Ref.2503
Monumental oak wood fireplace with painting on canvas depicting Joan of Arc

This large antique Neo-Renaissance style fireplace was made out of oak wood during the 19th century. Coming from the Lille region, the fireplace is decorated with a painted canvas featuring the profile of Jeanne d'Arc set in a medallion surrounded by a floral wreath. On one side of the medallion is the coat of arms of Jeanne d'Arc, made up of a sword supporting a crown and two fleurs de lys, and on the other side is the coat of arms with the cross of Lorraine which is often associated with Jeanne d'Arc. The fireplace is elaborately carved with lions' heads, columns rising to capitals, and a colonnade. An enameled faience plaque decorates the opening of the fireplace, which is decorated with dragons and foliage.

Ref.9962
Antique Louis XVI pierglass with pomychrome stucco decoration representing garlands of flowers

This beautiful antique Louis XVI style overmantel mirror was made during the 19th century. The polychrome stucco decor spreads predominantely over the upper part of the mirror with a double floral wreath decorated with ribbons.

Ref.11231
Émile Louis PICAULT (sculptor), Alphonse Mathieu Paris (clock maker), "Dawn and Twilight", Monumental exhibition clock in the taste of the Païva hotel decor in Paris

This spectacular onyx marble and gilded bronze clock is an extremely rare model, with a monumental dimension. The all sides decoration shows that it was designed to be placed in front of a mirror, the observer of this sumptuous antique clock being free to observe it entirely. Two gilded bronze women, languid figures lying on a Grecian couch, are placed back to back, on either side of a large central kerosene lamp. On the left side, eyes closed and head tilted, the woman accompanied by an owl symbolizes the allegory of Twilight. On the right, the head tilted forward but the eyes open, ready to wake up and accompanied by an eagle, she symbolizes Aurora. Also made out of gilded bronze, the central kerosene lamp shows a low-relief decoration pursuing the allegory of night and day : on the front, a woman and putti are inscribed in a crescent moon ; on the back, a male figure is haloed by sun rays. The bronzes are signed four times "E. Picault" for Émile-Louis Picault, French sculptor born in Paris in 1833. While he exhibited for the first time at the Salon of French artists in 1863, he was called, in the early 1860s, on one of the most important sites of the Second Empire, the construction of the Hotel Païva, at 25 avenue of the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The Countess of Païva, a famous parisian courtesan and semi-socialite, commissioned the architect Pierre Manguin in 1856 for the construction of her private mansion. The cost of construction, 10 million gold francs, as well as its duration, 10 years, hit the headlines and animated the social salons. For this prestigious mansion, Émile Picault made the gilt bronze medallions adorning the ground floor and upstairs bedrooms’ doors. He also produced the bronzes for the imposing Louis XIII dresser "very large, made in old walnut with marquetry of the same wood, marble inlays and Legrain sculptures, bronze medallion and statuettes, works by Picault and signed by him" ( in Municipal Commission of Old Paris, "Report of a visit made at the hotel Païva", session of Thursday May 30, 1901, p. 69.) In this regard, it is quite interesting to notice, on our clock, two back-to-back women profiles presenting both features of youth and old age, allegories of time passing, with style and models very similar to the medallions made for the Hotel Païva. Furthermore, the onyx marble used to realize this clock shows remarkable similarities with the onyx of the Countess of Païva's famous grand staircase or bathroom. There are several types of marble called "Onyx" but the best known and most used is that one which comes from Algeria. Algerian Onyx has been mined in Ain-Snara, in the Oran region, since the 19th century. Exploited from Antiquity, the onyx quarries in Algeria were rediscovered in 1849. From this date, the onyx will be used in Europe for the production of works of art, clocks or sculptures. Due to the high price of onyx, it was rather used for small objects and more rarely for furniture, as it is at the Hotel Païva. If it is not possible to affirm that this clock was made for this sumptuous hotel, the fact remains that its monumental dimensions, its decoration and the materials used seem to indicate a particular order worthy of this luxurious private mansion of the Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Certainly, a clock of this quality and size can only be an exceptional work of art intended for a sumptuous home or to be exhibited at a major international exhibition. Sculptor Émile Louis Picault exhibited at the Salon of French Artists from 1863 to 1914, presenting medallions and sculpted groups. At the Salon of 1867, he exhibited The punishment of Tantalus, a bronze group. In 1880, he presented another bronze group called Perseus delivering Andromeda. He was rewarded an Honorable Mention in 1883 by exhibiting a statue of Valentinian I, Christian emperor. His sculpted work was very successful, notably thanks to the edition of bronze statuettes by the Susse foundry, the Colin and Houdebine foundries and the Société des Bronzes de Paris.

Ref.11962
Lot of 15 m² of antique Point de Hongrie oak parquet flooring

Antique Point de Hongrie oak parquet flooring from a room of 15 m². The strips are 17" 3/4 to 18" 1/8 long, and 3" 3/4 to 3" 15/16 long.

Ref.13161
Jules LARCHER - Nymphs at the fountain, oil on canvas

This painting, whose upper side is curved, shows two nude nymphs in a landscape. The first one is busy filling a vase at the fountain; she is bent over to hold the urn under the trickle of water and leans, with her left leg and arm bent over the rocks bordering the spring. The second, seated on the ground in a languid posture that emphasises her nakedness, leans against the tree behind her and casually places her left hand on her own vase. Her lips are stretched into a slight smile that reveals her teeth and she keeps her eyes downcast. The pale skin is bathed in a soft light, standing out against the darker background, the deep green foliage forming a barrel vault above the nymphs. Nymphs are female divinities linked to the world of nature, particularly with the ones of forests and water. They are also linked to the erotic imagination, as seductive female figures. However, because they belong to the mythology, their representation is often a pretext for depicting female nudes. Here, the characters adopt two different positions, like in the exercise of the "academy" (the representation of the naked body). The female figures are idealised by the artist, who represents a canon of beauty rather than individual features and forms. The summer landscape itself is a setting invented to create a green environment around the characters. Jules Larcher (1849-1920) was born in Lorraine. After learning how to draw at the Nancy municipal drawing school, he went to Paris. There, he studied painting with Léon Bonnat (1833-1922). He exhibited regularly at the Salon, the major Parisian painting exhibition of the 19th century. His most famous work is the painting Daphnis and Chloé (1849, Nancy, Musée des Beaux-arts). He exhibited it at the Salon in 1883, and it was acquired by the State for the museum where it is still kept. Its iconography and style are close to his Nymphs’: two naked young people are set in a landscape of undergrowth. Chloe’s position is similar to that of the nymph filling her vase at the fountain. As with the nymphs, the light skin tones stand out against the shadow of the wood. In 1886, Larcher was appointed curator of the Musée de Peinture et de Sculpture and director of the École des Beaux-Arts de Nancy, to which he gave a new development. In 1894, he married Maria Roy, a flower painter who had been his pupil in Nancy. As indicated by a label sticked to the back of the frame, which also gives the artist's name and the title of the work ("M. Jules Larcher / appartient à Mme J. Larcher / Nymphes à la / Fontaine (Huile)"), the painting would have belonged to the artist's wife.

Ref.15702
AU VASE ÉTRUSQUE – Porcelain Vase with Aquatic Decoration

Porcelain vase with lid, marked AU VASE ÉTRUSQUE, PARIS. The surface features a hand-painted and gilt aquatic design on a light blue background. The decoration includes a stylized fish with gold highlights, jellyfish, aquatic plants, and rock formations, rendered in shades of gold, gray, and brown. The rounded body rests on a fluted base with gilded accents. The matching lid has a scalloped gold border and a finial decorated with vertical gold lines.