Interior of the Pantheon and the Diverse Buildings may have been taken down. Although there is no record of either painting being at Farnborough subsequently, the Interior of the Pantheon at least must have remained there, since it appeared at Knoedler's in 1930 at about the same time as the other Paninis, and was presumably acquired at the same time from the same source. The Campidoglio was a rare subject for Panini: this is the only known extant version, apart from fictive versions in the Metropolitan Museum (1757) (figs. 4) and Louvre (1759) versions of his Roma Moderna composition (but not in the first Boston version of 1757). Probably Holbech insisted on the choice of subject in order to represent the centre of Rome's civic administration to complement the religious one of St Peter's. The Campidoglio may have been of interest to English patrons because it represented the seat of a form of government they were more comfortable with than the papacy. For example, Canaletto painted the subject, together with English subjects, for Thomas Hollis, 'the most bigoted of all Republicans' in 1755, who may have wanted to 'represent London as the heir to the legacy of Ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy' (see Michael Liversidge and Jane Farrington, eds., Canaletto and England, exhibition catalogue, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, London, 1993, p. 25). Canaletto also painted the subject for Sir Richard Neave, Ist Baronet (1731-1814) of Dagnam Park, Essex, at the end of his English stay or shortly afterwards (i.e. 1755-1766) (sold, Sotheby's, London, 10 July 2002, lot 8). Like Holbech, Neave mixed Venetian and Roman subjects, but his Roman subjects steer clear of St Peter's: the others were the Piazza del Quirinale and Piazza Navona. While Holbech had gone to both Venice and Rome and commissioned views of both cities, Rome sets the keynote for his decoration: antique busts line the Hall, and its religious and civic centres are the overmantels in the Hall and Saloon respectively. The Piazza S. Pietro The Piazza S. Pietro shows the piazza much as it appears today, apart from the absence of Valadier's late eighteenth-century clocks on the towers. Bernini's colonnade (1656-1667), both ends of which are visible, reaches out its arms to embrace the viewer. In the center of the piazza is the obelisk moved by Sixtus V in 1586 from the left side of the church where it had formed part of the Circus of Nero. On either side are two fountains, the one on the right by Carlo Maderno (1613) and the one on the left created to match it by Carlo Fontana in 1677. Beyond is the rectangular forecourt to the church, the piazza retta, leading to the façade by Maderno, completed in 1610, and the dome by Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana. To the right of the façade the roof of the Sistine Chapel is just visible, followed by the Cortile di S. Damaso, the palace of the Swiss Guards and the palace of Paul V. A Cardinal is being driven in a carriage across the piazza at the right in the direction of the Borgo Nuovo and Ponte S. Angelo with his blue-liveried retinue and subsidiary carriages. Unlike the later versions of the subject that depict the Duke de Choiseul, there seems to be no intent to portray any particular cardinal: the procession of a cardinal here is presented simply as characteristic activity within the piazza. Various groups of figures, including well-dressed women in brightly colored dresses, Swiss Guards, priests, gentlemen, idlers and a pilgrim are distributed around the piazza. In the foreground an imaginary heap of fallen masonry provides visual interest in an otherwise dead space. Panini painted the Piazza S. Pietro on a number of occasions, and his works falls into two types, one with the viewpoint shifted slightly to left of the axis, as in the Farnborough Hall version, and one with it shifted slightly to the right. The first type is based on a composition by Gaspar van Wittel, of which there are numerous versions from 1684 until 1721 (Fig. 9 van Wittel). The work by Panini that seems closest to Van Wittel and therefore probably the earliest is the version in the Circolo della Caccia, Rome, which has been dated to the second half of the 1730s, but is probably a decade or so earlier. Another, on the London art market in 2002-2009, and a version with workshop participation at Sotheby's, Milan (20 November 2007, lot 137) and currently on the art market in Rome, are closer to an important painting in Toledo (Arisi no. 308) that is signed and dated 1741 (fig. 6). Van Wittel employed a wide format (about 2:1), showed both of the end faces of the colonnade almost to their full extent, and introduced the theme of a heap of masonry to enliven the foreground. His choice of perspective implies a viewpoint located in the small piazza between the Borgo Nuovo and Borgo Vecchio, now the Piazza Pio XII at the top of the Via della Conciliazione. From this viewpoint a building at the left tended to interfere with the view of the end of the left arm, as can be seen from the Nolli map...

A fine quality clock and barometer set by Carcany and Robin, after models on exhibition in the Louvre Museum, Paris. In the Louis XVI manner, of banjo form, the cases being in cr...

Possibly late 18th century but most likely 19th century painted arched painted panel. Either a panel intended for a trumeau or to be inset into wall boiserie as a trumeau. The upper ...

By Toricelli. With carved ribbon and bow above an oval dial painted in creme and grisaille with glass cover in a conforming frame.

Decorate a living room wall or study with this elegant and colorful 18th-century Aubusson gouache painting. Created in the renowned tapestry-making city of Aubusson, France circa 176...

French 19th Century Louis XVI Style Giltwood Barometer and Thermometer. It features ornate carvings, including a classical bust in a medallion at the top with a beautiful ribbon mot...

A French Louis XVI period painted and hand carved wooden boiseries panel from the late 18th century, with monogram, swag and fruit motifs. Born in France during the second half of the 18th century, this exquisite painted boiseries features a central monogram set inside an oval medallion, accented with a swag adorned with delicate fruits in its extremities. Ribbon-tied at the top, the carved panel charms us with its perfectly harmonious décor and soft color, framed with rais-de cœur motifs. Hung anywhere in a room, perhaps above a chest-of-drawers, side table or credenza, this Louis XVI 18th century painted...

Pair of antique gilded half capitals: rare, precious, beautiful. Place them on a wall wherever You want: under sconces, on two half-columns... Ask Your architect for advice. ref. O...

A Fantastic Pair of 19th C. French Gilt Bronze Roman Solider Plaques of gladiators with Faux Marble Boarders. Each frame is beautifully hand-carved and the bronze medallions are in ...

The white painted dial signed Cappy A Paris, 1773 within a laurel wreath carved case on a delicately carved flower entwined ribbon backplate ending in a tassel.

Pair of French (or Italian ?) garland friezes in gilded wood for wall decoration. They used to be thicker, but someone made them thinner to fit something. Very elegant, like the ones...

Fine hand-painted depiction of Marie Antoinette, wife of French King Louis XVI, the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. This painting dates ca. 19th century, very lik...

Carvings with a military, musical, hunting, or agricultural theme, known as trophies, became popular during the period of Louis XVI. This pair of large trophy panels have Neoclassica...

Most recently taken out of a Paris apartment, this set of 6 18th Century French theater panels creates a dramatic look for a bedroom or living room. The set includes two panels with ...

Antique hand - painted depiction of a Woman .. ca. late 19th cent. European Tempera painting on plate under original Glass plate in original wooden frame. The painting is signed. S...

Pair of Italian garland friezes in gilded wood. They can be hung under to wall-sconces, for decoration also for mirror or other idea. They used to be thicker, but someone made th...

A stunning and extremely high quality pair of French 19th century Louis XVI st. Belle Époque period patinated Bronze and Ormolu plaques, signed F. Barbedienne. Each most decorative w...

A very attractive pair of French 19th century Louis XVI st. Terra Cotta plaques, modeled after Clodion. This most elegant pair of plaques depict the seasons and Spring and Winter set...

O/6813 - This is an authentic antique "cartagloria", always sought after by collectors, here with a small mirror , probably placed some years ago in place of prayers. It's very beaut...

Add a touch of historic French charm with this elegant antique Aubusson drawing. Created in Aubusson, France circa 1820, this delicate gouache on paper features a hand-painted floral...

A 19th Century KPM Plaque of Jan Hus at Constance Council, Originally By Karl Friedrich Lessing, with the Original Giltwood Frame. The plaque is expertly framed in a meticulously cr...

A gold, large antique French Louis XVI period barometer, signed by Torricelli in gilded wood and of oval shape with original scientific illustrations, in good condition. The detailed wall décor piece is consisting its original glass. Framed with gilt foliate trim and important pediment. Minor fading, due to age. Wear consistent with age and use, circa 1750, France. The Italian scientist Evangelista Torricelli...

A charming and most decorative pair of French 19th century Louis XVI st. patinated bronze wall plaques in the manner of Clodion. Each rectangular plaque depicts charming winged cheru...

Pair of Giltwood and Painted Louis XVI 18th Century Trophy Panels. Each with Musical Instruments, Sheet Music and Flowers. A Carved Framing and Shell Carving.

A charming and extremely decorative French 19th century Louis XVI st. Walnut and Giltwood wall decor/plaque. The large scale oval plaque displays an elegant frame with Giltwood flute...

A beautiful and most decorative true pair of Italian Louis XVI st. carved giltwood wall decor. Each decorative element is centered by a charming bo...

A fine French 18th century Louis XVI st. print titled: Un des Tableaux de la grande Gallerie du Palais Royal (one of the paintings of the grand Gallery of the Royal Palace). The prin...

An exceptional pair of French 19th century Louis XVI st. ormolu decorative wall plaques in the manner of Clodion. Each rectangular plaque depicts charming winged cherubs draped in wo...

An exceptional and extremely decorative Italian early 19th century Louis XVI st. giltwood decorative wall decor. The wall decor is centered by a beautiful richly carved tied blooming...

A 1789 French Revolution Patriotism fighting symbol by the famous french Comtess M De La Fayette. Révolution Française: M. de la Fayette offre ses...

A very decorative pair of Continental 19th century Louis XVI st. Giltwood wall decor. Each of the richly carved maidens is wearing classical attire, with their hair in an updo and ho...

A late 18th Century, antique Louis Seize period mirror in carved wood with gilded accents and foliage motifs, consisting its original mirror glass, in good condition. Created in Fran...

Unusual and large woodwork mirror, made entirely of patinated brass, with ornaments in gilded brass and gilded bronze. The oval mirror inside is an original mercury mirror, with some...

A beautifully rendered etching with hand coloring depicting the skeleton of an elephant on a pedestal. A live elephant, foliage and huts in the background. French, 18th century by Georges Le Clerc...

A striking and extremely decorative Italian early 19th century Louis XVI st. giltwood and polychrome wall decor. The wall decor depicts two beautiful abundant cornucopias tied at the...

18th century French neoclassical barometer from the Louis XVI period. Now strictly a stunning decorative object with great style. It is no long...

A Louis XVI Period Barometer & Thermometer Combination, originating in France & dating from the last quarter of the 18th century. The workings enclosed by a gilt-wood case with carve...

Crafted in France in the 1800s, this high quality gilt bronze wall clock has elements in the style of Louis XVI. The white clock face with blue numbers re...

Pair 19thc French Louis XVI style Art Etchings and Framed. Highly detailed in pink back.

A striking and most elegant set of three Continental turn of the century Louis XVI st. hand painted decorative wall panels. Each re...

19th century French Louis XVI style gilt and painted wood barometer. While not in working order, barometer has that wonderful old 'chippy' peeling patina. The carved wood frame and g...

Decorate a wall with this colorful, antique Aubusson drawing cartoon. Created in the city of Aubusson, France circa 1780 and set in a carved frame with gilt trim and protected with g...

Add charm and color to any wall with this elegant antique Aubusson drawing cartoon. Created in the tapestry town of Aubusson, France circa 1820, the gouache on paper is set in a carv...

An extremely decorative, French 19th century Louis XVI st., set of three large painted panels, with four sides. All are on canvas, later applied on...

Magnificent barometer in giltwood period louis XVI it is very rare because of it size and condition nice hight end decoration

A most decorative pair of Continental 19th century Louis XVI st. Sèvres porcelain plaques in their original Giltwood frames. Each hand painted still life plaque is set within a wonde...

An exceptional and very high quality pair of French 19th century Louis XVI st. Belle Époque period giltwood and patinated bronze decorative wall plaques. Each impressive plaque is fr...

Lovely period French Louis XVI giltwood barometer with beautiful patina. This antique French Louis XVI gilt wood barometer will add a touc...

A beautiful and very high quality French 19th century Louis XVI st. Belle Époque period patinated bronze and ormolu decorative wall plaque. The wonderfully executed circular plaque...

A very fine carved over door pane: l in the Louis XVI style. France, circa 1980. P Dimensions: height 36 3/4 x width 66 1/2" depth 5" CW5323 & CW5324. Pai...

A charming and extremely decorative true pair of Italian 18th century Louis XVI period patinated wood and Mecca wall plaques. Each large scale oval plaque is framed within an elegant mottled Mecca border centering the beautiful patinated off white background centered by exceptional musical instruments. One plaque displays richly carved trumpets, a tambour drum, a tambourine and symbols amidst open music books with a fanciful intertwined ribbons tied in a bow at the top. The other plaque displays equally rich and enjoyable giltwood carvings of instruments such as a lute, a harp guitar...