Ref.13458
Louis - Constant SEVIN & Ferdinand BARBEDIENNE - Beautiful pair of ornament vases in bronze and cloisonne enamel, circa 1862

This beautiful pair of vases is the result of the collaboration between Louis Constant Sevin (1821 – 1888), drawer and designer, and Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810 – 1892), bronze maker and founder of the famous 19th century foundry of the same name. Indeed, even though they are only bearing the signature of the last one, we can compare our vases to another pair presented on the Barbedienne's stand during the International Exhibition of London in 1862 depicting the same decor. We owe to the associations of the two men – which has lasted for more than thirty years, between 1855 and 1888 – an important collection of works of art and especially vases, showing the same colors and technical. Our ornamental vases were made in bronze and show an outstanding and abundant decoration of enamel cloisonne. The gilt bronze on the blue background and the polychromatic richness of the motif reminds of an imaginary and an inspiration coming from the East. They rest on three gilt bronze feet with cat's heads, finished with claws. We notice in the shape and the decoration an eastern inspiration but above all an eclectic one, characteristic of the artistic tendency in France under the Second Empire. Indeed, Constant Sevin was inspired by patterns belonging to the Arabic, or Persian decorative repertoires for the decoration. While the handles with cat's heads tend toward reminding Egypt, the technic of divided enamel dates back to Middle Ages. With the creation of this pair of vases Ferdinand Barbedienne and Constant Sevin participate to the reborn of champleve enamel in the middle of the 19th century. Indeed, the polychromatic decoration, omnipresent in the industrial arts during the Second Empire, finds in this technic a perfect expression. Inspired by examples of champleve enamels made during the Middle-Ages, this technic was innovated by obtaining directly during the melt the network of partitions to produce a draw of a irreproachable clarity and regularity. The first technical tries of Barbedienne were made near 1858 and four years after he presents in the Great Exhibition of London a stand mainly composed of works of art inlaid of enamels – very likely the model of our vase – which does not leave the critic indifferent. Alfred Darcel (1818 – 1893), art critic, said in his report on the Great Exhibition of 1862, published in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts : "Among the numerous works of art exhibited by Mr Barbedienne, we did not see anything more gripping than the objects decorated with enamels, kind of decoration he knew how to apply with success. […] With enamels painted that have conceded nothing to the most beautiful works of art of the 16th century first masters.[…] "

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.15562
Louis XVI period gilded trumeau decorated with a garland of flowers

This overmantel is made of wood and decorated with gilding. It is from the Louis XVI period and embodies the style of the period, depicting ribbons or flowers, motifs characteristic of the decorative arts under Louis XV. Gilded moldings frame the overmantel, and the mirror and decorate the top of the overmantel. In the space created by the molding at the top, ribbons and a garland of wildflowers decorate the overmantel. In a central position, a ribbon knot is placed on top of the molding, supporting a ring that allows the garland to pass through.