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Technique: Carved
Modern Black Forrest Carved Walnut 6, Point Deer Shoulder Mount
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Modern Black Forrest Carved Walnut 6 -Point Deer Shoulder Mount Switzerland, Circa 1960s Enhance your space with the timeless elegance of this Modern Black Forest Carved Walnut 6-Point Deer Shoulder Mount. Originating from Switzerland and dating back to the 1960s, this piece represents a fine example of the revered Swiss Black Forest carving...
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20th Century Swiss Black Forest Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Rope, Glass, Walnut

A Highly Decorative Chinese Deep-Relief Gilt & Lacquer Wood Panel 19th Century
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
A CHINESE DEEP-RELIEF GILT & LACQUER WOOD PANEL 19th Century. Depicting a court scene carved in deep relief, red and black lacquer highlighted with gold later framed. Extremely col...
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Early 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Mughal Indian Handcrafted Decorative Hammered Moorish Brass Tray
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Large handcrafted decorative Indian Mughal Moorish brass tray. Embossed and hammered with floral and mystique animal scenes with Arabic script etched. Large decorative hanging...
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19th Century Indian Moorish Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Brass

Carved Antique American Double Picture Frame Depicting US Navy Crest
Located in Dallas, TX
Hand-carved in the United States in the early 20th century, the focal point of this double picture frame is the stylized naval insignia. Both glass frames, which fit 6 x 4 photos, currently contain a pair of near antique black and white postcards (they are included). The frame on the left has a print of a circa 1930 George Harris photograph of the USS Constitution, aka “Old Ironsides”. The frame on the right has a lithograph of a full rigged windjammer (commercial sailing boat) that was originally printed in the early 1900’s. The two frames are positioned splayed outward so that the bottom of the frames meet in one point. Both frames are adorned with leaves and rectangular borders with diapered background. The outside bottom corners are each conical volute scrolls with fluted embellishments. At the top of the frames, a large eagle is presented displayed, wings elevated (wings spread wide with the tips pointing upward). The eagle is perched upon a shaped shield with stars and stripes, in the style of an early American flag...
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Early 20th Century American Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Antique Crucifix w. Bronze Corpus and Stunning Hand Carved Oakwood Cross
Located in Lisse, NL
Good size, finest quality and superb condition antique wall crucifix. This antique work of religious art consists of a top quality carved, oakwooden cross and a superbly hand-crafted bronze corpus of Christ with a beautiful patina. The rare wooden cross comes with superbly hand carved 'fleur de lis' symbols on all ends which makes us believe that this ecclesiastical antique in the Renaissance Style originates from France. This bronze sculpture of Christ clearly depicts Jesus just shortly after the suffering has ended and His body could no longer hold on to life. People think of different things when looking at Christ who died on the cross, but no matter what you think of most, this antique crucifix...
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Late 19th Century French Renaissance Revival Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Bronze

Timeless Design Pair of Art Deco Style Alabaster Wall Sconces / Light Fixtures
Located in Lisse, NL
Handcrafted and very stylish pair of midcentury made alabaster 2-light (up & down) wall lights. If you are looking for a great shape and practical size pair of sconces to grace yo...
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Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Alabaster, Aluminum

Set of 2 Handcarved 17th Century Oak Wall Panels
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
A pair of handcarved mid 17th century oak wall panels with a handsome, even patina and string for hanging. Each are of beautiful quality after more than 370 years and well-carved for...
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Mid-17th Century English Jacobean Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood, Oak

Raimundo de Madrazo Y Garreta Palatial Oil on Canvas
By Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Raimundo De Madrazo y Garreta (Spanish School, 1841-1920) an exceptional and palatial oil on canvas "Portrait of Isabelle McCreery” depicting an elegant woman gracefully exiting a litter (Sedan Chair), situated within a lovely fairytale setting of a fantastical vista dominated by verdant and blue-green hues, a pair of swans and a lily pad frame the scene in the foreground, within it's original impressive and ornate French 19th Century Rococo Style gildwood carved and gesso frame. Signed and dated ‘R. Madrazo, 1880' (lower left). At the bottom center of the impressive frame there is a gilded, wooden cartouch bearing in italicized script “Portrait of Isabelle McCreery.” This is original to the frame. Sometime after the death of the artist, possibly at the time the painting was given to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the painter’s name was added in block letters. Provenance: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (Donated by Mrs. Richard McCreery in 1950). M.H. de Young Memorial Fine Arts Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Christie's New York, 31 December 1969, Sale Property of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Sold for the Benefit of Museum Acquisitions Funds. Lot 80A for $20,700 Canvas Height: 104 ¾ inches (266.1 cm). Canvas Width: 68 ½ inches (174 cm). Frame Height: 132 inches (335.3 cm). Frame Width: 87 ½ inches (222.3 cm). The work of Raimundo de Madrazo, an artist who lived in Paris the greater part of his life, is among the most representative and influential of the ‘school’ of Spanish painters resident in Paris during the nineteenth century.” (Carlos González and Montse Martí, Spanish Painters in Paris 1850-1900, London, 1989, p. 53). The wonderful imagination and artistic genius of Madrazo y Garreta established his fine reputation, and created an international demand for his exquisite portraiture. This particular work features an elegant woman who gracefully exits a litter, situated within a lovely fairytale setting of a fantastical vista dominated by verdant and blue-green hues. Isabelle McCreery was a member of the noted Gold Rush pioneer McCreery family of Irish background who settled in San Francisco in the mid nineteenth century. She later lived in Burlingame, an early San Francisco...
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1880s Spanish Romantic Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas, Giltwood

Sculpted Wood Panel Abstraction by Etienne Moyat France 2022 France
Located in Paris, FR
Abstraction, sculpted wood panel made from Douglas-fir wood, by Etienne Moyat, French artist represented by Galerie Negropontes in Paris, France. ...
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2010s French Modern Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

American Oil on Board Landscape with Young Lady and Rabbit, Circa 1820
Located in Charleston, SC
American oil on board landscape of young lady standing by rabbit in foreground with the original molded pine frame and wood backing. Early 19th century.
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1820s American American Classical Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Pine, Paint

Japanese antique wooden wall hanging object/1868-1920/Wabi-sabi board
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a work board that was used in Japanese private homes and farmhouses from the Meiji to early Taisho period (1868-1920). The material is cedar or pine. It is a tool that was us...
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Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Cedar

19th Century Dutch Oil on Canvas Painting in Carved Gilt Frame After D. Teniers
By David Teniers
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate an office or a study with this elegant antique painting on canvas. Created in Holland circa 1860 and set in the original carved gil...
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Mid-19th Century Dutch Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas, Giltwood

Italian 17th Century Still Life Painting in Period Carved Gilt Frame
Located in Vero Beach, FL
Italian 17th century still life painting in period carved gilt frame Italian school still life painting from the workshop of a great master. The 17th century Baroque painting in oil...
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17th Century Italian Baroque Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas, Giltwood

Awesome Shape & Extra Large Pair of Midcentury Made White Alabaster Wall Sconces
Located in Lisse, NL
Stunning, 'geometrically-circular' layered and timeless Art Deco style wall sconces. If you are looking for a stylish and timeless way to bring light into your entry hall, bathroom,...
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Mid-20th Century European Art Deco Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Alabaster, Iron

Impressionist Parisian Boulevard Scene, Oil on Canvas Painting Signed M. Serval
Located in Yonkers, NY
A framed oil on canvas painting depicting a Parisian scene by French painter M. Seval. This atmospheric oil painting by 20th-century artist M. Seval captures a rainy day on a bustlin...
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Mid-20th Century French Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas, Wood

Mid-19th Century French Carved Oak Hanging Shelf with Hooks from Normandy
Located in Dallas, TX
Hang pots and other kitchen utensils on this elegant antique shelf. Crafted in Normandy, France circa 1860, the Louis XV wall hanging piece features a bo...
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Mid-19th Century French Louis XV Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Bronze

19th century Chinese Window Screen Panel
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
19th century Chinese window screen panel. Carved elm. Elaborately carved featuring panels of birds, mythical creatures & other animals. Makes a wonderfu...
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19th Century Chinese Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Elm

Wall Sculpture of Little Boy Signed William Westenhaver
Located in Pasadena, CA
An endearing, wood-carved wall sculpture by William Westenhaver depicting a young boy reading a book. It is made of very grainy wood enhanced on some parts with black, pastel red, b...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Paint, Wood

Antique German Hand Carved Wooden Deer Head on Carved Wall Plaque, 19th Century
Located in Barntrup, DE
19th-century Baroque-style German hand-carved wooden deer head on a carved and hand-painted wall plaque. An impressive antique hand-carved wall-hang...
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Late 19th Century German Baroque Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Metal

19th Century Black Forest Carved Wood Fish Trophy Wall Plaque
Located in Austin, TX
Oversize and spectacular 19th century Black Forest carved wood trophy wall plaque with a large fish. Beautiful carved border with acanthus leaves. Measur...
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1880s French Black Forest Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Pair of French Colored Lithographs in Carved Frames Signed Louis Icart, 1947
Located in Dallas, TX
These two lithographs were hand sketched in France circa 1920. Both artwork are set in a carved painted frame and protected with glass; one scene depicts a tea drinking in a garden, ...
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Mid-20th Century French Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paper

18th Century Italian Carved Giltwood Cherub Architectural Fragment Wall Hanging
Located in Pearland, TX
A gorgeous 18th-Century Italian giltwood and gesso cherub or putti architectural fragment / wall swag / hanging wall ornament. This stunning architectural...
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Late 18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Giltwood

Mountain Man "The Mountain Ghost" Statue wood carved, vintage German 1930s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A great looking hand carved original wooden Folk Art Statue. A great piece for a suitable ambiance in a Cabin room or the office of a Hunter or Woodsman. More than likely one of the ...
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1930s Austrian Black Forest Vintage Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Pair of Italian Florentine Carved Feather Giltwood Wall Brackets, circa 1950
Located in Pearland, TX
A lovely pair of vintage Italian giltwood and gesso wall brackets or shelves from Florence, Italy, circa 1950. These stylish brackets have a hand carved scrolling feathers design and...
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1950s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Giltwood

19th Century Italian Antique Limestone Wall Panel - Architectural Roman Relief
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A single, antique Italian wall panel made of hand carved limestone, in good condition. The rectangular architectural relief is depicting Roman warriors and kids embracing a cattle. A...
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Late 19th Century Italian Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Limestone

Vintage Shooting Club Lodge Target Plaque German 1934, Carnival Folk Art
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Vintage Shooting Lodge Target Plaque dated 1934. A rare and beautiful wooden shooting target plaque with inscriptions. This rare kings plaque was issued by a shooting club...
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1930s German Folk Art Vintage Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Evelyn Ackerman Panelcarve Scorpio Bas Relief Design Wood Panel
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Redwood bas relief tile panel designed and created by Evelyn and Jerry Ackerman of Los Angeles, California. Panel measures approximately 9" by 9" by 1....
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1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Vintage Ornate French Style Beveled Mirror
Located in Ross, CA
Vintage giltwood mirror, beveled and ornately and beautifully carved in great condition, with no previous repairs. The beveling surrounds the entire mirror including the bottom in an...
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1960s American French Provincial Vintage Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Giltwood

Émile René MENARD (1862-1930) Adam et Eve, Monumental Oil on Canvas, 1923
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Adam and Eve Oil on canvas signed below left «E.R. Ménard 1923» Labels on the back, including one from the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1925. Titled in a cartou...
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1920s French Aesthetic Movement Vintage Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas, Giltwood

19th Century French Carved Walnut Royal Coat of Arms of Canada in Gilt Frame
Located in Dallas, TX
Crafted in France circa 1880 and set on a colorful plaid background fabric, the elegant framed shield features the coat of arms of Canada. Hand carved in solid fruitwood, the detailed Blason is in excellent condition with a rich walnut patina; decorate a man's office or study with this fine antique crest! The Arms of Canada also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada is, since 1921, the official coat of arms of the Canadian monarch and thus also of Canada. It is closely modeled after the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version. The maple leaves in the shield, blazoned "proper", were originally drawn green but were redrawn red in 1957 and a circlet of the Order of Canada was added to the arms for limited use in 1987. The shield design forms the monarch's royal standard and is also found on the Canadian Red Ensign. The Flag of the Governor General of Canada, which formerly used the shield over the Union Flag, now uses the crest of the arms on a blue field. The arms are embossed on the covers of Canadian passports, in order to legally signify and symbolize that the bearer is traveling under the aid of the Crown of Canada. A Mari Usque Ad Mare (English: From Sea to Sea) is the Canadian national motto. The phrase comes from the Latin Vulgate translation of Psalm 72:8 in the Bible: "Et dominabitur a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos terrae". (King James Bible...
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Late 19th Century French Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Walnut

American Gilt Carved Wood and Gesso Perched Eagle, Circa 1830
Located in Charleston, SC
American gilt carved wood and gesso Eagle with extended wings perched on decorative acanthus floral motif, Early 19th century.  
Category

1830s American American Empire Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Gold Leaf

A 19th C. Italian Oil on Canvas "The Cardinal's Present" by Arturo Ricci
By Arturo Ricci
Located in New York, NY
A Marvelous 19th Century Italian Oil on Canvas titled "The Cardinal's Present" by Arturo Ricci. This oil on canvas is truly incredible and one of Ricci's best works of art. The sce...
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1880s Italian Louis XVI Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas, Wood

Antique Baroque Black Forest Deer Head Late 18th Century
Located in Berghuelen, DE
Antique Baroque Black Forest Deer Head Late 18th Century Item e7402 A lovely carved wooden Black Forest deer head. Hand carved in typical abstract baroque style. It features a real d...
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Late 19th Century German Rustic Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Antler, Wood

Large Six-toed Black Forest Deer Trophy on Wooden Plaque ca. 1910
Located in Berghuelen, DE
Large Six-toed Black Forest Deer Trophy on Wooden Plaque ca. 1910 Item e7340 An antique 6 pointer deer (Cervus elaphus) trophy from the Black Forest. The trophy was shot in Bavaria a...
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Early 20th Century German Black Forest Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Antler, Wood

Tall Antique Sumatra Hand-Carved Wood Batak Temple Mask from the 20th Century
Located in Yonkers, NY
An antique Batak temple mask hand-carved of wood from the 20th century. This tall mask was hand-carved of wood in Sumatra, Indonesia. The mask adopts an abst...
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20th Century Indonesian Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

19th Century Tramp Art Vegetable Rack
Located in Nantucket, MA
19th Century Tramp Art wall hanging rack with carved crossed sticks and carved rosettes on one side.
Category

19th Century North American Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

A Swiss Carved Black Forest Hunting Wall Plaque, Early 20th Century
Located in ARMADALE, VIC
A Swiss Carved Black Forest Hunting Wall Plaque, Early 20th Century Provenance: Private New South Wales Collection. Description: The shield surround centred by a hi...
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Early 20th Century Swiss Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Pair of Italian Florentine Neoclassical Giltwood Wall Brackets Shelves, c. 1950
Located in Pearland, TX
A lovely pair of vintage Italian gilded wood wall brackets or shelves from Florence, Italy, circa 1950. These stylish brackets have hand carved scroll designs and beautiful gilt pati...
Category

1950s Italian Vintage Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Giltwood

Hand Carved Heavy Wood Wall Relief Plaque Panel of Catholic Saint, 19th Century
Located in Studio City, CA
A wonderful, intricately carved, heavy work depicting a religious figure, likely a catholic saint offering his blessing (We have been told that this may...
Category

19th Century Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Wood

Very Decorative Early 19th-Century French Provincial Plate Rack
Located in Middleburg, VA
Very Decorative Early 19th-century French Provincial Plate Rack. Made of richly patinated chestnut with small decorative turned apple wood spindles and brass nail decorations. Typica...
Category

Early 19th Century French French Provincial Antique Carved Wall Decorations

Materials

Metal, Brass

Tapestry Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period 1738 at the Gobelins
Located in Madrid, ES
Tapestry from the Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period , made in 1738 at the Gobelins One panel from a series of Gobelins tapestries depicting the History of Esther, illustrating Esther seated and attended by handmaidens, one washing her feet in golden basin, another fastening a bracelet, another offering a mirror, all observed by Mordecai, woven in the workshop of Michele Audran after a design by J. F. de Troy. The Toilet of Esther c.1778-85.Royal Collection Trust-Queens Audience Chamber Windsor Castle The Sketches for the Esther Cycle by Jean-François de Troy (1736) “and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mor’decai, ..., took for his own daughter.” (Est. 2:7) A supple and undulating genius, both a flattering portraitist and a prolix history painter, as well as a brilliant genre painter, in a gallant or worldly vein, Jean-François de Troy (Paris, 1679 – Rome, 1752), solicited, although he had passed the threshold of old age, a new royal commission up to his ambitions. To obtain it, he submitted – successfully - for the approval of the Bâtiments du roi (administration), seven modelli painted in 1736 with his usual alacrity. Inspired by one of the most novelistic texts of the Old Testament, the Book of Esther, these sketches in a rapid and virtuoso manner were transformed by the artist, between 1737 and 1740 into large cartoons intended to serve as models for the weavers of the Gobelins factory. Showing undeniable ease and skill in the composition in perfect harmony with the sensitivities of the times, the tapestry set met with great success. The Story of Esther perfectly corresponded to the plan of the Bâtiments du roi to renew the repertoire of tapestry models used for the weavers of the royal factories while it also conformed to the tastes of Louis XV’s subjects for a fantastical Orient, the set for a dramatic tale in which splendour, love and death were combined. Indeed, no tapestry set was woven in France during the 18th century as often as that of Esther. The series of modelli painted by de Troy during the year 1736 looks to the history of French painting and decoration under Louis XV as much as it does the history of the Gobelins. It probably counts among the most important rococo pictorial groups to have remained in private hands. First the Biblical source illustrated by De Troy which constitutes the base of one of the richest iconographical traditions of Western art will be considered. Then the circumstances and specific character of French civilisation during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV which contributed to making the theme of Esther a relevant subject, both attractive to contemporaries and remarkably in line with the sensitivities of the time will be elucidated. An examination of the exceptional series of sketches united here, the cartoons and the tapestries that they anticipate as well as a study of their reception will close this essay. The Book of Esther: A scriptural source at the source of rich iconography. The origin of the Esther tapestry set by Jean-François de Troy – origin and creation of a masterpiece According to the evidence of one of the artist’s early biographers, the chevalier de Valory, author of a posthumous elegy of the master, read at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 6 February 1762, it was apparently due to early16 rivalry with François Lemoyne (1688-1737), his younger colleague who had precisely just been appointed First Painter to the King in 1736, that had encouraged François de Troy to seek a commission allowing him to show off his ease and his promptitude at the expense of a rival who was notoriously laborious: “M. De Troy, retaining some resentment of the kind of disadvantage which he believed to have suffered compared with his emulator looked to regain some territory by making use of the facility his rival did not possess. Lemoyne was excessively long in the creation of his works,and M. De Troy of a rare celerity: consequently, with this particular talent, the latter offered to the court to make paintings appropriate to be executed at the Gobelins Factory; and it is to this circumstance that we owe the beautiful series of the Story of Esther, which would be sufficient alone to give him a great reputation.”17 Beyond the suspicion inspired by the topos, which still constitutes, more or less, a tale of rivalries between artists in ancient literature, there is probably some truth in what Valory reports although A.-J. Dezalier d’Argenville (who indicates rather spitefully that de Troy did not hesitate to “cut prices” to impose himself, benefitting from the productivity assured by the unlikely rapidity of his brush)18 proves to be more evasive: “As he looked to busy himself, he had offered to make the paintings that serve as models for the King’s tapestries cheaply: which did not please his colleagues. He was given a choice of two tapestry series to be made and he took the Story of Esther and that of Jason”.19 Whether or not the choice was actually left to de Troy (which would appear rather casual on the royal administration’s part all the same), it seems likely that the artist, whose contemporaries extol his “fire”, as the faculty of invention was then called, must have ardently aspired to the possibility of using on a very large scale the “creative genius” with which Dezallier d’Argenville credits him. The decoration of the private apartments, the fashion for which Louis XV had promoted at Versailles and Fontainebleau, offered little opportunity to excel in this area. Other than painting for altarpieces, only tapestries could allow comparison with Lemoyne who had been granted – unfortunately for him – a major decoration: the enormous ceiling of the Hercules Room at Versailles. Favoured by the recent improvement in France’s financial situation, the revival of patronage offered de Troy a commission fitting for him, in a field in which, however, he had hardly any experience. Anxious to renew the repertoire of models available to the Gobelins factory, the Duc d’Antin, surintendant des Bâtiments du roi from 1708 to 1736 followed by his successor, Philibert Orry comte de Vignory, gave him the task of producing seven large cartoons inspired by the Book of Esther corresponding to the brilliant sketches or modelli which de Troy had produced in one go, or almost (very few preparatory drawings can in fact be linked to the Esther cycle and all seem to be at the execution stage of the cartoons).20 Subjected to the approval of the Administration des Bâtiments according to the procedure in use for projects being planned for the Gobelins, sketches made rapidly during 1736 were approved and the project launched immediately. Thereupon came the news of François Lemoyne’s death, who, ground down by work and a victim of his private torment, committed suicide on 4 June 1737. Against all expectations, de Troy did not replace his rival in the position of First Painter (which remained vacant until the appointment of Charles Coypel in January 1747), which would perhaps have made him too obviously the beneficiary of the drama. The awarding of the position of Director of the French Academy in Rome came to console him while he had already produced (or he was in the process of finishing), in Paris, three of the seven cartoons of the cycle (The Fainting of Esther finished in 1737 and the Toilet and Coronation of Esther, both finished in 1738). De Troy, we can see, did not follow the order of the narrative but began with the subjects which apparently offered the least difficulty because he had already depicted them, or because they fall into a strong pictorial tradition (such is the case especially for the Fainting of Esther). He had hardly settled at the Palazzo Mancini in August 1738, when his first task which awaited the new director of the French Academy naturally consisted of honouring the royal commission and finishing without delay the final cartoons of the Story of Esther after the sketches he must have taken with him. As prompt as ever, de Troy discharged himself of the execution of the four remaining cartoons in only two years, by beginning with the largest format which allowed him to strike the imagination and to impose himself as soon as he arrived on the Roman stage: the Triumph of Mor’decai which was finished in 1739 (like Esther’s Banquet). The following year, the Mor’decai's Disdain and The Sentencing of Haman were brought to an end in the same Neo-Venetian style, obviously tributary to Veronese with its choice of “open” monumental architecture which is characteristic of the entire cycle.21 The series, it should be noted, was almost augmented with some additional scenes in the mid 1740s. Indeed, the first tapestry set finished at the Gobelins in 1744 proved to be unsuitable for the arrangement of the Dauphine’s apartments at Versailles for which it had been intended to decorate the walls the following year (cf infra). Informed of this, de Troy, considering that the story of Esther offered “several good subjects,” immediately offered to illustrate one or new subject among those “which could appear to be the most interesting”. The directeur des Bâtiments Orry, who managed the State’s accounts, obviously judged it less costly to have one of the tapestries widened to fill in the end of the Dauphine’s bedroom,22 which has probably deprived us of very original compositions, because de Troy had already illustrated the most famous themes, those that benefitted from a strongly established iconographical tradition and from which it was not easy to deviate The Tapestry Set of the Story of Esther Placed on the tapestry looms of the Gobelins at the end of the 1730s in Michel Audran’s workshop, the cycle created by de Troy aroused true infatuation. The few hundred tapestries made between 1738 and 1797 – all in high-warp tapestry and woven in wool and silk except for four in low-warp made in Neilson’s workshop – show the impressive success of a tapestry set that was without any doubt the most frequently woven of the 18th century in France. 29 Only three cartoons had been delivered by de Troy in 1738 when the first tapestry set was begun by Audran under the expert eye of Jean-Baptiste Oudry to whom the Directeur général des bâtiments, Philibert Orry had assigned the (weekly) supervision of the weaving. During the summer of 1738, the piece of the Fainting of Esther, which Oudry judged to be admirable, was finished. During the winter of 1742, Oudry informed Orry that about two ells of the Triumph of Mor’decai had been made “with no faults”,that the Coronation of Esther was finished and that the Esther at her Toilet “a very gracious tapestry” was “a little over half” finished. Exhibited at Versailles in 1743, these two last pieces were admired by Louis XV and the Court. On 3 December 1744, the set of seven tapestries was finally delivered to the Garde Meuble. It was intended, the honour was not slight, to decorate the apartments of the Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain whose marriage to the young Dauphin Louis-Ferdinand had been fixed for the following year (it took place on 23 February 1745). Apparently it was thought that the theme of Esther the biblical heroine and wife of a foreign sovereign was appropriate for the apartments of the Spanish Dauphine. As early as the month of March, the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel informed de Troy that her grand cabinet was decorated with the “Esther tapestry set” specifying however that “for lack of two small or one large piece, we have not been able to decorate the end of the room”. This difficulty led immediately to the Banquet episode being woven a second time in two parts (they were delivered to the Garde-Meuble on 30 December 1746) to garnish the panels on each side of the bed of the Dauphine who would hardly enjoy them (she died on 22 July 1746 and the decoration was installed for the new Dauphine Maria Josepha of Saxony). The appearance of the set’s remarkable border, which imitated a richly sculpted wooden frame, should be mentioned. Conceived in 1738 by the ornamentalist Pierre Josse-Perrot and used in the later weavings until 1768, it tended to reinforce the resolutely painterly appearance of the tapestry set which, in this regard, pushed the art of tapestry as far as its ultimate mimetic possibilities. With the exception of Mor’decai's Disdain which had been removed earlier, the “editio princeps” of the story of Esther (from then on in nine pieces) remained at Versailles until the Revolution. Of the eight surviving tapestries, four are at the chateau of Compiègne and four belong today to the Mobilier National. No less than seven tapestry sets reputed to be complete (one of them in fact only had six tapestries) would be produced officially at the Gobelins up to 1772. Literature: 1- The Œuvres mêlées of an emulator of Racine, the Abbé Augustin NADAL thus include an Esther. Divertissement spiritual which is exactly contemporary with Jean François de Troy’s cycle since it was performed in 1735 and published in Paris three years later. 2-Le Siècle de Louis XIV, 1751, 1785 ed., p. 96-97 for French ed. 3- Lemoyne and de Troy had been obliged to share the First Prize in the competition organised in 1727 between the most prominent history painters of the Académie Royale. 4- Mémoires…, pub. L. DUSSIEUX et al., 1854, II, p.265. 5-The fact that de Troy, at the risk of falling out with his colleagues, did not hesitate to make use of prices in order to convince the new directeur des Bâtiments Philibert Orry, is confirmed by Mariette who adds tersely “it caused much shouting” (pub. 1851-1860, II, p. 103). 6- Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres…, ed. 1762, IV, p. 368-369 20 Early comments on the painter are inclined to present him as a kind of “pure painter”, doing without the medium of drawing, a few intermediary studies between the Esther sketches and the large cartoons at the Louvre nevertheless show that de Troy used red chalk (see in the catalogue, the notice for the Meal of Esther and Ahasuerus under the entry drawing) to change one or other figure. 7-C. GASTINEL-COURAL (cat. exp. PARIS, 1985, p. 9-13) as well as the article by J. VITTET, exh. cat. LA ROCHE-GUYON, 2001, p. 51-55. 8-The Hermitage in St. Petersburg conserves five tapestries of these two royal gifts whose provenance still awaits elucidation (as far as we are aware). In 1766, the Grand Marshal of Russia, Count Razumovski (or Razamowski), acquired the Fainting and the Banquet extracted from the sixth weaving (J. VITTET, 2001, p. 53). 9- Lettres écrites de Suisse, d’Italie…,quoted by J. VITTET, op. cit., p. 54. 10-The tapestry set remained in the hands of a branch of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family until 1933 (ibid. P. 54). 11-Quoted by Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, p. 97, note 269. 12-Y. CANTAREL-BESSON, 1992, p. 241. Catalogue The Esther at her Toilet Oil on canvas, 57 x 51 cm Provenance: Painted in 1736 at the same time as the six other modelli of the Story of Esther intended to be presented, for approval, to the direction des Bâtiments du Roi; perhaps identifiable among a lot of sketches by Jean-François de Troy in the post mortem inventory of the amateur, historian and critic Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786) drawn up on 13 January 1786 and following days (A.N. T 978, n° 30) then in the sale of the property of the deceased, Paris, 12 June 1786, n° 33; Paris, François Marcille Collection (who owned a series of six sketches from which the Triumph of Mor’decai was missing, see infra); Paris, Marcille Sale, Hôtel Drouot, 12-13 January 1857, n° 36; Asnières, Mme de Chavanne de Palmassy ( ?) collection; Paris, Galerie Cailleux; Paris, Humbert de Wendel collection (acquired from the Galerie Cailleux in 1928); by inheritance in the same family; Paris, Sotheby’s, 23 June 2011, n° 61. In order not to add unnecessarily to the technical commentary on each work, the catalogue raisonné by Chr. Leribault which contains a substantial bibliography on the series should be referred to. The other bibliographical references only concern the publications and exhibitions to have appeared and been presented more recently. Bibliography and Exhibitions: Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, n° P. 247 (repr.); E. LIMARDO DATURI, 2004, p. 28; Exh. cat. NANTES, 2011, p. 138, n° 34, referred to in note 1; Sotheby’s catalogue, Tableaux anciens et du XIXe siècle, 23 June 2011, n° 61 (repr.). Related Works: Tapestry cartoon: The cartoon (oil on canvas, 329 x 320 cm), the third made by the artist in Paris after the sketches had been approved by the direction des Bâtiments, is in the Louvre (Inv. 8315). It previously bore the painter’s signature and the date 1738 (inscriptions which are found on the tapestries). The royal administration paid 1600 livres for it on 21 June 1738 and it was exhibited at the Salon in the year of its creation. Summary Biography 1679 (27 January): Baptism in Paris (Parish of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet) of Jean-François de Troy, son of the painter François de Troy and Jeanne Cotelle, sister of the painter Jean II Cotelle. 1696-1698: Studies (apparently rather turbulent) at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. 1698-1708: First trip to Italy. Is obliged to leave Rome in January 1711 after a tempestuous affair (a duel?), de Troy extends the traditional Roman experience as a pensionnaire at the Académie de France by also visiting Tuscany where he stays for a long time, Venice (his art in face has a strongly Venetian character) and Genoa. 1708: De Troy (whose father had been elected Director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 7 July) is agréé and immediately received at the Académie with Apollo and Diana Piercing with their Arrows the Children of Niobe (Montpellier, Musée Fabre) on 28 July. 1710: First royal commission, paid for on 10 May (a sketch representing “the Promotion of the Order of the Holy Spirit” for the tapestry series of the History of the King). 1716: Jean-François de Troy is elected Assistant Professor at the Academy. 1720: He is appointed Professor. 1723: The artist creates the double portrait of Louis XV...
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