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My selection
(29 Objects)

My selection (29 Objects)


Beautiful antique paire of Onyx lamps with cloisonné enamels and gilded bronze with Sphinx decor

Ref.03331
Beautiful antique paire of Onyx lamps with cloisonné enamels and gilded bronze with Sphinx decor

This beautiful pair of Napoleon III style lamps was made around 1870. The central part, made of onyx , is shaped like an antique amphora. It is adorned with a very colorful frieze of cloisonné enamels and two handles topped with gilt-bronze busts of female sphinxes (see our article about sphinx ). The foot, also made of gilt bronze, is sculpted with spirals. It is placed on a rather simple, round base made of gilt bronze, onyx , and cloisonné enamels. This piece epitomizes the Antique artistic current of the 19th century and the Second Empire. Napoleon's 1798 campaign to Egypt initiated “ Egyptomania ” and, more generally, Orientalism. Ancient Greek and Egyptian shapes, colors, designs, and iconography became very popular in the Western world. “Neoclassicism” was popular in painting since Jacques-Louis David, as well as in architecture, and in decorative arts. This pair of lamps features decorative female sphinxes, who resemble the typical Greek sphinx. They have wings and are wearing a helmet and armor. The lamps' shape is like that of an Egyptian or Greek amphora. Moreover, onyx is a stone that was often used in Ancient times for cameos and as an ornament for decorative objects. This object is quite characteristic of the Napoleon III style in particular by the cloisonné enamels decor that bring a rich polychrome, technique rediscovered in France circa 1860 and extensively used in decorative arts, especially by the genius that was Ferdinand Barbedienne , bronze manufacturer. The combination of onyx and bronze was brilliantly used first by the Compagnie des Marbres et Onyx d'Algérie by Eugene Cornu.

Guglielmo PUGI (1850 - 1915), White Carrara marble bust From the sculpture of Jean-Baptiste CARPEAUX « Dance », Circa 1900

Ref.12758
Guglielmo PUGI (1850 - 1915), White Carrara marble bust From the sculpture of Jean-Baptiste CARPEAUX « Dance », Circa 1900

Our Carrara marble bust is signed by the Italian sculptor Guglielmo Pugi (1850 – 1915) who has made it around 1900. It uses the model of the sculpted group realized between 1863 and 1869 by the French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827 - 1875), untitled « Dance », for the opera Garnier in Paris. The order of this group is due to Charles Garnier (1825 – 1898), architect of the opera in Paris that now bears his name. In 1863, he asks four artists who have won the Prix de Rome, to realize sculpted groups that will decorate the facade of the opera according to the following themes: Dance, Poetry, Music and Lyrical drama. Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux was in charge of creating the Dance one. At the end of three years during which he made draws and models to give the best move impression, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux sculpted this group, the original one is kept in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and a copy is now on the opera's facade. This farandole of naked women that surrounds the incarnation of the Dance's spirit shocked the public opinion. Indeed, they judge the group as improper because of the realism of the feminine nudes. It's only the war of 1870 and the death of the sculptor, five years after, that stops the polemic. For the creation of our bust put on a Paonazzo marble pedestal, Guglielmo Pugi chose to be inspired by the face of the Dance's spirit that he reproduces in an identical way. Indeed, the smiling face is slightly bend toward the bottom, and the glance is turned to the left, the disheveled hair seem to be blown by the wind and the position of the shoulders indicates a move toward the sky. The only difference from the model of the French sculptor is that Pugi chose to dress the Dance's spirit with a fabric that covers his chest. Guglielmo Pugi owned a workshop in Firenze where he sculpted with his two sons Gino and Fiorenzo. His sculptures, directly chiseled in the alabaster or the Carrara marble, were above all made for the United States. Many of them were presented during the American Exhibition of Buffalo in 1901 and the International Exhibition of Saint-Louis in 1904. We owe him many Art Nouveau sculptures but also portraits kept in the historical Museum of Alabaster in Volterra, Italy, or even the bust of the king Humbert Ist on the place in Fiesole. When he died, his two sons kept going the workshop by changing the name «Guglielmo i figli » (and sons) to « Fratelli G. e F. Pugi » (Brothers G. and F. Pugi) as the signature for « Flli Pugi ».

Dimensions:
Width: 44 cm
Height: 68 cm
Depth: 22 cm

Faïencerie de Gien - Beautiful Napoleon III style earthenware planter "Bernard" with a gold decor, late 19th century

Ref.12401
Faïencerie de Gien - Beautiful Napoleon III style earthenware planter "Bernard" with a gold decor, late 19th century

This beautiful planter with a polychromatic floral decor was made between the late 19th century and the early 20th century in the Gien earthenware factory as indicates the stamp on the bottom. It's the "Bernard" model, with a bulging shape resting on four snail feet and flanked with two handles. Its main decoration is composed of a beautiful lilies patch on a beige background, depicting white or colored with gold blooming flowers and buds surrounded by orange leaves. This decoration is lightened up with larges strips with stylised floral motifs and volutes in purple, green, yellow and turquoise reminding the famous blue of the ceramicist Theodore Deck. About the handles and the feet, they are colored with the same jade green used in this decor, that we also find inside the planter. Among the many earthenware factories born in the 19th century, Gien is one of the most reknown and the most important in Europe. It excels in the imitation art, and makes copies of pieces from the past to an affordable price. Unique pieces were also created thanks to talented artists who decorated them with new decorations, or were inspired by ones from the past or other European and Middle East factories. The factory was born in 1821 initated by Thomas Edme Hulm who buys the lands of the old Minimes convent in Gien to settle an earthenware factory after giving up the one in Montereau managed by his family since 1774. Because of financial difficulties, the Gien factory changes many times its name between 1826 et 1862, it is successively called « Guyon, Boulen & Cie », « Geoffroy, Guérin & Cie » before bearing its definitive name « Faïencerie de Gien » from 1875. The factory participates to the numerous exhibitions of the second half of the 19th centuryn especially the Wolds Fairs and wins many rewards. A planter with the same shape and a similar decor is conserved in the Charles VII museum in Mehun-sur-Yèvre in France

Dimensions:
Width: 43 cm
Height: 27 cm
Depth: 32 cm

F. Barbedienne (Attr. to) - Planter with a Chinese cloisonne enamel decor mounted in gilt bronze

Ref.13727
F. Barbedienne (Attr. to) - Planter with a Chinese cloisonne enamel decor mounted in gilt bronze

This very beautiful planter was made in the 1880's very likely by Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810 – 1892) bronze maker and founder of the maison Barbedienne, from a Chinese cloisonne enamel vase of which the well thought work is very delicate. Thus, flowers bouquets of various colors and typical of the Asian flora occupies the decor on a plain blue background marked by friezes on the upper and lower parts. This vase after it was created was mounted in bronze in a French workshop as Barbedienne's one in which the bronze work was quite exceptionnal and original, as it is the case here. The base is formed with three elephant's heads finely carved, resting on their trunks and between wich there are blossom cherry tree branches. These three heads are forming the feet and are surmounted with mounts to which are hanging rings. This work of art is typical of a very trending practice in the late 19th century coming from the huge taste for the Far-East : the re-use of authentic Chinese elements in European objects destined to take place on the most somptuous interiors. The Barbedienne Foundry is a famous 19th century bronze foundry, whose statues and art objects became rapidly very renowned. This bronze studio co-worked with other trades, and put his name to a great variety of works, such as furnishing in particular. Attending every World's Fair of its time, the Barbedienne Foundry was regularly awarded, notably at the World's Fair of 1855 where it was awarded the Great Medal of Honor.

Dimensions:
Width: 32 cm
Height: 32 cm

Paul SOYER, Renaissance-Style Clock Set, circa 1875

Dimensions:
Width: 22 cm
Height: 53 cm
Depth: 19 cm

Gabriel VIARDOT, Japanese style support unit with bouquet, 1888

Ref.13397
Gabriel VIARDOT, Japanese style support unit with bouquet, 1888

This piece of furniture and display was made by Gabriel Viardot in 1888, at the height of his career. A talented wood sculptor, Gabriel Viardot opened a furniture factory and store in Paris in 1853. In the 1870s, he decided to devote himself to “Chinese-Japanese furniture”. He obtained a silver medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878, then the gold medal at the International Exhibition in Antwerp in 1884, and at the Universal Exhibitions in Paris in 1889 and 1900. This piece of furniture, although adapted to European uses, is part of Viardot's Sino-Japanese production. Its base is pierced with geometric scrolls forming a heart in the center. The door is decorated with an exceptional Japanese panel from the Meiji period (1868-1912). It is decorated with a still life combining bas-relief and mother-of-pearl inlay. This representation is characteristic of Japanese art of this period. It has many stylistic and technical similarities with this other panel from the Meiji era. One of the short sides is decorated with a bamboo in bloom accompanied by an inscription made of characters chosen for their aesthetic appearance, probably taken from Japanese prints. The other is carved with mistletoe branches. The crown of the piece of furniture is inspired by Far Eastern architecture and is decorated with a roaring lion. Viardot's signature is on the right side of the piece of furniture, in the lower part. The stamp and the date, rarely indicated, which is indicative of the value of this piece of furniture, are on its left side. Gabriel Viardot created a small Japanese style cabinet known by an old drawing, the upper part of which, more especially the crowning, is very close to that of this piece of furniture.

Dimensions:
Width: 85 cm
Height: 132 cm
Depth: 54 cm

TIFFANY Studios, Mosque Lamp in "favrile" glass, early 20th century

Ref.15380
TIFFANY Studios, Mosque Lamp in "favrile" glass, early 20th century

This mosque lamp was created by the Tiffany Studios at the beginning of the 20th century. Its design was conceived by Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1905. Louis Comfort Tiffany was the son of Charles Tiffany, the founder of Tiffany and Co., a renowned New York jewelry and silverware company. Initially a painter and interior decorator, he later became interested in the art of glass. In 1893, he founded his first glass factory under his name. He notably invented “favrile glass”, a term derived from the English “fabrile” (“belonging to an artist or their art”) to mimic the iridescent effect of antique glass, achieving a lustrous and shimmering appearance by adding metallic salts to the molten glass. The base, body, and cover of the lamp are three distinct, separable parts of the piece. The octagonal ebony base holds the lamp's foot of the same shape, topped by a spherical cap, with a matching cover above it. While the base glass is matte, the upper part is decorated with lustrous green and mauve petal-shaped motifs. When lit, the lamp emits a warm glow. This creation falls within the Art Nouveau movement, in which Tiffany excelled, particularly at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Its shape resembles a mushroom, and the plant motifs in its decoration reflect the object’s natural inspiration. It also reveals Tiffany’s fascination with all kinds of lighting, from the antique oil lamps of Pompeii to the Near Eastern inspiration of this mosque lamp from the artist’s travels. Several other lamps were made following this model. One of them, similar to ours, is listed in the book Louis C. Tiffany. The Garden Museum Collection by Alastair Duncan (p. 317), as being present in this museum’s collection.

Dimensions:
Height: 22 cm

Napoleon III style mantel decorated with garlands of flowers carved in wood

Dimensions:
Width: 158 cm
Height: 126 cm
Depth: 58 cm
Inner width: 95 cm
Inner height: 72 cm