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My selection
(17 Objects)

My selection (17 Objects)


ZSOLNAY Manufacture - "Young woman at the source", vide poche in iridescent ceramic

Ref.18458
ZSOLNAY Manufacture - "Young woman at the source", vide poche in iridescent ceramic

This Art Nouveau style vide-poche (storage tray) made of iridescent ceramic is from approximately 1900 and signed “Zsolnay Pecs Made in Hungary.” A female figure is leaning down with a jar to collect water. The object's asymmetrical shape, curved outlines, and iridescent ceramic translate the movement, texture, and blueish-green colors of the water. This colorful and original vide-poche belongs to the Art Nouveau movement, an artistic movement from the beginning of the 20th century that wanted to break away from traditional forms and historicist styles from the 19th century. The defenders of the Art Nouveau movement wished to create an art form that included both modernity and a return to nature and its symbols. This vide-poche's modernity is brought by the shine and colors of the iridescent ceramic, and by the object's simple outlines. It also has a very organic, natural side to it, as every aspect helps to recreate the water that the female figure is collecting. As the stamp on the bottom says, this object is from the Zsolnay Factory, a Hungarian ceramics factory founded in 1851 by the merchant Miklos Zsolnay. It first produced simple, useful objects, and in 1865, when Vilmos Zsolnay, Miklos' brother, took over the company, it began creating decorative dishware. It exhibited faience at the World's Fair of 1878 in Paris and obtained a Grand Prize. From the 1890's, the factory also produced architectural ceramics.

Dimensions:
Width: 14 cm
Height: 14 cm
Depth: 9 cm

Art Nouveau mahogany woodwork from Café Barjot in Paris, 1905

Ref.12630
Art Nouveau mahogany woodwork from Café Barjot in Paris, 1905

This woodwork characteristic of the Art Nouveau style comes from the Café Barjot located avenue Ledru-Rollin in the 12th district of Paris, it was made in 1905. It is composed on a first wall of a symmetrical set of seven beveled mirrors - one of which is large - framed by mahogany in the shape of a stylized tree with sinuous lines. The same assembly of mirrors is found on the wall facing it, with a decoration of enamelled flowers in relief on some parts of the mirrors. The third wall is composed in its center of an alcove with beveled mirrors and a clock in a mahogany and glass decoration enamelled with plants. On either side of this alcove is a set of mahogany-framed mirrors with a relief enamel decoration of stylized flowers interlaced with leaves on a white background. Two of the panels are also inhabited by ibis. To the left, the wall continues with an arcade flanked by mahogany-framed beveled mirrors, and to the right by the same decoration, but the arcade is replaced by a large beveled mirror. The decoration of this woodwork is characteristic of the Art Nouveau style that emerged at the end of the 19th century in Europe. This style contrasts with the creations of the previous period belonging to the realistic/naturalist style, sometimes considered dark and severe. Thus, the ousting of straight lines and right angles to emphasize instead curved lines inspired by plants is a recurring feature. Fundamental elements such as color and the use of materials such as glass help to create the effect of fantasy and a feeling of lightness. Many Parisian cafés and restaurants decorated at the beginning of the 20th century have seen their walls adorned with Art Nouveau woodwork with sinuous lines decorated with mirrors and stained glass windows with decorations inspired by natural elements. For example, we can mention the restaurant Le Vagenende, boulevard Saint-Germain in the 6th arrondissement or the restaurant Maxim's rue Royale in the 8th arrondissement.

Dimensions:
Width: 1200 cm
Height: 291 cm
Depth: 380 cm

BOCH Frères, Art Nouveau Vase in Iridescent Faience Decorated with a Toad and Mushrooms, late 19th century

Ref.14914
BOCH Frères, Art Nouveau Vase in Iridescent Faience Decorated with a Toad and Mushrooms, late 19th century

This iridescent faience vase with a toad and mushroom motif was created by the Boch Frères manufactory in the late 19th century. In 1841, Eugène and Victor Boch founded a fine faience manufactory called Kéramis in La Louvière, Belgium. The faience factory quickly flourished and diversified its production, adapting to the stylistic and technical evolutions of the time. This particular vase is emblematic of the Art Nouveau movement, as evidenced by its asymmetrical design directly inspired by nature: the body of the vase takes the form of a tree stump. Wider and rounded at the base due to roots seemingly ready to plunge into the earth, it rises to a certain height before ending with an irregular rim. Several mushrooms, among which an agaric, grow on it, and a toad climbs at the base of the stump. The vase features an iridescent glaze transitioning from pink to violet, lightening to white on the mushrooms and darkening to brown on the toad. This glazing demonstrates the high level of mastery achieved by certain artists and the most important manufactories at the end of the 19th century. The mark under the base indicates that the manufactory had a subsidiary in Thiais, in the Seine department. A vase of the same shape but with a slightly different glaze – where pink blends with yellow-orange, green, and blue (and the toad appears black) – was noted by expert Alain Cical.

Dimensions:
Width: 20 cm
Height: 34 cm
Depth: 13 cm

GILARDONI FILS & BRAULT tilery, Weepers, 1900 Paris Exposition

Ref.15020
GILARDONI FILS & BRAULT tilery, Weepers, 1900 Paris Exposition

These ceramic mourners were created around 1900 by the tile factory Gilardoni Fils & Brault. Founded in 1880 by Xavier Gilardoni, the son and nephew of the inventors of the revolutionary waterproof interlocking tile, and Alphonse Brault, the company was based in Choisy-le-Roi and produced decorative ceramic works. The iconography of mourners has existed in funerary art since the 13th century. These figures traditionally represent grieving men surrounding the deceased. In the 15th century, Claus Sluter revitalized this tradition with the prestigious commission for the tomb of Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy. The project, initiated by Jean de Marville, was significantly reworked by Sluter, who individualized each mourner with unique postures, notably through the use of large drapery. The tomb of Philippe le Hardi is a masterpiece that revolutionized late 14th-century funerary sculpture, influencing subsequent works like the tomb of Jean sans Peur and Marguerite de Bavière, crafted by Jean de la Huerta and Antoine le Moiturier between 1443 and 1470. This latter tomb also features mourners inspired by those of Philippe le Hardi. Nearly five centuries later, the mourners from these ducal tombs still captivated artists. Gilardoni Fils & Brault produced several versions of these figures, separating them from their original context and rendering them as stand-alone works. The mourners here are notable for their expressiveness. The first figure, with its face hidden under a hood and arms crossed, leans slightly backward in a dignified expression of grief, resembling mourner No. 22 from Philippe le Hardi’s tomb by Sluter. The second figure, more humorous in nature, pinches its nose, perhaps due to the stench of death or to hold back tears. This figure echoes mourner No. 64 from Jean sans Peur’s tomb, which itself likely drew inspiration from the now-lost mourner No. 17 from Philippe le Hardi’s tomb. The mourners by Gilardoni Fils & Brault were exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition alongside other works by the manufacturer. An old photograph published in The Art Journal. The Paris Exhibition 1900 (volume 2, p. 351) shows a series of six mourners, including the two currently at the Marc Maison gallery. The No. 22 mourner from Philippe le Hardi’s tomb is displayed twice, at each end of the shelf, showcasing the uniform quality of the reproductions. The Marc Maison gallery mourners bear the numbers 3 and 6 under their bases. The photograph is accompanied by high praise for the manufacturer’s stand: “The works shown here were of a distinctly individual nature, and nothing finer of its kind than the little statuettes representing the “Monks of Dijon” was to be found in the Section” (The Art Journal. Paris Exhibition 1900, volume 2, p. 351). While inspired by significant works from the early 15th century, these mourners are firmly rooted in their time, reflected in the use of ceramics and their inherent reproducibility, which allowed for wider dissemination, though such works remain rare today.

Dimensions:
Width: 16 cm
Height: 43 cm
Depth: 13 cm