Bronze-caster (1860-1905)
(attributed to)

Pair of wall sconces with goats

France
Circa 1870

Gilt Bronze

Height : 57 cm ( 22,4 in.) ; Width : 33 cm (12,9 in.) ; Depth : 19 cm (7,5 in.)

An elegant pair of Louis XVI-style wall sconces in chiseled and gilded bronze, each consisting of a thyrsus-shaped shaft centered with a feminine medallion, featuring fluting and scrollwork of leaves, surmounted by a pinecone. Topped with goat heads, the two twisted arms, adorned with acanthus scrolls and ending in cornucopias, are embellished with eagles holding a garland of flowers in their talons.

The design is based on a drawing attributed to Jean-Louis Prieur, circa 1780, held in the library of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

Related work

Examples of this same model are now housed in major collections, such as this pair by Pierre Gouthière at the Château de Fontainebleau (inv. no. F 616 C.2) and the pair at the Cleveland Museum of Art (inv. no. 1944.469.1)

Biography

Henri Vian, a bronze artist active in the second half of the 19th century, created numerous interior decorative pieces: fireplaces, vases with bronze mounts, chandeliers, balustrades… all of the highest quality. His signature is usually in cursive, with the initial of his first name followed by his last name. On his later works, only the two initials “h.V.” appear. The firm, located at 5 Rue de Thorigny in Paris (the Hôtel Salé, now the Picasso Museum), continued under the direction of Madame Vian after her husband’s death in 1905.

Jean-Louis Prieur (1732–1795) was one of the most illustrious bronze casters of the Neoclassical period, born into a family of Parisian artisans specializing in the decorative arts. Active from about 1765 to 1775, he was admitted as a master sculptor at the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1765 and became a master foundryman “in clay and sand” in 1769. He is described as an “ornamental sculptor, modeler, and engraver.” Around 1770, he produced design drawings for bronze works. In 1777, he was living in the Faubourg Saint-Denis. Among other works, he created the gilded bronze ornaments for King Louis XVI’s Coronation Carriage. After his bankruptcy in 1778, Jean-Louis Prieur took refuge in the Enclos du Temple under the protection of the Count of Artois to escape his creditors and royal jurisdiction. His work as an ornamental artist then became his primary focus.

Bibliography

H. Ottomeyer, et alii, Vergoldete Bronzen, T. I, Klinkhardt & Biermann, Munich, 1986, p° 241.

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Bronze-caster (1860-1905)
(attributed to)

Elegant Chandelier

France
Circa 1880

Gilded bronze, Marble

Height : 117 cm (46 in.) ; Diameter : 110 cm (43,3 in.)

Elegant twelve-light Louis XVI-inspired chandelier in marble and gilded bronze, composed of a hemispherical bowl ending in a gilt-bronze finial formed by a gadrooned rosette centered with a seed motif. It is circled by a wide ribbon-tied torus of laurel leaves from which spring the six double scrolling, foliate light-arms. The bowl is suspended by six elegant articulated chains composed of flat oval links alternating with openwork diamond shapes and rosettes, attached by seed motifs to a sphere. The whole is crowned by a large upper canopy adorned with an openwork gallery of volutes and scrolling foliage.

Biography

Henri Vian, a bronze-caster active in the second half of the 19th Century, made a lot of interior decorations with chimney mantelpieces, ormolu and patinated-mounted vases, chandeliers,… He produced articles of the highest quality. The business, located at 5 rue de Thorigny in Paris (the Salé Mansion, now the Picasso Museum), was continued by Madame Vian after her husband’s death in 1905.

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Bronze-caster (1860-1905)

« Bacchic » Chandelier

Signed HV for Henri Vian

France
Circa 1870

Crystal, Gilded and patinated bronze 

Height : 105 cm (41,3 in.) ; Diameter : 80 cm (31,5 in.)

A fine twelve-light chandelier in chased and gilded bronze, richly adorned with scrolls, garlands, beading, prisms, and faceted cut-crystal drops. The central shaft is formed as a fluted, bluish-patinated baluster-shaped vase containing flowers and fruit, decorated alternately with heads of satyrs and bacchantes, from which issue the twisted light arms with scrolling foliage centered with vine leaves. The whole is surmounted by a flattened sphere decorated with ram’s heads, extending into a spiral topped with a bouquet of acanthus leaves forming the ceiling mount. At the lower part, the finial is composed of acanthus leaves ending in a pinecone.

This chandelier develops an imagery directly inspired by Bacchus’s procession, where festivity and nature intertwine. The presence of heads of bacchantes, satyrs, and rams situates the piece firmly within a Dionysian universe. The vine leaves and tendrils, omnipresent in the scrolling light-arms, reinforce this reference to wine and fertility. They structure the decoration while lending it an organic and luxuriant character, like vegetation in full growth.

biography

Henri Vian, a bronze-caster active in the second half of the 19th century, produced numerous interior ornaments: fireplaces, vases with bronze mounts, chandeliers, balustrades… all of the highest quality. His signature is usually written in cursive letters, with the initial of his first name followed by his surname. On later works, only the two initials H.V. appear. The company, located at 5 rue de Thorigny in Paris (the Hôtel Salé, now the Musée Picasso), continued under the direction of Madame Vian after her husband’s death in 1905.

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Bronze-caster (1860-1905)
(attributed to)

« Quiver » Chandelier

France
Circa 1880

Gilded and patinated bronze

Height : 95 cm (37,4 in.) ; Diameter : 49 cm (19,3 in.)

Beautiful Louis XVI–inspired chandelier in finely chased and gilt bronze with blue patinated accents, featuring four lights. The central shaft, shaped like a quiver and associated with the iconography of Apollo or Cupid, is adorned with four female heads alternating with fluted light arms decorated with scrolling acanthus leaves and vine tendrils, surmounted by goat heads. The lower terminal, ornamented with acanthus leaves, ends in a pinecone finial. The chandelier is suspended by four linked chains gathered at the top by a bouquet of stylized acanthus leaves forming a flared corolla.

The attribution to Henri Vian is based on stylistic analogies with pieces from his workshop, particularly in the quality of the chasing, the vigor of the animal figures, and the richness of the ornamentation. Vian, an appointed supplier to an aristocratic and international clientele, distinguished himself in the production of art bronzes that combined references to the eighteenth century with free interpretations of the classical repertoire.

This quiver-form chandelier thus belongs to the Neo–Louis XVI current as reinterpreted by the eclecticism of the end of the century. It combines formal erudition, technical virtuosity, and decorative power, reflecting the ambition of Parisian bronze-casters to rival the masterpieces of earlier centuries while responding to the expectations of an international market seeking prestige and historicist exoticism

biography

Henri Vian, a bronze-caster active in the second half of the 19th Century, made a lot of interior decorations with chimney mantelpieces, ormolu and patinated-mounted vases, chandeliers,… He produced articles of the highest quality. The business, located at 5 rue de Thorigny in Paris (the Salé Mansion, now the Picasso Museum), was continued by Madame Vian after her husband’s death in 1905.

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Bronze-caster (1860-1905)
(attributed to)

Chandelier « with Butterflies »

France
Circa 1890

Gilded bronze, Cristal 

Height : 120 cm (47,2 in.) ; Diameter : 77 cm (30,3 in.)

Chandelier with eighteen light-arms in gilded bronze, richly decorated with scrolls, pearls and cut crystal pendants. The whole is decorated on the shaft with three female figures forming caryatids and gilded bronze butterflies on the branches. In the lower part, a faceted ball adorns the whole.

biography

Henri Vian, a bronze-caster active in the second half of the 19th Century, made a lot of interior decorations with chimney mantelpieces, ormolu and patinated-mounted vases, chandeliers. He produced articles of the highest quality. The business, located at 5 rue de Thorigny in Paris (the Salé Mansion, now the Picasso Museum), was continued by Madame Vian after her husband’s death in 1905.

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Bronze-caster (1860-1905)
(attributed to)

Chandelier with Eagle heads

France
Circa 1890

Height : 112 cm (44 in.) ; Diam. : 78 cm (30,7 in.)

Important Louis XVI-inspired chandelier in gilded bronze with 18 lights. The baluster-shaped central shaft in blue enameled bronze is surmounted by a fluted rod in gilded bronze surrounded by intertwined laurel branches, topped with a leafy crown. It is lit by two rows of six and twelve sconces surmounted by eagle heads and adorned with foliage scrolls, attached by six chains to the crown. The base ends with acanthus leaves ending with a pine cone.

This chandelier is inspired by the creations of the engraver-gilder Pierre Gouthière (1732-1813), one of the greatest French bronze-casters recognized for his excellence which earned him to count among his customers Queen Marie-Antoinette, Madame Du Barry and even the Count of Artois.

Biography

Henri Vian, a bronze-caster active in the second half of the 19th Century, made a lot of interior decorations with chimney mantelpieces, ormolu and patinated-mounted vases, chandeliers,… He produced articles of the highest quality. The business, located at 5 rue de Thorigny in Paris (the Salé Mansion, now the Picasso Museum), was continued by Madame Vian after her husband’s death in 1905.

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Bronze-caster (1860-1905)
(attributed to)

Pair of Cassolettes

France
Circa 1890

Marble, Bronze

Height : 49 cm (19,3 in.) ; Width : 22 cm (8,6 in.) ; Depth : 19 cm (7,5 in.)

Beautiful pair of Louis XVI-inspired baluster-shaped cassolettes in white marble, enriched with an elegant bronze mount with a double patina. The lid is topped with a seed-shaped grip.
The body is decorated with garlands of ivy attached to a button. The leafy handles rest on the top of the collar and join the pedestal decorated with large leaves surrounded by a laurel rush. The whole rests on a molded cubic base.

Biography

Henri Vian, a bronze-caster active in the second half of the 19th Century, made a lot of interior decorations with chimney mantelpieces, ormolu and patinated-mounted vases, chandeliers… He produced articles of the highest quality. The signature can be either in script, usually with a lower case first letter for his Christian name as on these vases, or more commonly with initials h.V. in later pieces. The business, located at 5 rue de Thorigny in Paris (Salé Mansion, now Picasso Museum), was continued by Madame Vian after her husband’s death in 1905.

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Bronze-caster (1860-1905)
(attributed to)

Chandelier  « aux Têtes de Bélier »

France
Circa 1890

Crystal, Gilded bronze

Height : 80 cm (315 in.) ; Diameter : 55 cm (21,6 in.)

Charming Louis XVI style chandelier in gilded bronze, clear and amber cut crystal with six lights.

The central shaft, formed by a succession of balusters in cut and faceted crystal, is connected to the light-arms by garlands of pearls. The beaded basins are adorned with a ram’s head, and the whole is decorated with cut crystal drops, diamonds and prisms.

Biography

Henri Vian, a bronze-caster active in the second half of the 19th Century, made a lot of interior decorations with chimney mantelpieces, ormolu and patinated-mounted vases, chandeliers… He produced articles of the highest quality. The signature can be either in script, usually with a lower case first letter for his Christian name as on these vases, or more commonly with initials h.V. in later pieces. The business, located at 5 rue de Thorigny in Paris (Salé Mansion, now Picasso Museum), was continued by Madame Vian after her husband’s death in 1905.

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