Crystal Manufacture

(attributed to)

Crystal Cup

France

Circa 1860

Crystal, Gilded bronze

Heigth : 30 cm (11,8 in.) ; Lenght : 57 cm (22,4 in.) ; Depth : 25 cm (9,8 in.)

Elegant navette-shaped crystal bowl, finely engraved with delicate vegetal and floral friezes. Its bronze mount is composed of long curved arms formed by tubular stems that end in small spheres. On each support, an oval-shaped medallion is adorned with a female profile of classical inspiration (reminiscent of medals or cameos), representing Minerva.

Biography

The famous crystal manufacture of Baccarat, that dates back to the 18th century, was awarded its first medal in 1823, during the “Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie” for the “brilliance and the sharpness of its crystal” and became then the most renowned French “cristallerie”. Baccarat was undoubtedly the only French manufacture, that exhibited steadily and magnificently its products at the various Universal Exhibitions, and especially between 1855 and 1867. Reports of the Universal Exhibition, from 1855 to 1867, talk about the “perfection of the material and of its cut”, considered superior of those from Bohemia or England.

The post Baccarat <br/> Crystal cup appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Compagnie des marbres Onyx d’Algérie (1879-1886)

Japanese style Planter

France – Circa 1880

Signed Sté des onyx ; H. Journet & Cie ; 24 Bd Italiens ; 3167

Gilded bronze, Algerian onyx

Height : 30 cm (11,8 in.) ; Width : 32 cm (12,6 in.) ; Depth : 28 cm (11 in.)

Beautiful planter made of banded Algerian onyx, mounted in gilded bronze. Resting on four legs connected by aprons with lamp-shaped bases in a fanciful Japanese-inspired style, this planter features two gilded bronze handles, each secured to the body by a Phô dog’s muzzle. The body tapers toward the neck and flares out into a continuous frieze of Japanese-style lambrequins.

It is signed with a stamp reading “Sté des onyx; H. Journet & Cie; 24 Bd Italiens; 3167,” which indicates the origin of the onyx, its gilt-bronze setting, and the model number.

Biography

The Compagnie des Marbres Onyx d’Algérie, led by Gustave Viot (1828–1897), was founded by Alphonse Pallu (1808–1880) on June 14, 1858. This company was involved in the mining of onyx, a stone known since ancient times and rediscovered in 1849 in the province of Oran, Algeria, by Del Monte, a marble craftsman. In 1863, it opened a store at 24 Boulevard des Italiens in Paris. In the mid-1860s, the company’s name changed to “G. Viot & Cie,” and it produced pieces based on models by renowned sculptors such as Eugène Cornu, Albert Carrier-Belleuse (1824–1887) (Victoria & Albert Museum, Inv. 9070-1863), Charles Cordier (1827–1905) (Orsay, Inv. RF 2996), and Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841–1905) (Orsay, Inv. RF 1409), producing highly luxurious decorative works characterized by the combination of onyx with bronze, and sometimes enamel. At their booth at the 1867 Paris World’s Fair, they presented an impressive pair of vases made of onyx, bronze, and enamel, featuring elephant-shaped bases (signed “G. Viot et Cie, 1867 Exhibition, Eugène Cornu, Inventor”; Official Exhibition Catalog, Group III, Class XIV, “luxury furniture,” No. 65), which was admired by the jury and earned them a gold medal (Reports of the International Jury, 1867 Paris World’s Fair, 1868, Vol. III, Group III, Class XV, Chapter II, § 2, pp. 45 & 46). In January 1879, Henri Journet became manager of the company, still located at 24 Boulevard des Italiens, which he renamed Henri Journet et Cie. He participated in the 1884 exhibition at the Palais de l’Industrie, where his work was once again acclaimed. In early 1886, the company closed its doors.

The post H. Journet & Cie <br/> Japanese style Planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designers and Art object Editors (Active from 1799 to 1885)
(attributed to)

Vase with Tritons

France
Circa 1860

Crystal, Bronze

Height : 86,5 cm (34 in.) ; Width : 32 cm (12,6 in.) ; Depth : 30 cm (11,8 in.)

A large, faceted amphora-shaped vase in ruby red crystal. It is adorned with a dense network of gold-painted decorations featuring arabesques, fleurons, and interlacing patterns. The slender, slightly flared neck is adorned with a gilded bronze band featuring arabesques, foliage, floral motifs, and large star-shaped fleurons at its base. Two tritons in the round adorn the sides; their bodies extend into acanthus leaves, and handles in the form of plant scrolls spring from their arms.

The ensemble rests on a chiseled and gilded bronze pedestal composed of three parts: a base adorned with a frieze of interlaced palmettes, surmounted by figures supporting decorative festoons, and topped by a collar decorated with water leaves.

Biography

Alphonse Giroux and Company, famous curiosity and luxury goods shop was situated in Paris, at No. 7 rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré and in business from the time of the Consulate until the end of the Second Empire. The company was founded by Francois-Simon-Alphonse and continued in 1838 by his two sons, Alphonse-Gustave (1810-1886) and André (1801-1879). The father became a close associate of the royal family and specialized in the manufacture of refined items for gifts. Kings Louis XVIII and then Charles X were both supplied with gifts for « The Children of France » by Giroux. Making progressively small furniture, they were mentioned for the first time in 1837 in the class « cabinet-makers » in the Paris Almanach. It was Alphonse-Gustave, however, who really expanded the activities of the firm as is testified by the report of the jury at the 1839 Products of Industry Exhibition awarding him another silver medal. Alphonse was also quick to participate in the famous and soon figured among the best in the luxury goods business. After buying a writing desk at the 1855 Universal Exhibition Napoleon IIIrd bought several other pieces of furniture, candelabras and clocks from Giroux for the Compiègne Palace. In 1857 Alphonse Giroux transferred his shop to No. 43, boulevard des Capucines where he continued to do business until 1867, when he ceded the company to Duvinage and Harinkouck.

The post A. Giroux <br/> Vase with Tritons appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designer and Art object Editor
(attributed to)

Planter

China, Daoguang Era (1820-1850)
France, circa 1875

Patinated and gilt bronze, cloisonné enamel

Height : 41,5 cm (16,3 in.) ; Width : 50 cm (19,7 in.) ; Depth : 34 cm (13,4 in.)

An elegant planter consisting of a polychrome enamel bowl with a patinated and gilded bronze frame. It rests on four volute feet with elephant heads, finished in a black patina accented with gold on the salient parts. The elephants are connected by openwork, gilded Oriental-style lambrequins suspended from a series of friezes featuring pearls, medallions, and heart-shaped motifs. The planter is adorned with an elegant enamel decoration on a blue background, cloisonné in gold, with motifs of flowering branches and butterflies. Two medallions on a black background stand out, ornated with the same iconographic repertoire. The handles take the form of two oriental bronze dragons, patinated and gilded like the elephants forming the feet. The creatures are held to the rim of the planter by their tails.

Europe has a long tradition of casting all manner of objects in bronze, from coconuts to nautiluses and even Chinese porcelain. The bronze artist’s task was to enhance these curiosities and masterpieces from afar. Heirs to this practice, the foundries and bronze artisans of the late 19th century were no exception to the rule: Barbedienne, Maison Marnyhac, and L’Escalier de Cristal were among the firms that devoted themselves to this practice, adapting it to the tastes of the era. As a result, many blue-enameled objects with floral decorations characteristic of 19th-century Chinese production were mounted, such as tea tables, pedestal tables, or planters.

biography

L’Escalier de Cristal, Parisian firm created about 1800 by Mme veuve Desarnaud, famous under the French « Restoration » for its decorative objects combining crystal and bronze. She was awarded a gold medal at the 1819 Paris Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie for an outstanding gilt-bronze mounted crystal dressing table. Located in Paris, at the Palais-Royal, Galerie de Valois, L’Escalier de Cristal was bought out around 1830 by Boin, and then by Lahoche in 1840. The company owed its rise to a position amongst the most important Paris decorative wares shops to Lahoche, who expanded considerably the business and entered later in partnership with his son-in-law to set up in 1852 Lahoche et Pannier. In 1872 Emile Pannier led alone the firm, and then his sons from 1885 to 1923, whom gave the name of Pannier Frères to the company, located at the corner of Scribe and Auber streets, next to the new built Paris Opera house. L’Escalier de Cristal suggesting also since the 1880’s furniture and art bronze pieces, was several times awarded medals at the various International Exhibitions held in Paris, London and New York, and for instance a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition. Numerous artists, such Emile Gallé, Louis Majorelle and Gabriel Viardot worked for the L’Escalier de Cristal’s worldwide renown, and introduced then some of their greatest Japanese style creations (adorned with « cloisonné » enamels, Japanese motifs,…).

The post L’Escalier de Cristal <br/> Planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster (Active from 1853 to 1918)
(attributed to)

Pair of Perfume-burners

France
Circa 1870

Amethyst, Gilded bronze

Height : 37 cm (14,5 in.) ; Diameter : 13 cm (5,2 in.)

Beautiful pair of Louis XVI style perfume burners in amethyst, enhanced with an elegant finely chased and gilded bronze mount. The ovoid body is topped with a lid featuring a gilded bronze finial and encircled by an openwork gallery adorned with an oak-leaf frieze, ending in a foliage motif centered with a seed ornament. They are embellished with three supports surmounted by ram’s heads holding twisted rings forming the handles, and terminating in leafy hoof feet, resting on a molded concave tripod base decorated with a frieze of water leaves

Renowned for the quality of its chiseling and the choice of materials, the Millet firm had a large workshop with many workers, using its own bronze models and enjoyed collaborations with famous sculptors and bronze-casters such as Claude Marioton.

View from a booth of Maison Millet, showing a “Rams” perfume burners similar to ours

Biography

The firm of Théodore Millet was founded in 1853. A very talented specialist in 18th Century reproductions, Millet produced furniture and artistic bronzes of the highest quality. He was one of the few cabinet-makers to obtain authorisation from the Château de Versailles to make in 1902 a replica of Queen Marie-Antoinette’s great jewel cabinet. As an artist of great merit and Specialising in « meubles et bronzes d’art, genre ancien et moderne », Millet obtained the highest rewards such as the Gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889 for his first participation, and the Grand Prize at the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The photographic archives show, among the workshops views and the parisian shop, Millet’s stand at the Universal Exhibition in Saint-Louis (US) in 1904. The firm’s influence internationnally is then through its antenna in New-York « Duryea and Potter », 469 fifth avenue, New-Yok. The firm lasted until 1918.

The post Maison Millet <br/> Pair of Perfume-Burners appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Italy
Circa 1860

Ebonized and giltwood

Height : 180 cm (70,8 in.) ; Diameter : 65 cm (25,6 in.)

This ceremonial planter, crafted in carved, ebonized, and richly gilded wood, eloquently reflects the Italian decorative tradition of the 19th century, in which historicist eclecticism draws from both the late Baroque and Neo-Renaissance repertoires.

The planter features an architectural structure, with a slender shaft composed of three facets, decorated with reserves adorned with stylized Neo-Gothic motifs such as trilobed cartouches and architectural frames highlighted with gilded lines, incorporating large stylized leaves in the lower sections. At mid-height, a wide circular bowl forms a platform intended to receive or support a decorative element (pot or floral arrangement). It is accentuated by a frieze of gilded gadroons. Above, a fluted knop is surmounted by a ring decorated with finely chased points and floral garlands, supporting another gadrooned bowl. The top of the planter takes the form of an openwork basket, conceived like a Gothic crown. The cut-outs, composed of trilobed arcatures and flamboyant motifs, are enhanced with a red polychrome background. This contrast between the radiant gold and the deep red heightens the theatrical dimension of the object and recalls certain liturgical furnishings or ceremonial pieces inspired by religious architecture. It rests on a polygonal base with chamfered sides, incorporating three basins designed to hold flowers. Oval medallions in relief depict an idealized female profile suggestive of an allegory, rendered in the manner of antique cameos and framed by gilded foliate scrolls.

The ensemble demonstrates a pronounced taste for polychromy and contrast, characteristic of certain Italian productions, particularly in regions such as Lombardy or Tuscany, where 19th-century craftsmen excelled in the art of carved and gilded wood. Beyond its utilitarian function, this planter appears above all as a prestige object, intended to adorn a refined interior and to interact with other decorative pieces within an eclectic setting. Through its ornamental richness, hierarchical composition, and the quality of its execution, it perfectly illustrates a period in which the decorative object became a true aesthetic statement, at the crossroads of architecture, sculpture, and the decorative arts.

The post Ceremonial Planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Floral Bowl with Tritons

France
Circa 1870

Porcelain, Gilded bronze

Height : 30 cm (11,8 in.) ; Width : 35,5 cm (13,9 in.) ; Depth : 25 cm (9,8 in.)

Beautiful polychrome porcelain bowl with a turquoise ground inspired by Sèvres “celestial blue,” enriched with a gilt decoration of scattered lozenge motifs dotted with small flowers, surrounding reserved cartouches with gilt rocaille frames depicting polychrome floral bouquets of roses, pansies, and forget-me-nots, painted with great naturalistic delicacy. The interior of the bowl, left with a white ground, is adorned with floral garlands and bouquets.
It is set in an ornate mount of finely chased and gilt bronze, composed of two lateral handles formed by scrolling acanthus leaves accented with beading and surmounting satyr heads; a gadrooned pedestal foot decorated with laurel leaves; and a quadripod base representing tritons as atlantes, reclining on asymmetrical rocaille-inspired volutes.

This bowl, belonging to the grand tradition of mounted objects, reflects a 19th-century production in the taste of the 18th century (more specifically the Louis XV style), characterized by the exuberance of rocaille decoration (asymmetry, scrolling foliage, tritons), the combination of precious materials (porcelain and gilt bronze), and a taste for spectacular centerpiece objects. It forms part of a prolific yet often highly refined production, oscillating between imitations of the royal Sèvres manufactory and original creations intended for a bourgeois or aristocratic clientele, appreciative of luxury and technical virtuosity.

biography

Since the discovery of kaolin, needed material for the making of porcelain, porcelain factories also called porcelain manufactures are on the increase in all France and naturally in Paris. Most of those manufactures worked in the 18th century under the protection of a member of the Royal family, such the comte de Provence, future Louis XVIII, who protected the Clignancourt manufacture. But during and the 19th century, numerous pieces did bear no making mark. It was then almost imposssible to attribute them to any particular Parisian factory, hence the expression “Paris porcelain” or “Vieux Paris” including all those various productions.

The post Paris Porcelain <br/> Floral Bowl with Tritons appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Sculptor-Ornemanist
(1827-1875)

G. Viot et Cie

Compagnie des Marbres Onyx d’Algérie
(active from the 2^nde part of the 19^th Century)

(attributed to)

Orientalist Planter

France
Circa 1870

Enamel, Gilded bronze, Algerian Onyx

Height : 17 cm (6,7 in.) ; Length : 44,5 cm (17,5 in.) ; Depth : 24,5 cm (9,6 in.)

Fine Orientalist planter of rectangular form in Algerian onyx and finely chiselled and gilded bronze. The upper section, shaped in an arabesque profile, is accentuated by a frieze of water leaves. Rectangular recessed cartouches and raised square reserves are set with gilded bronze plaques decorated with stylized cloisonné enamel of Persian inspiration, composed of interlacing patterns and geometric motifs in a vibrant palette of turquoise blues, pinks, and greens. The shorter sides are adorned with molded onyx cabochons embellished with two pointed finials, and the whole rests on four gilt bronze claw feet.

This planter presents itself as a display object characteristic of decorative arts production in the second half of the 19th century, when a taste for exoticism and precious materials was integrated into a historicist and eclectic aesthetic. It reflects the technical refinement and the fascination with Orientalism that defined the Second Empire period.

Biography

The sculptor Eugène Cornu (1827-1899), installed in Paris at N.29 rue Popincourt, after having worked as a designer and then director for the renowned company Tahan (1813-1892), worked closely from 1858 with the « Compagnie des Marbres Onyx d’Algérie », led by Gustave Viot (1828 – 1897) and created by Alphonse Pallu (1808-1880) on June 14th 1858. This company refers to the exploitation of onyx, known since antiquity but rediscovered in 1849 in Oran Province, Algeria, by Del Monte, a marble worker. It opened in 1863 a shop on Boulevard des Italiens N.24, in Paris. In the mid 1860’s, the name of the company changed to “G. Viot & Cie” and produced, after models created by the most well-known sculptors, such as Eugène Cornu, Albert Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887) (Victoria & Albert Museum, Inv. 9070-1863), Charles Cordier (1827-1905) (Orsay, Inv. RF 2996) ou Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841-1905) (Orsay, Inv. RF 1409), luxurious furniture and art objects, incorporating onyx marble and bronze, with sometimes enamel, a combination then considered as a novelty and become quickly highly prized among wealthy collectors. They showed together on their booth at the 1867 Universal Exhibition held in Paris a fine pair of onyx, bronze and enamel vases and their stands with elephants figures (signed « G. Viot et Cie, Exposition de 1867, Eugène Cornu Inventeur » ; Catalogue Officiel de l’Exposition, groupe III, classe XIV, « meubles de luxe », n°65) for which they won the Gold Medal (Rapports du Jury International, Exposition Universelle de 1867 à Paris, 1868, t. III, groupe III, classe XV, chapitre II, § 2, p°45 & 46). Around 1873, Eugène Cornu became director of the Company and replaced G. Viot, which took then the name of « Société des Onyx d’Algérie E. Cornu et Cie ». Around 1878, the company was then headed to H. Journet from which it took his name. That firm remained opened until the beginning of the 20th century.

The post E. Cornu and G. Viot et Cie <br/> Orientalist Planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

France
Circa 1840

Gilded bronze

Height : 33,5 cm (13,2 in.) ; Diameter : 38 cm (14,9 in.)

Beautiful chiselled and gilded bronze centerpiece composed of a finely pierced bowl with an openwork rim of remarkable delicacy, decorated with scrolling foliage, arabesques, and interlacing vegetal motifs. The contrast between solid and void enhances the play of light on the gilding, enlivening the surface with a subtle shimmering effect.
The central shaft is adorned with four female figures in the round supporting the bowl. Draped in the antique manner, they evoke the Seasons, each holding vegetal attributes, garlands, flowers, or fruits, symbols of abundance and fertility. Their gentle contrapposto stance, the delicacy of their raised and braided hairstyles, and the fluidity of their drapery reflect the classicizing aesthetic of the Florentine Renaissance, here reinterpreted through the academic lens of the 19th century. It rests on a square base with cut sides, terminating in four foliate clasps ending in scrolls.

The post Neo-Renaissance Centerpiece appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Porcelain Manufactory

Pair of Vases

France – Dated 1890

Porcelain, Gilded bronze

Height : 38,5 cm (15,1 in.) ; Diameter : 15 cm (5,9 in.)

This pair of baluster-shaped vases in porcelain known as “bleu de Sèvres” or “gros bleu” is adorned with an elegant mount in finely chiselled and gilded bronze, comprising a neck with a broad gadrooned molding, lateral appliques in the form of hanging laurel swags and tied ribbons suspended from a foliate knop, and resting on a slightly flared circular foot encircled by a frieze of stylized water leaves.

The ornamentation clearly draws upon the decorative vocabulary of the reign of Louis XVI: falling garlands, ribbon-tied bows, and gadrooned friezes. However, the amplitude of the proportions, the chromatic saturation, and the richness of the mount reflect a historicist sensibility characteristic of the nineteenth century rather than the strict Neoclassicism of the eighteenth century.

Biography

The Sèvres factory of soft-paste porcelain was created, about 1738 at Vincennes by bankers and financiers with the aim of making true or “hard-paste” porcelain, like Meissen did. In 1753 Louis XV, became a major shareholder and the manufactory was transferred to Sèvres, closer to Versailles and the château de Bellevue, acquired by the Marquise de Pompadour. The Marquise took a personal interest in Sèvres activities, and encouraged production. In 1759, Louis XV bought out the other shareholders and Sèvres became the exclusive property of the France Crown. From then, the manufactory mark was a crossed Ls (the royal monogram) together with a letter indicating the year. The period from 1756 to 1779 represents the most successful and prosperous years for the factory. Louis XV, ordered large services for diplomatic and royal presents. The foremost artists, like the painter Boucher or the sculptor Falconet, worked for Sèvres, creating models. Experimentation in order to discover the hard-paste porcelain technic continued, and was discovered after 1769. The factory produced with success both soft-paste and hard-paste porcelain, in developing at the same time new colors: dark blue (bleu lapis) about 1752, turquoise blue (bleu céleste) in 1753, apple green in 1756, rose in 1757, and king’s blue in 1763. These remarkable pieces were usually painted with scenes form engraving by famous painters (François Boucher) or sculptors, with garlands, baskets of flowers and trophies. The Manufacture continued its production in the 19th century, asking the artists for new models, or taking inspiration from 18th century pieces.

The post Sèvres <br/> Pair of Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Crystal Manufactory
(attributed to)

Pair of « Birds » Vases

France
Circa 1880

Opaline, Gilded bronze

Height : 35,5 cm (13,9 in.) ; Width: 16 cm (6,3 in.) ; Depth : 12 cm (4,7 in.)

Fine pair of baluster-shaped opaline vases of Japanese inspiration, adorned with a chiselled and gilded bronze mount imitating bamboo, extending up the neck with two movable ring handles. The body is composed of translucent opaline glass with a predominantly cloudy grey ground, heightened with gilding that enhances its optical depth. The decoration unfolds across the belly and depicts two birds with plumage in red, green, yellow, and violet, rendered with naturalistic precision in the treatment of the feathers, while their posture remains decorative and symmetrical. They are perched upon a stylized turquoise-blue cartouche ornamented with simplified Greek motifs, amidst flowering branches bearing yellow blossoms accompanied by finely outlined green foliage. The whole rests on four double feet in stylized bamboo form.

The combination of cloudy opaline glass and a Japanese inspired gilded bronze mount points to a luxury production intended for bourgeois or aristocratic interiors. This type of object belongs to the vogue for Japonisme that marked the French decorative arts from the 1860s to the 1880s. The gilded bronze mounts, through their finely chased treatment and their structuring role, align with the tradition of mounted objects, a practice inherited from the eighteenth century.

Biography

The famous crystal manufactory of Baccarat, whose origins date back to the eighteenth century, won its first gold medal at the 1823 Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie, where it was praised for the “brilliance and fineness of its crystal,” thereby becoming the foremost crystalworks in France. Baccarat was undoubtedly the only French industrial enterprise to be consistently and magnificently represented at the various exhibitions in which it participated, consequently earning high honors and prestigious awards. One recurring expression, “the perfection of the material and of the cutting”, appears in all the reports of the Universal Exhibitions between 1855 and 1867, during which the Baccarat crystalworks dominated through the quality of its crystal, considered superior to that of Bohemia and England. In order to retain its wealthy clientele, among whom were, of course, members of the Royal Family, Baccarat was compelled to discover and introduce new fashions, new decorative schemes, and new materials.

The post Baccarat <br/> Pair of “Birds” Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster (active from 1831 to 1864)

Pair of « Cupids »  jardinières 

Signed H. PICARD

France – Circa 1860

Gilded bronze

Height : 20,5 cm (8 in.) ; Length :  64 cm (25,2 in.)  ; Width : 37 cm (14,5 in.)

A fine pair of oval jardinieres in chiselled and gilded bronze, with inner liners. They are adorned in relief and enhanced by a subtle interplay of burnished and matte finishes, featuring leafy scrolls, asymmetrical volutes, shells, and clasps structuring the composition in a centered symmetrical rhythm. At the center stand out two winged cupids, rendered in the round, entwined in a tender embrace. Their supple modeling, full fleshy forms, rounded facial features, and curly hair reflect a desire for naturalism tempered by academic idealization. A second pair of cupids, arranged as pendants, repeat the same gesture. They surmount a medallion depicting Venus.
The lateral handles, pierced and asymmetrical, unfold into broad vegetal scrolls populated with flowers and foliage, in a distinctly Rocaille spirit. The base, composed of leafy scrollwork resting on small discreet supports, lends the ensemble a visual lightness despite the richness of the decoration.

The decorative vocabulary draws upon the Louis XV style in the dynamism of its lines and the abundance of scrollwork, while the overall composition, strictly axial and balanced, reveals a rationality inherited from Neoclassicism. This synthesis is characteristic of nineteenth-century Parisian bronziers, within the context of the revived taste for the eighteenth century under the Second Empire.

The theme of cupids refers to an iconography of ancient origin, reinterpreted during the Renaissance and widely disseminated in the French decorative arts. A symbol of love, abundance, or domestic felicity, their presence is particularly suited to a jardinière, an object associated with the cultivation of flowers and the ornamentation of bourgeois interiors. Intended to hold floral arrangements, ornamental plants or fruits, theses jardinieres belonged to a type of display furniture, likely conceived for a salon or boudoir. It testifies to the taste for spectacular pieces, both functional and sculptural, that contributed to the staging of domestic luxury.

Biography

Henri Picard (active 1831–1864), gilder and bronzier, established himself in Paris at 6 rue de Jarente from 1831 to 1839, then at 10 rue de la Perle from 1840 to 1864. He carried out the gilding of the Petits Appartements of Napoleon III at the Louvre Palace. He produced a wide variety of works, such as a Japonist inkwell and Pompeian-style centrepieces. Henri Picard earned his reputation for the exceptional quality of his jardinières and fireplace garnitures.

The post H. Picard <br/> Pair of “Cupids” Jardinieres appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Porcelain Manufactory

Pair of Trumpet-shaped Vases

Germany
Circa 1880

Porcelain

Height :  51 cm (20 in.) ; Diameter : 24 cm (9,4 in.)

Fine pair of trumpet-shaped vases in porcelain, flaring widely at the top into an elegant, blossom-like rim. The slightly bulbous base rests on a circular foot accented with a gilded line.
They feature a compartmentalized decoration alternating white reserves with colored grounds. The deep pink ground, treated in a pattern of overlapping scales, evokes the famous so-called “Schuppenmuster” (scale pattern), frequently used at Meissen in the 18th century and revived in the 19th century in a historicist spirit. This regular latticework, painted in gradations from carmine pink to pale rose, creates an effect of optical depth. Rocaille-style cartouches composed of gilded scrolls and acanthus leaves frame the floral scenes and define the colored areas.
The bodies of the vases are adorned with finely executed polychrome decoration depicting an asymmetrical naturalistic bouquet. One can distinguish peonies, anemones, tulips, and wildflowers. To enhance the sense of naturalism, the artist has scattered small flying insects (beetles and butterflies) across the surface, a practice typical of Meissen.

The base bears the mark of the crossed swords painted in underglaze blue, the emblem of the Meissen manufactory since 1722. The presence of characters or workshop numerals near the mark may correspond to a variant or later workshop mark, suggesting 19th-century production in the taste of the 18th century, a period during which the manufactory produced numerous historicist reinterpretations of its Rococo models.

commentary

Founded by Auguste Le Fort in 1710, the Meissen manufactory was the first porcelain factory in Europe to rival production that had until then come from China, following the discovery in 1709 by the chemist Friedrich Böttger of the principles of porcelain manufacture and of the indispensable material, kaolin.
From its earliest days, the manufactory established its distinctive style through the work of talented artisans and the use of complex techniques. Among the most renowned sculptors were Johann Gottlieb Kirchner and Johann Joachim Kaendler, who left their mark on Meissen’s history with their animal figurines and exquisitely refined miniature sculptures.
Meissen porcelains are characterized by a hard-paste body, offering a uniquely brilliant whiteness, often hand-decorated with polychrome enamels or delicate gilding. The designs are frequently inspired by nature, hunting scenes, or Rococo motifs, which were highly fashionable in the eighteenth century. One also finds pieces adorned with flowers and birds, as seen in certain collections of table services and ornamental objects created for the European aristocracy.

The post Meissen Manufactory <br/> Pair of trumpet-shaped Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designer & Sculptor (1827-1899)
(attributed to)

Pair of « roll-shaped » Vases

France
Circa 1870

Onyx, Gilded and silvered bronze

Height : 27,5 cm (10,8 in.) ; Width : 16,5 cm (6,5 in.) ; Depth : 15 cm (5,9 in.)

This beautiful pair of roll-shaped vases is composed of cylindrical onyx bodies circled by finely chased bronze mounts with gilt and silvered highlights, creating an elegant chromatic contrast. The upper section is surrounded by an openwork gallery decorated with scrolls and stylized motifs. On each side are attached movable handles adorned with scrolling designs. They rest on circular bases embellished with cherry blossoms, supported by scrolled feet accentuated with floral motifs and stylized leaves.

Through their slender proportions and the masterful combination of onyx and bronze, these vases may be attributed to Eugène Cornu (1827–1899), a Parisian bronze-caster renowned for his creations combining hardstones and high-luxury gilt bronze furnishings. These works fully embody the tradition of prestigious decorative objects intended to adorn salons and bourgeois or aristocratic interiors at the end of the 19th century.

Biography

The sculptor Eugène Cornu (1827-1899), installed in Paris at N.29 rue Popincourt, after having worked as a designer and then director for the renowned company Tahan, worked closely with the « Compagnie des Marbres Onyx d’Algérie », led by Gustave Viot, successor of Alphonse Pallu, at N.24 boulevard des Italiens. They produced luxurious furniture and art objects, incorporating onyx marble and bronze, with sometimes enamel, a combination then considered as a novelty and become quickly highly prized among wealthy collectors. They both showed at the 1867 Universal Exhibition held in Paris a fine pair of onyx, bronze and enamel vases (signed « G. Viot et Cie, Exposition de 1867, Eugène Cornu Inventeur » ; Catalogue Officiel de l’Exposition, groupe III, classe XIV, « meubles de luxe », n°65) for which Cornu and Viot won the Gold Medal (Rapports du Jury International, Exposition Universelle de 1867 à Paris, 1868, t. III, groupe III, classe XV, chapître II, § 2, p°45 & 46). Around 1873, Eugène Cornu became director of the Company, which took then the name of « Société des Onyx d’Algérie E. Cornu et Cie ». The name of this company refering to the quarries of onyx the firm exploited near Oran, Algeria, remained opened until the begining of the 20th century.

The post E. Cornu <br/> Pair of “roll-shaped” Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Elegant pair of Vases

France
Circa 1860

Porcelain

Height : 51 cm (20 in.) ; Diameter : 18 cm (7 in.)

Pair of baluster-shaped vases in hard-paste porcelain, resting on a molded circular foot and flaring toward a neck with a flat rim highlighted by a gilt line. Each vase is fitted with two applied lateral handles, featuring openwork and gilded decoration with sinuous profiles, reflecting the historicist ornamental vocabulary of the mid-19th century. The surface is covered in a deep blue ground, richly enhanced with gilded decoration composed of leafy scrolls, volutes, trellis patterns, and stylized floral motifs. The design is organized around large oval reserves framed by gilt borders. On one side of each vase, the reserves depict animal and ornithological scenes painted in polychrome, showing exotic birds in idealized landscapes. These are rendered with great naturalistic precision and a subtle palette, reflecting the influence of zoological publications and the Orientalist taste then in vogue. On the opposite sides, the reserves are adorned with luxuriant floral bouquets composed of roses, dahlias, peonies, and garden flowers, executed with a keen sense of modeling, petal transparency, and chromatic gradation, characteristic of high-quality porcelain flower painting.

The alternation of decoration—bird scenes and floral compositions—together with the overall symmetry of the ornamentation, gives this pair a strong visual unity while highlighting the technical virtuosity of the painters and gilders. The ensemble attests to the expertise of the Valentine manufactory, active in the 19th century and renowned for its luxurious productions intended for a bourgeois and aristocratic clientele. It stands within the French tradition of display porcelain, heir both to the models of Sèvres and to the eclectic taste of the Second Empire.

The Valentine manufacture was a porcelain factory founded in 1832, following the discovery of a vein of kaolin in the central Pyrenees, at Saint -Gaudens. It was the only porcelain factory located in the south of France. Driven by political troubles, former porcelain makers of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, founded in the early nineteenth century a factory in Toulouse. By 1820, this factory named “Fouque and Arnoux, earthenware manufacturers, Place Saint-Sernin in Toulouse”, with seventy workers, installed a second factory in Saint-Gaudens, on the banks of the river Garonne, where the two factories finally consolidated in 1832. The factory employing up to 250 workers in the 1850s, was facing the Valentine hill, from where the 6 ovens of the factory were refuelling with wood, and which gave then its name to the porcelain wares. These “Valentine porcelain wares”, produced until 1878 in Saint-Gaudens, were made in pure white and milky hard-paste, with very bright enamel, and whose famous ”Valentine Blue” vases were colored with cobalt-blue. The decor was often enriched with floral bouquets and gold lines painted on enamel.

The post Valentine Manufacture <br/> Elegant pair of Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Lotus Basin

Japan
Circa 1720-1750

Porcelain, Gilded bronze

Height : 52 cm (20,5 in.) ; Diameter : 56 cm (22,1 in.)

Important lotus basin with polychrome decoration in iron red, cobalt blue, and gold, known as the Imari Kinrande palette. Composed of two parts, the basin and the pedestal, the whole is decorated with stylized flowers, peonies, and chrysanthemums, framed by rectangular cartouches on a hexagonal lattice ground, typical of the Edo period (1603–1868). The interior, enameled in white, is pierced with a central drainage hole, indicating its original function as a lotus basin. The piece rests on a gilt and chased bronze base, French, from the late 19th century.

Commentary

The Imari porcelain is a ceramic style born around 1600 in the area of Arita (有田町), city of potters on the island of Kyushu, in southern Japan. According to tradition, this is a Korean named Ri Sampei installed in the region, who operated a kaolin deposit at the foot of the hill of Izumiyama. He managed the merger of kaolin, up to 1400 ° C, to obtain similar porcelain to the Chinese one’s ending thus a monopoly that was older than seven centuries. This porcelain is characterized by a decoration using three colors: cobalt blue, iron red and white background porcelain, the whole being embellished with gold. It mainly presents floral decoration and was called “Imari”, the name of the port on the island of Kyushu, from where it was exported, a few kilometers from Arita. Because of the supply problems in China due to political unrest in the seventeenth century, the Dutch, with their East Company of the United Provinces, imported the first Imaris from Japan. These porcelains were exported for European elites — kings, princes, nobles, and great merchants — who collected them as symbols of wealth, refinement, and openness to the world.

The post “Imari” <br/> Lotus Basin appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster (1815-1903)
(attributed to)

« The Marmots » Centerpiece

France
Circa 1840

Gilded bronze

Height : 39,5 cm (15,5 in.) ; Diameter : 32,5 cm (12,8 in.) ; Base : 30 x 30 cm (11,8 x 11,8 in.)

Elegant Louis-Philippe period centerpiece, with rich Renaissance-inspired chiseled and gilded bronze decoration. Made up of a bowl decorated with interlacing, lined with a zinc basin resting on a pedestal decorated with palmettes around which 3 marmots placed on scrolls rotate, extended by 3 medallions in imitation of cut leather centered with a cabochon that can accommodate a coat of arms or a monogram. The whole ends with a tripod base decorated with garlands of fruit and leafy scrolls.

The design of this centerpiece, of high quality, is attributed Michel Liénard (1810-1870), , collaborated regularly with Guillaume Grohé, from 1839 to around 1855. His patrons included the goldsmith François-Désiré Froment-Meurice (1802-1855), notably for the toilet of the Duchess of Parma, preserved at the Musée d’Orsay, and the organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811-1899). This highly talented designer and sculptor was awarded the Legion of Honor in 1851.

Historical and artistic context

Centers and naves of tables are attested in France from the Middle Ages in order to present spices and other condiments brought from distant lands around the Mediterranean or from the trade of the Silk Roads. The importance of their presence on prestigious tables will be confirmed throughout the decorative arts, evolving during the 19th century in centerpieces, becoming a central element of decoration.

Biography

Guillaume Denière (Paris, 1815-1903) studied art under the direction of the renowned French ornemanist Aimé Chenavard (1798-1838) and the architect Henri Labrouste (1801-1875). He took over from his father, established since 1804 at n°15, rue Vivienne in Paris. The firm is prosperous, with four hundred workers satisfying the numerous orders from king Louis Philippe and wealthy private clients. Following in his father’s footsteps, the son produced bronzes for furniture, candelabras, clocks and table centerpieces. He collaborated with numerous artists including Carrier-Belleuse (1848-1913) and Constant Sévin (1821-1888). He delivered several clocks (Genius of the Arts, Woman reading with a dog) for the Tuileries Palace in 1852. The table centerpieces, supple and ingenious in style, as testified by that of the Duc d’Orléans (1842) were acclaimed by the critics. His works were very often remarked at the Universal Exhibitions, to such an extent that Emperor Napoleon IIIrd bought a mantel garniture at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris. His fame spread around the world. In 1854, he delivered a spectacular bronze centerpiece to the Russian Ambassador Kisselef, as well as decorative bronzes for the vice-king of Egypt, Saïd Pacha, in 1862, and the King of Cambodia, Norodom Ist (Screen of the Throne room).

The post G. Denière <br/> “The Marmots” Centerpiece appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster (1815-1903)
(attributed to)                                                                   

« Cupid » Bowl

France
Circa 1870

Gilded and silvered bronze, Crystal

Height : 23 cm (9 in.) ; Length : 46,5 cm (18,3 in.) ; Depth : 34 cm (13,4 in.)

Beautiful oval-shaped bowl with flared edges, in engraved crystal with floral interlacing decoration. It is enclosed in an elegant openwork frame in chiseled and gilded bronze with engraved foliage decoration extended by a beaded piedouche. The whole rests on a quadrilobed base, on which sit two Atlantean cupids in silvered bronze holding a drape, decorated on one side with a monogrammed cartouche and on the other with a palmette.

Biography

Guillaume Denière (Paris, 1815-1903) studied art under the direction of the renowned French ornemanist Aimé Chenavard (1798-1838) and the architect Henri Labrouste (1801-1875). He took over from his father, established since 1804 at n°15, rue Vivienne in Paris. The firm is prosperous, with four hundred workers satisfying the numerous orders from king Louis Philippe and wealthy private clients. Following in his father’s footsteps, the son produced bronzes for furniture, candelabras, clocks and table centerpieces. He collaborated with numerous artists including Carrier-Belleuse (1848-1913) and Constant Sévin (1821-1888). He delivered several clocks (Genius of the Arts, Woman reading with a dog) for the Tuileries Palace in 1852. The table centerpieces, supple and ingenious in style, as testified by that of the Duc d’Orléans (1842) were acclaimed by the critics. His works were very often remarked at the Universal Exhibitions, to such an extent that Emperor Napoleon III^rd bought a mantel garniture at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris. His fame spread around the world. In 1854, he delivered a spectacular bronze centerpiece to the Russian Ambassador Kisselef, as well as decorative bronzes for the vice-king of Egypt, Saïd Pacha, in 1862, and the King of Cambodia, Norodom Ist (Screen of the Throne room).

The post G. Denière <br/> “Cupids” Centerpiece appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster (Active from 1853 to 1918)
(attributed to)

Pair of Cassolettes

France
Circa 1870

Gilded bronze, Granite

Height : 47,5 cm (18,7) ; Width : 29 cm (11,4 in.) ; Depth : 24 cm (9,4 in.)

Pair of Louis XVI-inspired curved shape cassolettes with godrons, in green granite and chiseled and gilded bronze, in the Rocaille style. The lid is topped by a pomegranate surrounded by pine cones, grapes and pomegranates, the body flanked with large winding handles from which emerge reeds and that are attached to the neckline lined with leaves and palmettes. They rest on a scalloped openwork base, decorated with leafy scrolls. 

related work

Porphyry and gilded bronze vase, circa 1750, Musée du Louvre, OA 5152
Probably from the collection of the Duc de Tallard that the Marquis de Marigny proposed to sell to the Crown in 1778.
Reproduced in « Les bronzes dorés français du XVIIIe siècle », Pierre Verlet, Picard, 1987, p.62

Biography

The firm of Théodore Millet was founded in 1853. A very talented specialist in 18th Century reproductions, Millet produced furniture and artistic bronzes of the highest quality. He was one of the few cabinet-makers to obtain authorization from the Château de Versailles to make in 1902 a replica of Queen Marie-Antoinette’s great jewel cabinet. As an artist of great merit and specialising in « meubles et bronzes d’art, genre ancien et moderne », Millet obtained the highest rewards such as the Gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889 for his first participation, and the Grand Prize at the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The photographic archives show, among the workshops views and the parisian shop, Millet’s stand at the Universal Exhibition in Saint-Louis (US) in 1904. The firm’s influence internationally is then through its antenna in New-York « Duryea and Potter », 469 fifth avenue, New-Yok. The firm lasted until 1918.

The post Maison Millet <br/> Pair of Cassolettes appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Porcelain Manufacture

Art Nouveau Centerpiece

Bohemia
Circa 1900

Porcelain

Bearing the mark Royal Dux and numbered 1252

Height : 61 cm (24 in.) ; Length : 50 cm (19,7 in.) ; Depth : 28 cm (11 in.)

Large enamelled porcelain centerpiece with golden highlights, representing a nymph sitting on a shell like a ship sailing on the waves, supported by two male figures emerging from arum leaves and water lilies, one at the prow holding a conch in his hands.

Biography

Founded in 1853 in northern Bohemia in Dux near Prague initially to produce utility objects, the manufacture was bought in 1862 by Eduard Eichler (1830-1887), a renowned artist, which marked the beginning of its prosperity. But it was from 1898, following his installation in Berlin, that works of remarkable quality were produced. Around 1900, this important factory produced vases, figurines, often female subjects, in exuberant decorations of flowers, leaves on shell bases, fountains… The porcelain was left in the form of biscuit, gilded or painted, often green. During the Art Nouveau period, the company enjoyed success thanks to its collaboration with renowned artists such as the modeler-decorator Alois Hampel. The manufacture is still active today.

The post Royal Dux Bohemia <br/> Art Nouveau Centerpiece appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Cabinet-maker and Bronze-caster (1825-1896)
(attributed to)

Pair of Cassolettes

France
Circa 1880

Serpentine, Gilded bronze

Height : 31,5 cm (12,4 in.) ; Width : 13 cm (5,1 in.) ; Depth : 11 cm (4,3 in.)

Beautiful pair of Louis XVI-inspired baluster-shaped serpentine cassolettes, with an elegant chiseled and gilded bronze mount. The lid, resting on an openwork gilded bronze frieze, is topped with a seed-shaped grip.The body is decorated with two leafy handles joining the pedestal, surrounded by a laurel torus, which rests on a square base.

Serpentine is a stone that has been highly valued since Antiquity and used over the centuries for prestigious purposes, in the form of mosaic cladding, as in certain rooms in the Vatican City in the 16th century, but also for precious objects.

Urn-cassolette with handles representing a mermaid and a faun, Pierre Gouthière and after François-Joseph Bélanger, circa 1775, Louvre Museum (OA 5178)

Biography

Cabinet-maker and bronze-caster, Henry Dasson (1825-1896) executed in his Paris workshop sumptuous copies of royal 18^th century models and some pieces of his own modified 18^th century design. For his pieces of furniture, he used the very finest ormolu mounts with high quality mercurial gilding. He mainly produced in the Louis XV and Louis XVI style. His participation at the Paris 1878 Universal Exhibition was highly remarked with Louis XVI style decorative objects and a table, all made of bronze and considered as a «chasing masterpiece», as well as a copy of the famous King Louis XV desk (original piece exhibited at Versailles), which was also admired by critics. At the 1889 Universal Exhibition, he won a «grand Prix» for his outstanding furniture. Dasson closed down his business in 1894.

The post H. Dasson <br/> Pair of Cassolettes appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Goldsmith (since 1830)
(attributed to)

“Japonisme” Soliflore Vase

Numbered 574668

France
Circa 1880

Crystal, Gilded and silvered bronze

Height : 56 cm (22in.) ; Diameter base : 20 cm (7,8 in.)

Large Japanese-inspired soliflore vase in crystal and silver and gilded bronze. Made of a flared cup topped with a cornet vase, al in crystal engraved with a floral decoration with borders encircled by a golden net. The whole is set in a silver-plated and gilded bronze frame imitating bamboo, resting on six pine cone-shaped feet.

This Japanese-style bamboo-shaped mount is characteristic of the work of Maison Christofle, which collaborated in the second half of the 19th century in particular with the designers Émile Reiber and Édouard Lièvre, who provided it with models inspired by China and Japan.

Biography

Charles Christofle (1805-1863), began his career by managing a jewelry firm and a few years later he set up his own business : the Christofle silversmith company. After his success at the Paris Products of Industry Exhibition of 1839, he bought the patents of gold and silver-plating by electrolysis from both Ruolz and Elkington, which enabled him again to win the gold medal at the 1844 Products of Industry Exhibition. He was named « silver-smith to the royal family » and his success was confirmed during the Second Empire when he was regularly awarded prizes at the Universal Exhibitions. His son Paul (1838-1907) and his nephew Henri Bouilhet (1830-1910) took over the business after his death.

The post Christofle <br/> “Japonisme” Soliflore Vase appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Porcelain Bowl

China – France
18th Century (bowl) – 19th Century (mount)

Porcelain, Gilded bronze

Height : 32 cm (12,6 in.) ; Diameter : 36 cm (14,2 in.)

Beautiful enameled porcelain bowl in the pink-purple tones characteristic of the “Famille Rose” with polychrome decoration of butterflies, flowers and foliage, on fish scales and starry background in cartouches delimited by arabesques. It is inserted in a chiseled and gilded bronze mount made of a wrapped rush supported by four scrolling legs decorated with laurel garlands, all resting on a quadrilobed base with cut sides.

Biography

Porcelain from the Famille Rose, also called yangcai (“foreign colors”), has polychrome decorations in which pink tones dominate.
The decor is “posé sur couverte”, meaning after a first firing of the porcelain covered of transparent enamel. It is during a second firing, called “small fire” (800°C) that colors are fixed. This type of décor appears under the reign of the Yongzhen Emperor (1723-1736) and is developed under the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796). Its creation is interlinked with the history of exchanges between Orient and Occident in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. It is indeed a Dutch chemist, Andreas Cassius, who, in 1650, discovered the chemical formula to obtain pink enamels : the mineral purple, then called “Cassius purple”, obtained from Gold salt. China quickly acquired this technic and used pink shades for its national production but mostly for its exportation products.
Pink family porcelains are quite often decorated with plants patterns made of flowers and bouquets. 

The trade of goods such as porcelain and spices between a metropolis and its colonies was often controlled by a company to which the state conferred a monopoly, and which bore the name of Compagnie des Indes. Under the name of the Indies were listed all the new territories which could be reached by taking the Eastern route (East Indies) and those which could be reached by the Western route, called the New World route (West Indies).

The post Compagnie des Indes <br/> Porcelain Bowl appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Elegant pair of Vases

France
Circa 1880

Porcelain

Height : 44 cm (17,3 in.) ; Diameter : 20 cm (7,8 in.)

Lovely pair of amphora vases in Paris porcelain, with polychrome rotating decoration of lilacs, roses, clematis, fuchsias and other natural flowers, on a white background. The foot and neck are enhanced with gold.

Paris porcelain

Since the discovery of kaolin, needed material for the making of porcelain, porcelain factories also called porcelain manufactures are on the increase in all France and naturally in Paris. Most of those manufactures worked in the 18th century under the protection of a member of the Royal family, such the comte de Provence, future Louis XVIII, who protected the Clignancourt manufacture. But during the 18th and 19th century, numerous pieces did bear no making mark. It was then almost impossible to attribute them to any particular Parisian factory, hence the expression “Paris porcelain” or “Vieux Paris” including all those various productions.

The post Paris Porcelaine <br/> Elegant pair of Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Sculptor (1824-1887)

H. Journet et C^ie

Société des Onyx

The « Nymphs » Bowl

Signed Carrier et H Journet et Cie, 24 bd des Italiens, Sté des Onyx and numbered 2326

France
Circa 1878

Gilded and silvered bronze, Onyx

Height : 86 cm (33,8 in.) ; Diameter base : 44 cm (17,3 in.)

Important and rare circular bowl in Algerian ribboned onyx. It is supported by a trunk surrounded by two silvered bronze nymphs dressed in antique drapery.
It rests on a molded onyx base ending in four gilded bronze claws springing from winged lion heads.

related work

This bowl, made by H. Journet et Cie after a model by A.-E. Carrier-Belleuse, is a variant of the model presented by Alphonse Pallu et Cie and Albert Carrier-Belleuse at the Universal Exhibition of 1862, now preserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (Inv. 9070-1863).

biography

Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887), nick-named the « Clodion of the 19^th century » ; was a very prolific sculptor, treating his decorative objects and his portraits with equal naturalistic rigor, full of charm and life. He entered the Paris Fine-Arts school in 1840, where he studied sculpture under David d’Angers. From the early 1860’s, he won success with his sculptures presented at the French Artists Salon and particularly during the 1867 Salon, where he was awarded a « médaille d’honneur » and the « Légion d’honneur » for his Messiah.

The « new » Paris redesigned by the Baron Haussmann during Napoleon III^rd’s reign, commissioned many of Carriere-Belleuse’s masterpieces : at the Louvre palace with the high-relief « L’Abondance » on the Flore Pavilion (1865), or the sumptuous decoration made for the most famous Parisian palace on the Champs-Elysées Avenue, owned by the Marchioness of Païva. But it is especially with the torcheres-statues of the large staircase of the Paris Opera house (1873), recently built by Charles Garnier, that Carrier-Belleuse meets a huge success with the Parisian public. In the catalogue of the 1878 Universal Exhibition an art critic praised Carrier-Belleuse and added: « Even the English come from London to ask him to work for them ». His busts, nudes, group compositions as well as his candelabras, vases and clocks, all chased remarkably, had a considerable success during the Second Empire.

La Compagnie des Marbres Onyx d’Algérie, created by Alphonse Pallu (1808-1880) on june 14th, 1858 refers to the exploitation of onyx, known since antiquity but rediscovered in 1849 in Oran Province, Algeria, by Del Monte, a marble worker. It opened in 1863 a shop on Boulevard des Italiens N.24, in Paris. In the mid 1860’s, the name of the company changed to “G. Viot & Cie” and produced, after models created by the most well-known sculptors, such as Eugène Cornu, Albert Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887) (Victoria & Albert Museum, Inv. 9070-1863), Charles Cordier (1827-1905) (Orsay, Inv. RF 2996) ou Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841-1905) (Orsay, Inv. RF 1409), luxurious furniture and art objects, incorporating onyx marble and bronze, with sometimes enamel, a combination then considered as a novelty and become quickly highly prized among wealthy collectors. They showed together on their booth at the 1867 Universal Exhibition held in Paris a fine pair of onyx, bronze and enamel vases and their stands with elephants figures (signed « G. Viot et Cie, Exposition de 1867, Eugène Cornu Inventeur » ; Catalogue Officiel de l’Exposition, groupe III, classe XIV, « meubles de luxe », n°65) for which they won the Gold Medal (Rapports du Jury International, Exposition Universelle de 1867 à Paris, 1868, t. III, groupe III, classe XV, chapitre II, § 2, p°45 & 46). Around 1873, Eugène Cornu became director of the Company and replaced G. Viot, which took then the name of « Société des Onyx d’Algérie E. Cornu et Cie ». Around 1878, the company was then headed to H. Journet from which it took his name. That firm remained opened until the beginning of the 20th century.

bibliography

LE ARTI DECORATIVE ALLE GRANDI ESPOSIZIONI UNIVERSALI 1851-1900, D. Alcouffe, M. Bascou, A. Dion-Tenenbaum, P. Thiébaut, Idealibri, Milano, 1988, p. 108

The post A.-E. Carrier-Belleuse and H. Journet & Cie <br/> The “Nymphs” Bowl appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Crystal Manufacture                                                      

F. Barbedienne

Bronze-caster (1810-1892)

(attributed to)

The  « Dragon Turtle » Bowl

France
Circa 1890

Crystal, Gilded bronze

Height : 13 cm (5,1 in.) ; Length : 29,5 cm (11,6 in.) ; Width : 29,5 cm (11,6 in.)

Beautiful square-shaped bowl in engraved crystal decorated with bamboo and birds.
It rests on a gilded bronze dragon turtle, a legendary Chinese creature with the body of a dragon and the shell of a turtle, a symbol of power and prosperity.

Biography

The famous crystal manufacture of Baccarat, that dates back to the 18th century, was awarded its first medal in 1823, during the “Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie” for the “brilliance and the sharpness of its crystal” and became then the most renowned French “cristallerie”. Baccarat was undoubtedly the only French manufacture that exhibited steadily and magnificently its products at the various Universal Exhibitions, and especially between 1855 and 1867.  In all reports one can read about the « perfection of the material and of its cut ». To keep its wealthy clientele, among which the Royal family, Baccarat must discover new styles and decors as well as new material.

Born in 1810, died in Paris in 1892, Ferdinand Barbedienne, the most important caster of bronze pieces of art during the second half of the 19th Century, created and directed in Paris one of the major artistic founderies of his time. Barbedienne specialised in classical reproductions, whose models were exposed in famous European museums. Their illustrated catalogues included many diverse objects such as busts, ornemental sculpture (clocks, candelabras, cups) sometimes even life-sized and also bronzes for furniture. Apart from his own production, Barbedienne worked for the most renowned sculptors such as Barrias, Clésinger and Carrier-Belleuse. All his works were highly esteemed and he, himself honoured by contemporary critics. At the London exhibition in 1851 Barbedienne’s firm won two « Council medals ». At the 1855 Universal Exhibition, he won a medal of honour. The success of Barbedienne’s firm brought him many official commissions, such in about 1860, as Barbedienne supplied bronzes for furniture for the Pompeian Villa of Prince Napoléon-Joseph, located avenue Montaigne in Paris. At the London Universal Exhibition of 1862 Barbedienne won medals in three different categories : Furniture, Silversmith work and Artistic bronzes. Barbedienne was made an officer of the Légion d’Honneur in 1867 and Commander in 1878 when he was compared with « a prince of industry and the king of bronze casting ». His glory did not decline with the passage of the time for at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 the critics thanked Barbedienne for the example he set for other bronze-casters by the perfection of his bronzes.

The post Baccarat & F. Barbedienne <br/> “Dragon Turtle” Bowl appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

“The Flowering”

France
Circa 1880

Porcelain

Height : 27,5 cm (10,8 in.) ; Width : 23 cm (9 in.) ; Depth : 17 cm (6,7 in.)

Beautiful pair of white porcelain vases richly decorated with beautiful polychrome floral compositions and butterflies enhanced with gold on a blue background, framed by golden porcelain handles in the shape of a lion’s head enclosing a ring in the mouth.
These vases are rimmed with gold at the necks and feet.

Paris Porcelain

Since the discovery of kaolin, needed material for the making of porcelain, porcelain factories also called porcelain manufactures are on the increase in all France and naturally in Paris. Most of those manufactures worked in the 18th century under the protection of a member of the Royal family, such the comte de Provence, future Louis XVIII, who protected the Clignancourt manufacture. But during the 18th and 19th century, numerous pieces did bear no making mark. It was then almost impossible to attribute them to any particular Parisian factory, hence the expression “Paris porcelain” or “Vieux Paris” including all those various productions.

The post Paris Porcelain <br/> “The Flowering” appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Earthenware Manufacture
(Since 1748)

Vase with Cranes

Mettlach, Germany
Circa 1900

Model n° 1567

Stoneware

Height : 54 cm (21,2 in.) ; Diameter : 27 cm (10,6 in.)

Beautiful Japanese inspired baluster-shaped vase in tinted stoneware. The rich polychrome rotating decoration illustrates cranes in the moonlight, near a lake lined with bamboo, and an eagle slaying a snake on top of a rock. The neck is decorated with a frieze of flowers surrounded by small embossed pastilles, and topped with a Greek frieze, pattern that is also on the foot surrounding spirals.

Biography

In 1748, François Boch, from the Lorraine village of Audun-le-Tiche, started manufacturing ceramic tableware with his three sons. Luxembourg being one of the Boch’s primary sales markets, François’ son, Pierre-Joseph, requested authorization from the Austrian government to found a factory in the Luxembourg province.
They obtained from Empress Marie-Thérèse in 1767 the privilege of founding a manufacture, authorized to bear the title of “Imperial and Royal Manufacture”.
In 1791, the merchant Nicolas Villeroy acquired a stoneware factory in Vaudrevange, today Wallerfangen, and to modernize his production, experimented with printed decorations with French and English ceramists.
In 1809, Jean-François Boch developed the former Mettlach abbey on the banks of the Saar, with a view to mechanized manufacturing. In 1819 he developed a bright white and extremely resistant earthenware, thus competing with porcelain at lower prices.
It was in 1836, to assert themselves in Europe and particularly in the face of dominant English industry, that the Boch and Villeroy manufactures merged. In 1843, Villeroy and Boch expanded their range and founded the Wadgassen Crystal Factory.
The company participated in the famous Universal Exhibition in London in 1851, Philadelphia in 1876, Paris in 1878 and 1900, Chicago in 1893, Saint Petersburg in 1901 and even in Saint-Louis in 1904.
In 1852, Eugen von Bosch and his technicians developed a process combining extraordinary abrasion resistance and extravagant aesthetics. These tiles, produced in Mettlach, were a worldwide success. The demand was such that in 1866, a factory specializing in the production of tiles was built: the “Mosaikfabrik”. In 1879, Villeroy & Boch took over another factory in Merzig. Both are growing to become the largest wall and floor tile production factories in the world.
Around 1876, the Wallerfangen earthenware factory began manufacturing “piping objects”, the first sanitary ceramics from Villeroy & Boch. The company was already producing toiletries at the end of the 18th century, including many special creations such as those intended for the legendary King Ludwig II of Bavaria. In 1879, Villeroy & Boch began producing artistic terracotta objects. Around 1900, Villeroy & Boch began mass production of bathtubs and toilets. Crossing the ages and continuing its expansion, the company is divided into three departments : Sanitary, Tiles and Tableware/Crystal.

The post Villeroy & Boch <br/> Vase with Cranes appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designer and Art object Editor

« Dove » Planter

Inscribed HA et Cie and numbered 403
Signed in red Escalier de Cristal Paris

France
Circa 1880

Porcelain

Height : 17,5 cm (6,8 in.) ; Length : 37 cm (14,6 in.) ; Width : 30,5 cm (12 in.)

Beautiful planter in gilded and painted porcelain. The rounded belly with a platinum background is decorated with forget-me-nots, surmounted by an openwork border centered on each side by a ribboned medallion decorated with a pair of doves among roses. Decorated with two foliage handles, it rests on four scrolling feet.

It is probably a planter made for a wedding, as shown by the pairs of doves and forget-me-nots, a symbol of fidelity and eternal love.

The hollow mark indicates that this planter was made by the Ardant Manufacture, a porcelain factory founded by Henri Ardant and active between 1858 and 1883 in the Limoges region.

Biography

“L’Escalier de Cristal”, an old and famous Parisian firm, specialized in glass products and ceramics but also suggested furniture and bronze sculptures. It was led from 1885 to 1923 by Emile Pannier’s sons, who gave the name of Pannier Frères to the society, located at the corner of Scribe street and Auber street, next to the new built Paris Opera house. Their Japanese style creations were among many others much appreciated by the critics and the public. They were awarded many medals at various exhibitions, such as the Gold medal at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition.
Lots of artists participated in that world success, such as Emile Gallé, who gave to Pannier Frères the exclusive rights of some of his models, or François-Eugène Rousseau, who designed many vases and gave the model of his successful Japanese style dining-set as well. This set was made by the Creil et Montereau Manufacture. In the Japanese style furniture branch, many famous makers such as Majorelle from Nancy, Edouard Lièvre or Gabriel Viardot worked for Pannier Frères. Some pieces are to be seen in the greatest museums: the Ermitage in Saint-Petersburg, the Orsay Museum in Paris, the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.
The Maison “L’Escalier de Cristal” was sometimes the exclusive owner of the models and then those pieces were just signed by “L’Escalier de Cristal” or sometimes beside the artist signature. But “L’Escalier de Cristal” was also very creative, completing pieces with superb gilded bronzes, glass or enameled panels and often including authentic Japanese or Chinese elements.

The post L’Escalier de Cristal <br/> “Dove” Planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

China
19th Century

Porcelain

Height : 73 cm (28,7 in.) ; Diameter : 31 cm (12,2 in.)

Large pair of baluster-shaped ginger jars in polychrome porcelain from the Famille Rose.
With rich rotating decoration, it is adorned on the body with a pair of phoenixes, symbolizing loyalty and honesty, in the middle of large peonies. The neck and the lid, topped with a handle in the shape of a golden button, are highlighted with Greek friezes and its base is decorated with lambrequins. The whole is covered with abundant floral decoration in bright colors in shades of pink and green.

Appeared during the Qin dynasty (221 BC – 207 BC), ginger jars had an extensive function, as they were used to store ginger, herbs and spices or store oil. When ceramic storage jars filled with ginger began to be exported to Europe around the 19th century, ginger jars gained popularity as a decorative item.

The Famille Rose decor appears during the Qing dynasty, around 1720.  It’s a Dutch chimist, Andréas Cassius, who discovers in 1650 the chemical formula allowing to obtain pink enamels caller thereafter « purple of Cassius », which arrives at the court of China around 1719 through the Jesuits. The purple mixed with an opaque white based on arsenic gives the pink to which the decorative palette owes its name. The Famille Rose porcelain have polychrome decorations in which pink tones dominate and very often have a plant motif composed of flowers and bouquets.

The post Pair of Ginger Jars with Phoenixes appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

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.

The post H. Vian <br/> Pair of Cassolettes appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster
(1815-1903)
(attributed to)

« The Naiad » 

France
Circa 1870

Silvered and gilded bronze, Porphyry marble

Height : 68 cm (26,7 in.) ; Width : 34 cm (13,4 in.) ; Depth : 31 cm (12,2 in.)

Exceptional centerpiece in silvered and gilded bronze, composed of a naiad riding a dolphin, supporting a chiseled shell decorated with reeds, adorned with the head of a river god on its bow and on which a winged love blows in a conch. The whole rests on a pedestal decorated with dolphin heads and cut-out leathers, ending with a porphyry base with molded steps.

historical and artistic context

Centers and naves of tables are attested in France from the Middle Ages in order to present spices and other condiments brought from distant lands around the Mediterranean or from the trade of the Silk Roads. The importance of their presence on prestigious tables will be confirmed throughout the decorative arts, evolving during the 19th century in centerpieces, becoming a central element of decoration.

Here we find a true virtuosity in the composition and representation of the human figure which is reminiscent of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance. Indeed, the fluidity of the lines of the naiad can be compared to the nymph of Fontainebleau by Benvenuto Cellini preserved at the Louvre museum and dated 1545, while the naturalist representation of the marine setting refers to the work of Wenzel Jamnitzer such as his writing desk decorated with naturalist shells kept at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Wien.

This nave is an artistic manifesto of bronze-making know-how in France at the end of the 19th century and is most likely the work of the bronze-maker Denière, a student of Aimé Chenavard. 

Related work 

A close example concerning the female figure on a pair of naves from the mid-19th century is kept in a private collection.

Biography

Guillaume Denière (1815-1903) was the pupil of the famous ornementalist Aimé Chenavard (1798-1838) and of the architect Henri Labrouste (1801-1875). In 1844, Denière succeeded his father in the family workshop, established in 1804, at 15, rue Vivienne in Paris. The business was at this time prosperous and four hundred workers worked to satisfy the numerous commissions from King Louis-Philippe and the upper classes. He made bronze furnishings, candelabras and centrepieces. He collaborated with a number of artists, amongst whom Carrier-Belleuse (1848-1913) and Constant Sévin (1821-1888). He turned out several clocks for the Tuileries Palace in 1852, as well as a ‘globe’ clock with rotating dials for the Grand Salon of the Château of Bagatelle. Denière’s work was very often remarked upon at the Universal Exhibitions, so much so in fact that the Emporer Napoleon III bought, at the Paris Exhibition of 1867, a clock set. His renown was by this point international. Amongst his most prestigious commissions, Denière produced 1854 a spectacular bronze centrepiece for the Russian ambassador, Kisselef, and decorative bronzes for the Viceroy of Egypt, Saïd Pacha, as well as railings for the Throne Room for the King of Cambodia, Norodom I, in 1862. At the 1889 Universal Exhibition G. Denière won a gold medal.

The post G. Denière <br/> “The Naiad” appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designer and Art object Editor
(Active from 1799 to 1885)
(Attributed to)

Covered vase with Atlantes

France
Circa 1880

Bronze

Height : 47 cm (18,5 in.) ; Width : 25 cm (9,8 in.) ; Depth : 22,5 cm (8,8 in.)

Beautiful ovoid-shaped covered vase in patinated bronze with golden highlights, with rich rotating decoration in relief. The lid, symbolizing Night, is decorated with a turtle, a moon, a dragon flying among the clouds ; and the belly, symbolizing the Day, is decorated with a rising sun, mountainous landscapes, and cherry tree branches.
The whole, topped with a flamed seed, is supported by three African-type atlantes dressed in a loincloth.

historical and artistic context

This work of art combines elements of Japonism and Orientalism, two important movements representative of the taste of the time for exoticism. Indeed, this taste for Chinoiserie was revived at the end of the 19th century following the Franco-English military campaign against the imperial army in China in 1860. Napoleon III’s French troops bring back part of the treasure from the Summer Palace, constituting in 1863 the famous Chinese Museum of Empress Eugénie at the Palace of Fontainebleau. First in painting, the movement quickly spread to decorative arts and furniture.
This craze for the Far East is encouraged in France by the diffusion of Chinese ornamental works renewing the interior decoration of the luxurious Parisian residences of a clientele eager for something new.
It was also under the Second Empire that the Orientalists were propelled to the forefront. Emperor Napoleon III, aristocrats as well as wealthy bourgeois in search of exoticism fill the order books of the most renowned artists. It is then not the predominantly academic style of the Orientalists that counts but above all the exoticism that they show to a fascinated public.

biography

Alphonse Giroux and Company, famous curiosity and luxury goods shop was situated in Paris, at No. 7 rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré and in business from the time of the Consulate until the end of the Second Empire. The company was founded by Francois-Simon-Alphonse and continued in 1838 by his two sons, Alphonse-Gustave (1810-1886) and André (1801-1879). The father became a close associate of the royal family and specialized in the manufacture of refined items for gifts. Kings Louis XVIII and then Charles X were both supplied with gifts for « The Children of France » by Giroux. Making progressively small furniture, they were mentionned for the first time in 1837 in the class « cabinet-makers » in the Paris Almanach. It was Alphonse-Gustave, however, who really expanded the activities of the firm as is testified by the report of the jury at the 1839 Products of Industry Exhibition awarding him another silver medal. Alphonse was also quick to participate in the famous and soon figured among the best in the luxury goods business. After buying a writing desk at the 1855 Universal Exhibition Napoleon IIIrd bought several other pieces of furniture, candelabras and clocks from Giroux for the Compiègne Palace. In 1857 Alphonse Giroux transferred his shop to No. 43, boulevard des Capucines where he continued to do business until 1867, when he ceded the company to Duvinage and Harinkouck.

The post A. Giroux <br/> Covered vase with Atlantes appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Attributed to

Pair of Oriental Style Amphora Vases

France
Circa 1880

Porcelain

Height: 38,5 cm (15,15 in.) ; Width : 25 cm (9,8 in.) ; Depth : 11,5 cm (4,5 in.)

Beautiful pair of amphora vases in white and blue porcelain, richly decorated on each side with beautiful polychrome floral compositions framed by handles with openwork motifs of oriental scrolls inspired by Alhambra decorations. The necks and feet are underlined by gilded fillets and embellished with interlacing and a coat of arms featuring a sword.

Porcelaine de Paris

Since the discovery of kaolin, needed material for the making of porcelain, porcelain factories also called porcelain manufactures are on the increase in all France and naturally in Paris. Most of those manufactures worked in the 18th century under the protection of a member of the Royal family, such the comte de Provence, future Louis XVIII, who protected the Clignancourt manufacture. But during the 18th and 19th century, numerous pieces did bear no making mark. It was then almost imposssible to attribute them to any particular Parisian factory, hence the expression “Paris porcelain” or “Vieux Paris” including all those various productions.

Bibliography

Faïence et Porcelaine de Paris XVIIIe-XIXe siècles, Régine de Plinval de Guillebon, Ed. Faton, 1995

La Porcelaine Française, Claude Dauguet et Dorothée Guilleme – Brulon, Editions Ch. Massin

The post Porcelaine de Paris <br/> Pair of Oriental Style Amphora vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

France
Circa 1870

Patinated and Gilded Bronze 

H: 10,5 cm (4,1 in.) ; L: 40,5 cm (16 in.) ; W : 22,5 cm (8,9 in.)

Elegant Orientalist style rectangular planter in patinated and gilded bronze, resting on four lion paws. It is adorned with decorative friezes of water leaves, stylized floral medallions and palmettes on a scattering of flowers.

The post Orientalist Style Planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

France
Early 20th century

Gilded bronze, Marble

Height : 29 cm (11,4 in.) ; Width : 61,5 cm (24,2 in.) ; Depth : 55,5 cm (21,8 in.)
Total height : 139 cm (54,7 in.)

Important pair of rare Greek antique green marble planters with molded decoration framed by a leafy frieze in gilded bronze. They rest on two pedestals in white marble, decorated on all sides with antique green marble panels underlined with red marble fillets and ending with four gilded bronze feet.

Greek antique green marble has been a popular breccia since the Antiquity to create decorations but also objects, like this Thessaloniki antique green marble basin, dating from the 3^rd-4^th century AD, and exposed in the Palazzo Rospigliosi in Rome.

The post Pair of Planters on pedestals appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

France
Circa 1900

Signed LM-Rys.

Haut. : 12 cm (4,7 in.) – Diam. : 6 cm (2,36 in.)

Pair of tight neck small vases with enamel on copper decors of galante scenes characters, the Marquis and Marquise.

The post Charming pair of Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designer and Art Objects Editor

Japanese style Planter

Signed H.P for Henri Pannier

France
Circa 1890

Patinated bronze

Height : 27,5 cm (10,8 in.) ; Width : 29 cm (11,4 in.)

Lovely hexagonal shaped Japanese style planter in patinated bronze with gold highlights. Adorned on three sides with a dragon framed by a rhombus frieze on an openwork background.
It is framed by six uprights showing branches embellished with cherry blossoms topped by three butterflies. It rests on dragon’s paws.

Biography

“L’Escalier de Cristal”, an old and famous Parisian firm, specialized in glass products and ceramics but also suggested furniture and bronze sculptures. It was led from 1885 to 1923 by Emile Pannier’s sons, who gave the name of Pannier Frères to the society, located at the corner of Scribe street and Auber street, next to the new built Paris Opera house. Their Japanese style creations were among many others much appreciated by the critics and the public. They were awarded many medals at various exhibitions, such as the Gold medal at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition.
Lots of artists participated in that world success, such as Emile Gallé, who gave to Pannier Frères the exclusive rights of some of his models, or François-Eugène Rousseau, who designed many vases and gave the model of his successful Japanese style dining-set as well. This set was made by the Creil et Montereau Manufacture. In the Japanese style furniture branch, many famous makers such as Majorelle from Nancy, Edouard Lièvre or Gabriel Viardot worked for Pannier Frères. Some pieces are to be seen in the greatest museums: the Ermitage in Saint-Petersburg, the Orsay Museum in Paris, the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.
The Maison “L’Escalier de Cristal” was sometimes the exclusive owner of the models and then those pieces were just signed by “L’Escalier de Cristal” or sometimes beside the artist signature. But “L’Escalier de Cristal” was also very creative, completing pieces with superb gilded bronzes, glass or enameled panels and often including authentic Japanese or Chinese elements.

The post L’Escalier de Cristal <br/> Japanese style Planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Porcelain planter

Japan – France
Circa 1880

Porcelain, Gilded bronze

Height : 42 cm (16,5 in.) ; Width : 52 cm (20,4 in.)

Important Imari porcelain planter with a polychrome and golden decoration of cranes, carp and lion, on a blue vermiculated background adorned with chrysanthemums. Beautiful openwork mount in chiseled and gilded bronze in the Rocaille style decorated with foliage forming the handles and the base, resting on four feet.

Commentary

The Imari porcelain is a ceramic style born around 1600 in the area of Arita (有田町), city of potters on the island of Kyushu, in southern Japan. According to tradition, this is a Korean named Ri Sampei installed in the region, who operated a kaolin deposit at the foot of the hill of Izumiyama. He managed the merger of kaolin, up to 1400 ° C, to obtain similar porcelain to the Chinese one’s ending thus a monopoly that was older than seven centuries. This porcelain is characterized by a decoration using three colors: cobalt blue, iron red and white background porcelain, the whole being embellished with gold. It mainly presents floral decoration and was called “Imari”, the name of the port on the island of Kyushu, from where it was exported, a few kilometers from Arita. Because of the supply problems in China due to political unrest in the seventeenth century, the Dutch, with their East Company of the United Provinces, imported the first Imaris from Japan.

The post Imari <br/> Porcelain planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designer and art object Editor                                                                                                    
(Attributed to)

Japanese style Planter

France
Circa 1880

Enamel, Gilded bronze

Height : 54 cm (21,2 in.) ; Width : 48 cm (18,9 in.) ; Depth : 34 cm (13,4 in.)

Large planter decorated on the belly with a rotating decoration of polychrome flowers and geometric patterns in cloisonne enamel on a red background. It is inserted in an important patinated and gilded bronze frame composed of openwork friezes on the neck and winding handles ending with a Fô dog head. It rests on a base with four elephant heads elegantly adorned, leaning on a square base decorated with engraved and chiseled flowers.

Biography

“L’Escalier de Cristal”, an old and famous Parisian firm, specialized in glass products and ceramics but also suggested furniture and bronze sculptures. It was led from 1885 to 1923 by Emile Pannier’s sons, who gave the name of Pannier Frères to the society, located at the corner of Scribe street and Auber street, next to the new built Paris Opera house. Their Japanese style creations were among many others much appreciated by the critics and the public. They were awarded many medals at various exhibitions, such as the Gold medal at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition. Lots of artists participated in that world success, such as Emile Gallé, who gave to Pannier Frères the exclusive rights of some of his models, or François-Eugène Rousseau, who designed many vases and gave the model of his successful Japanese style dining-set as well. This set was made by the Creil et Montereau Manufacture. In the Japanese style furniture branch, many famous makers such as Majorelle from Nancy, Edouard Lièvre or Gabriel Viardot worked for Pannier Frères. Some pieces are to be seen in the greatest museums: the Ermitage in Saint-Petersburg, the Orsay Museum in Paris, the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. The Maison “L’Escalier de Cristal” was sometimes the exclusive owner of the models and then those pieces were just signed by “L’Escalier de Cristal” or sometimes beside the artist signature. But “L’Escalier de Cristal” was also very creative, completing pieces with superb gilded bronzes, glass or enameled panels and often including authentic Japanese or Chinese elements.

The post L’Escalier de Cristal <br/> Japanese style planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster
(1840-1897)
(attributed to)

Exceptionnal Planter

France
Circa 1870

Height : 131 cm (51,5 in.) ; Width : 63 cm (24,8 in.) ; Depth : 35 cm (13,7 in.)

Exceptional planter in chiseled and gilded bronze and Algerian onyx representing a young African woman kneeling, carrying an oval bowl decorated with foliage. She is dressed with a loincloth, wearing an egret and adorned with many jewels. It rests on a square base decorated with gilded bronze.

Related work

A model of a similar African Venus, mounted in floor lamp, has been exposed by Marnyhac during the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1878

Biography

Marnyhac et C^ie was used as the commercial name for the Société des Marbres et Bronzes Artistiques de Paris (the Paris Marbles and Artistic Bronzes Society) which was established since the middle of 19^th century in Paris, on the Opera avenue and then at N.1, rue de la Paix. Managed by Charles de Marnyhac, the bronze-foundry company specialized production of luxurious pieces as well as casts from models made by the greatest sculptors of the time, such as Jean-Baptiste Clésinger (1814-1883), Amédée Charron (1847-1937) and Eugène Despléchin (1852-1926). The Marnyhac firm was awarded a medal at the 1878 Universal Exhibition, and showed again their works at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1900. The company closed down around 1910.

Bibliography

Great Exhibitions 1851-1900, Jonathan Meyer, Antique Collector’s Club, 2006, p°241.

L’Art et L’Industrie de tous les peuples à l’Exposition Universelle de 1878, Librairie Illustrée, Paris.

The post Marnyhac <br/> Exceptionnal Planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designers and Art object Editors
(Active from 1799 to 1885)

Pair of trumpet vases

France
Circa 1860

Signed M^on ALPH. GIROUX PARIS

Enamel, Gilded bronze, Crystal

Height : 36 cm (14,2 in.) ; Diameter : 18 cm (7,1 in.)

Elegant pair of trumpet-shaped vases with flare neck in engraved crystal decorated with leafy interlacing and beads friezes. Removable, they are enclosed in circular pedestals in gilded bronze adorned with enameled geometric patterns, on which are seated two musicians putti. They rest on four toupie feet.

Biography

Alphonse Giroux and Company, famous curiosity and luxury goods shop was situated in Paris, at No. 7 rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré and in business from the time of the Consulate until the end of the Second Empire. The company was founded by Francois-Simon-Alphonse and continued in 1838 by his two sons, Alphonse-Gustave (1810-1886) and André (1801-1879). The father became a close associate of the royal family and specialized in the manufacture of refined items for gifts. Kings Louis XVIII and then Charles X were both supplied with gifts for « The Children of France » by Giroux. Making progressively small furniture, they were mentionned for the first time in 1837 in the class « cabinet-makers » in the Paris Almanach. It was Alphonse-Gustave, however, who really expanded the activities of the firm as is testified by the report of the jury at the 1839 Products of Industry Exhibition awarding him another silver medal. Alphonse was also quick to participate in the famous and soon figured among the best in the luxury goods business. After buying a writing desk at the 1855 Universal Exhibition Napoleon IIIrd bought several other pieces of furniture, candelabras and clocks from Giroux for the Compiègne Palace. In 1857 Alphonse Giroux transferred his shop to No. 43, boulevard des Capucines where he continued to do business until 1867, when he ceded the company to Duvinage and Harinkouck.

The post A. Giroux <br/> Pair of trumpet vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

France
Circa 1750

Gilded bronze, Porcelain

Height : 23 cm (9 in.) ; Width : 56 cm (22 in.) ; Depth : 29 cm (11, 4 in.)

Charming Louis XV period Rocaille planter in chiseled and gilded bronze, scalloped with asymmetrical decoration of acanthus leaves and scrolls, and an openwork shell in its center. A bouquet in gilded bronze and polychrome porcelain flowers, as well as a small figure in Meissen porcelain, elegantly dressed and holding flowers in his hands, decorate the whole. The planter is lined with a removable interior that can receive a floral composition.

The post “The Flower garden” appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designers and Art object Editors
(active from 1799 to 1885)
(attributed to)

Pair of cloisonné vases

France
Circa 1860

Enamel, Patinated and gilded bronze

Height : 34,5 cm (13,6 in.) ; Width : 14,5 cm (5,7 in.)

Pair of cloisonné enamel square vases with flared neck decorated on the belly with flowering lambrequins with oriental patterns on a blue and golden geometric. The mount in patinated and gilded bronze is composed of an openwork frieze on the neck, side grips with Fô dog heads forming the handles ; the whole resting on four feet in the shape of elephant heads.

Biography

Alphonse Giroux and Company, famous curiosity and luxury goods shop was situated in Paris, at No. 7 rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré and in business from the time of the Consulate until the end of the Second Empire. The company was founded by Francois-Simon-Alphonse and continued in 1838 by his two sons, Alphonse-Gustave (1810-1886) and André (1801-1879). The father became a close associate of the royal family and specialized in the manufacture of refined items for gifts. Kings Louis XVIII and then Charles X were both supplied with gifts for « The Children of France » by Giroux. Making progressively small furniture, they were mentionned for the first time in 1837 in the class « cabinet-makers » in the Paris Almanach. It was Alphonse-Gustave, however, who really expanded the activities of the firm as is testified by the report of the jury at the 1839 Products of Industry Exhibition awarding him another silver medal. Alphonse was also quick to participate in the famous and soon figured among the best in the luxury goods business. After buying a writing desk at the 1855 Universal Exhibition Napoleon IIIrd bought several other pieces of furniture, candelabras and clocks from Giroux for the Compiègne Palace. In 1857 Alphonse Giroux transferred his shop to No. 43, boulevard des Capucines where he continued to do business until 1867, when he ceded the company to Duvinage and Harinkouck.

The post A. Giroux <br/> Pair of cloisonné Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Cabinet-maker
(attributed to)

Important pair of covered vases

France
Circa 1890

Gilded bronze, Aswan granite

Height : 67 cm (26,3 in.) ; Width : 41 cm (16,1 in.) ; Base : 23,5 x 23,5 cm (9,2 x 9,2 in.)

Important pair of curved shape Louis XV style covered vases with godrons, in Aswan granite, gilded and chiseled bronze. The lid is topped by a pomegranate with foliage, the body flanked with large winding handles from which emerge bulrushes and that are attached to the neckline lined with leaves and palmettes, the piedouche maintained by four acanthus clasps, and the whole resting on a square base adorned with acanthus leaves.

Related work

Pair of similar vases on the stand of the Maison Lexcellent, Universal Exhibition of 1900, in La décoration et l’ameublement à l’Exposition de 1900, Armand Guerinet

Biography

Guillaume-Edmond Lexcellent was born in Paris on December 2, 1834. In 1867, he opened a factory and a furniture store located at 46 rue de Charenton in Paris, then at 8 rue Bréguet where he practiced until 1928. He participated in several World Expositions by exhibiting furniture of different styles : in 1855 he received an honorable mention, in 1867 he received a bronze medal and in 1889 he received a silver medal. From 1894, Lexcellent began making copies of antique furniture.

The post Maison Lexcellent <br/> Important pair of covered vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Porcelain-maker
(19th century)

Important planter and its dish

France
Circa 1880

Planter – Height : 32 cm (12,5 in.) ; Diam. : 37 cm (14,5 in.)
Dish – Diam. : 64,5 cm (25,3 in.) ; Depth : 7 cm (2,7 in.)

Important porcelain planter and its dish.
They are decorated with golden and red friezes of intertwined lotus, fruits and flower cups, fans and two « L » fused cartouches supporting a flower.

Both are decorated with French coat of arms, placed  in two chevalry order necklaces : the order of the Holy Spirit and the order of Saint Michael, a gold necklace with shells to which is suspended a medallion representing the archangel slaying the dragon.

Related work

This dish and this planter are to be compared to the service ordered by Louis XV, in porcelain of Jingdezhen, China, circa 1730, of which a dish is kept at the Museum of the East India Company, at Lorient.

Biography

Edmé Samson (1810-1891), painter on ceramics established 1845 at n°7 rue in Paris, bought his white porcelain pieces, in other words undecorated porcelains from various Paris manufactures. His son, Emile (1837-1913) who succeeded him, began to make reproductions from older models. Exhibiting at the 1863 Exposition of the fine Arts applied to Industry, Emile Samson became particularly noted for his porcelain works imitating the « Old Japan » ones. He installed in 1864 a factory in Montreuil-sous-Bois, nearby Paris and enjoyed great success at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867 with their imitations of Saxony, China and Japan porcelain pieces, all considered of very fine quality. At the 1889 Universal Exhibition, Samson & Cie was deemed to be specialized in large size pieces, made either in porcelain or earthenware, whose models were chosen from the most wellknown museums, such as the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. In 1891, Emile went into partnership with his son Léon (1868-1928), under the name Samson & Son, who gave a major extension to the factory, employing a large number of workers and decorators. In addition to the manufacturing of porcelain, they also made their own bronze decorative mounts used on the pieces.

Bibliography

– F. Slitine, Samson, génie de l’imitation, Massin, Paris, 2002.
– Faïence et porcelaine de Paris, XVIIIe-XIXe siècles, Régine de Plinval de Guillebon, Editions Faton, Paris, 1995, p° 406.

The post Samson & Cie <br/> Important planter and its dish appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Elegant pair of Vases

France
Circa 1860

Height : 40 cm (15,7 in.) ; Width : 23 cm (9 in.)

Charming pair of baluster shaped vases made in Valentine porcelain, with openwork handles enhanced with gold. They are decorated on the front with a polychrome bouquet of natural flowers  in a cartouche with a golden interlacing frieze, and on the back with a foliated cartouche, all on a blue background. The neck, circled with gold, is adorned with a « cailloutis » decor.

The Valentine factory was a porcelain factory founded in 1832, following the discovery of a vein of kaolin in the central Pyrenees, at Saint -Gaudens. It was the only porcelain factory located in the south of France. Driven by political troubles, former porcelain makers of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, founded in the early nineteenth century a factory in Toulouse. By 1820, this factory named “Fouque and Arnoux, earthenware manufacturers, Place Saint-Sernin in Toulouse”, with seventy workers, installed a second factory in Saint-Gaudens, on the banks of the river Garonne, where the two factories finally consolidated in 1832. The factory employing up to 250 workers in the 1850s, was facing the Valentine hill, from where the 6 ovens of the factory were refuelling with wood, and which gave then its name to the porcelain wares. These “Valentine porcelain wares”, produced until 1878 in Saint-Gaudens, were made in pure white and milky hard-paste, with very bright enamel, and whose famous ”Valentine Blue” vases were colored with cobalt-blue. The decor was often enriched with floral bouquets and gold lines painted on enamel.

The post Manufacture of Valentine <br/> Elegant pair of vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Crystal manufacture
(attributed to)

Charming pair of vases

France
Circa 1880

Crystal, Enamel, Gilded and patinated bronze

Height : 35,5 cm (13,9 in.) ; Base : 13 x 13 cm (5,1 x 5,1 in.)

Elegant pair of square section vases, in enameled crystal with polychrome decoration of birds of paradise, resting on a openwork patinated and gilded bronze base with Japanese style motifs.

Between 1764 and 1860, with rare exceptions, the crystal Manufacture of Baccarat doesn’t sign its works. The first paper labels appear in 1860 and represent inside a circle, a carafe surrounded by a goblet and a cup above which is marked BACCARAT.  From 1875, the brand BACCARAT in stick letters and in relief is present on  some blown models and on the bronze parts of the mounts. It’s from 1936 that the carafe, surrounded by a goblet and a cup with BACCARAT marked above, appears systematically on the production.

Biography

The famous crystal manufacture of Baccarat, that dates back to the 18th century, was awarded its first medal in 1823, during the “Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie” for the “brilliance and the sharpness of its crystal” and became then the most renowned French “cristallerie”. Baccarat was undoubtedly the only French manufacture, that exhibited steadily and magnificently its products at the various Universal Exhibitions, and especially between 1855 and 1867. In all reports one can read about the “perfection of the material and of its cut”. To keep its wealthy clientele, among which the Royal family, Baccarat must discover new styles and decors as well as new material, as shows that beautiful opal glass, which became one of Baccarat’s specialities in the 1850’s.

The post Baccarat <br/> Charming pair of vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster
(Active from 1853 to 1918)

Important pair of ewers

Signed MILLET A PARIS

France
Circa 1880

Gilded bronze, Marble

Height : 65 cm (25,6 in.) ; Width : 31 cm (12,2 in.) ; Depth : 20 cm (7,8 in.)

Beautiful pair of Louis XV style ewers in « Brèche sanguine » marble and gilded bronze. Rich Rocaille decoration with asymmetrical foliage motifs, resting on an elegant openwork scalloped base. The handle is embellished with a finely chiseled threatening dragon.

Renowned for the quality of its chiseling and the choice of materials, the Millet firm had a large workshop with many workers, using its own bronze models and enjoyed collaborations with famous sculptors and bronze-casters such as Claude Marioton. Characteristic of the Millet firm’s production, the reinterpretation of the Rocaille style concerned both furniture and works of art. The mastery in the execution of curved lines, the delicacy in the asymmetrical representation of shells and plants suggest the influence of models of ornamentalists such as Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier for the realization of such works of art.

View of the workshop of the Maison Millet, presenting an ewer similar to ours.

Biography

The firm of Théodore Millet was founded in 1853. A very talented specialist in 18th Century reproductions, Millet produced furniture and artistic bronzes of the highest quality. He was one of the few cabinet-makers to obtain authorization from the Château de Versailles to make in 1902 a replica of Queen Marie-Antoinette’s great jewel cabinet. As an artist of great merit and Specialising in « meubles et bronzes d’art, genre ancien et moderne », Millet obtained the highest rewards such as the Gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889 for his first participation, and the Grand Prize at the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The photographic archives show, among the workshops views and the Parisian shop, Millet’s stand at the Universal Exhibition in Saint-Louis (US) in 1904. The firm’s influence internationally is then through its antenna in New-York « Duryea and Potter », 469 fifth avenue, New-York. The firm lasted until 1918.

Bibliography

L’ameublement d’art français, 1850-1900, Camille Mestdagh, Les Ed. de l’Amateur, Paris, 2010

The post Maison Millet <br/> Pair of ewers appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster
(1828-c.1890)
(attributed to)

Important caryatid planters

France
Circa 1875

Patinated and gilt bronze, black marble

Tallest caryatid – Height : 225 cm (88.6 in.) ; Width : 65 cm (25.6 in.) ; Depth : 40 cm (15,7 in.)
Two smaller caryatids – Height : 183 cm (72 in.) ; Width : 55 cm (21.6 in.) ; Depth : 21 cm (8,3 in.)

An outstanding set of three monumental black marble and bronze caryatid planters in the Greek style. All three are caryatid terms on pedestal: the tallest one is shaped as a Grecian woman with her antique drapery and gilt bronze ornaments, such as belt, necklace, headband and garlands, surmounted by an Ionic capital supporting a large planter adorned with foliage pattern and a vase in patinated and gilt bronze. Two smaller planters complete the set, using the same ornamental patterns: the Grecian head with necklace and garlands, the pedestal enriched with inlaid ears, and at the top, the planter adorned with foliage and rings, resting on an Ionic capital.

These monumental caryatid planters might have been commissioned by a French collector for his Parisian Hôtel particulier. The style of the figures evocates the contemporaneous sculptures of the Opéra Garnier in Paris (c.1875), and the works Servant exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878.

Biography

Georges Emile Henri Servant (1828-c.1890), who took over his father in 1855 at their foundry, rue Vieille-du-Temple, in Paris, specialized in the production of neo-Egyptian style clocks, very popular in France since 1860’s, and also the making of Greek style decorative objects. He drew considerable attention to the high quality of his bronzes at the 1855 Paris Universal Exhibition and then at the 1862 London Exhibition. At this time Servant exported up to 40% of his production, principally to the United States. But his success came really at the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition, where he was awarded a gold medal for his neo-Greek works. Servant was even awarded in 1874 the « Ordre national de la Légion d’Honneur », France’s highest official mark of recognition. Servant participated once again successfully at the 1878 Paris Universal Exhibition, where he not only exhibited vases and small bronze pieces of furniture, but was also a member of the jury for the class of bronze pieces of art. He finally retired shortly before the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition.

Bibliography

Les Merveilles de l’Exposition Universelle de 1867, t. II, p° 165 & 167.

The Art Journal Catalogue of the Paris Universelle Exposition of 1867, London, 1867, p° 20.

Exposition Universelle de 1878, Rapport sur les bronzes d’art, Groupe III, Classe 25, p° 26.

The post G. Servant <br/> Important caryatid Planters appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designer
(active 1867 to 1873)

C.-G. Diehl

Cabinet-maker
(1811-1885)

E. Fremiet

Sculptor
(1824-1910)

(attributed to)

An exceptional planter

France
Circa 1870

Height : 90 cm (35,4 in.) ; Width : 65 cm (25,6 in.) ; Depth: 50 cm (19,7 in.)

An outstanding black wood planter with silvered bronze ornaments, resting on four feet gathered by a stretcher. The pot is adorned with Bacchus’ masks and other antiques patterns after designs by J. Brandely, and, at its four corners with four silvered bronze felines, which are typical patterns in E. Frémiet’s works. The whole is topped by a rich lid with a palms’ frieze, arrow cartridges with medallions, and a button.

Biography

Arriving in Paris in about 1840 Charles-Guillaume Diehl (1811-1885) founded his cabinet making and decoration firm at 19 rue Michel-le-Comte in 1885. His workshops produced elegant little pieces of furniture in rosewood and thuja and novelties with bronze and porcelain embellishments (see « Les ébénistes du XIX^ème siècle »,D. Ledoux-Lebard, Ed. de l’amateur, 1982, p.164). It was his luxury boxes, however (liqueur cellarettes, cigar cabinets, games boxes, cashmere cases, jewelry cases) which assured Diehl’s renown (see « l’Art en France sous le Second Empire », Exposition Grand-Palais, Paris, 1979, p.133). Already rewarded with a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 in Paris, he exhibited a jardinière with china columns and a liqueur cabinet at the Industrial Arts Exhibition in 1861.

In collaboration with the designer Jean Brandely (active from 1867 until 1873), Diehl renovated his decorative repertory and created astonishing pieces of furniture in the Grecian style which had a dazzling success at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867, where his cabinets also won a silver medal. Certain motifs were so typical of Diehl’s work that they received extensive commentary by the art critic J. Mesnard in his book « Les Merveilles de l’Exposition Universal de 1867 » (vol. II, pp. 133 & 149). He writes of a table of which « the pendant bearing hooks and the fan shaped radiating motif which ornaments the entablature are engraved with love » (p. 133) and a jewelry case where « The head in fine Grecian style makes up the essential part of the fine gilt bronze ornementation » (p. 149). 

For this Universal Exhibition Diehl also formed a partnership with two famous sculptors : Emile Guillemin (1841-1907) who carved the relief for a mahogany sideboard with galvanic gilt bronzes (Orsay Museum, Paris, Inv. O.A.O. 992) and Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910) who executed the low relief for a cedar medal cabinet with marquetry and silver plated bronzes (Orsay Museum, Paris, Inv. O.A. 10440). Diehl was again rewarded with a medal of honour at the Union Central Exhibition of 1869 and a progress medal at the Universal Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 (Sideboard in blackened pear wood and lemon wood with galvanic bronzes, designed by J. Brandely with a low relief by E. Guillemin, Orsay Museum, Paris, Inv. O.A.O. 336). Showered with praise by the critics, Diehl is considered as one of the most innovating artists of the 19^th Century. His final appearance was at the 1878 Universal Exhibition in Paris where he presented outside the competition, his most recent creations, including a work table in marquetry which with its naturalistic grasshopper motif anticipated « Art Nouveau » (Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy, Nancy).

The post Brandely, Frémiet, Diehl <br/> An exceptional planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Cabinet maker
(1811-1885)
(attributed to)

Neo-Greek Planter 

France
Circa 1870

Height. : 104 cm (41 in.) ; Diam. : 54 cm ( 21,2 in.)

Lovely circular plant pot with a double tray united by a black tripod. Charming marquetry of precious woods decorated by a box tree inlay. A beautiful gilded bronze adornment complete this piece.

Biography

Arriving in Paris in about 1840 Charles-Guillaume Diehl (1811-1885) founded his cabinet making and decoration firm at 19 rue Michel-le-Comte in 1885. His workshops produced elegant little pieces of furniture in rosewood and thuja and novelties with bronze and porcelain embellishments (see « Les ébénistes du XIX^ème siècle »,D. Ledoux-Lebard, Ed. de l’amateur, 1982, p.164). It was his luxury boxes, however (liqueur cellarettes, cigar cabinets, games boxes, cashmere cases, jewelry cases) which assured Diehl’s renown (see « l’Art en France sous le Second Empire », Exposition Grand-Palais, Paris, 1979, p.133). Already rewarded with a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 in Paris, he exhibited a jardinière with china columns and a liqueur cabinet at the Industrial Arts Exhibition in 1861.

The post C.-G. Diehl <br/> Neo-Greek Planter appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Silversmith
(Late 19th century)

Pair of Jardinières-Candélabras

Signed Boin-Taburet à Paris and numbered 34369 and 34370

France
Circa 1880

Silvered bronze

Height : 25 cm (9 ^3/4 in.) ; Diameter : 34 cm (13 ^1/3 in.)

Lovely pair of Louis XVI style planters with three light arms. Each jardiniere, with their liners  in form of a basket based on a three leafy feet and a lobed base. The inner liners are removable.

biography

The two French goldsmiths George Boin and his son-in-law Emile Taburet created around 1875 in Paris the company Boin-Taburet. They made many silver pieces inspired by the beautiful services of the eighteenth century. At the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1878, Georges Boin presented a “service de toilette” inspired by the work of François-Thomas Germain (1726-1791), and then at the Universal Exhibition of 1889, several epergnes, including one of them executed after drawings by the famous artist Juste-Aurèle Meissonier (1695-1750), as well as tea sets of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI styles. Boin-Taburet firm also exhibited a tureen and platter after Pierre Germain’s one (1645-1684) for the Jockey Club, located then on Scribe street in Paris in 1863. Through its lavish events to various international shows, Boin-Taburet company contributed to the revival styles of the eighteenth century.

bibliography

A. Dunan, The Paris Salons 1895-1914, Objets d’Art et Metalware, vol. V

J. Puiforcat, L’orfèvrerie française et étrangère, Paris, 1981, p. 112.

The post Maison Boin-Taburet <br/> Pair of Jardinières Candelabras appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designer and Art Objects Editor
(attributed to)

Pair of “cloisonné” enamel bronze vases

France
Circa 1870

Height : 32 cm (12,5 in.) ; Diameter : 17 cm (6,7 in.)

Pair of Japanese-style roll-shaped vases, made in “cloisonné” enamel and gilded bronze. The cylindrical body is decorated with polychrome floral branches, flowers and butterflies on a blue background. The mounts made in pierced and “old gold” patinated bronze forming the neck, the handles and the bases, are ornated with stylized clouds and animal heads.

Biography

“L’Escalier de Cristal”, an old and famous Parisian firm, specialized in glass products and ceramics but also suggested furniture and bronze sculptures. It was led from 1885 to 1923 by Emile Pannier’s sons, who gave the name of Pannier Frères to the society, located at the corner of Scribe street and Auber street, next to the new built Paris Opera house. Their Japanese style creations were among many others much appreciated by the critics and the public. They were awarded many medals at various exhibitions, such as the Gold medal at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition.

Lots of artists participated in that world success, such as Emile Gallé, who gave to Pannier Frères the exclusive rights of some of his models, or François-Eugène Rousseau, who designed many vases and gave the model of his successful Japanese style dining-set as well. This set was made by the Creil et Montereau Manufacture. In the Japanese style furniture branch, many famous makers such as Majorelle from Nancy, Edouard Lièvre or Gabriel Viardot worked for Pannier Frères. Some pieces are to be seen in the greatest museums : the Ermitage in Saint-Petersburg, the Orsay Museum in Paris, the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.

The Maison “L’Escalier de Cristal” was sometimes the exclusive owner of the models and then those pieces were just signed by “L’Escalier de Cristal” or sometimes beside the artist signature. But “L’Escalier de Cristal” was also very creative, completing pieces with superb gilded bronzes, glass or enamelled panels and including often authentic Japanese or Chinese elements.

The post Escalier de cristal <br/> Pair of enameled Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Arita Porcelain

Pair of large porcelain vases

Japan
Late 19th century

Height : 107 cm (42 in.) ; Diameter : 40 cm (15,7 in.)

A very fine pair of Imari porcelain vases, of tapering form with flared top. Decorated with polychrome birds and flowers on white background. The body is painted with shaped panels of figural court scenes. A dragon made in relief wraps around the vase.

Commentary

The Imari porcelain is a ceramic style born around 1600 in the area of Arita (有田町), city of potters on the island of Kyushu, in southern Japan. According to tradition, this is a Korean named Ri Sampei installed in the region, who operated a kaolin deposit at the foot of the hill of Izumiyama. He managed the merger of kaolin, up to 1400 ° C, to obtain similar porcelain to the Chinese one’s ending thus a monopoly that was older than seven centuries. This porcelain is characterized by a decoration using three colors: cobalt blue, iron red and white background porcelain, the whole being embellished with gold. It mainly presents floral decoration and was called “Imari”, the name of the port on the island of Kyushu, from where it was exported, a few kilometers from Arita. Because of the supply problems in China due to political unrest in the seventeenth century, the Dutch, with their East Company of the United Provinces, imported the first Imaris from Japan.

The post Imari <br />Pair of large vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Cabinet-maker and bronze caster
(1847-1919)

Rare set of urns and pedestals

Signed BY on the back of the bronze mounts

France
Circa 1890

Urns – Height : 76 cm (30 in.) ; Width : 62 cm (24,4 in.)
Pedestals – Height : 115 cm (45,3 in.) ; Base : 53 x 53 cm (20,8 x 20,8 in.)

Exceptional pair of gilded bronze and gadrooned very rare « African Brèche » marble covered vases. Beautifully decorated with acanthus leaves, scrolls and lion masks motifs. Magnificent pedestals decorated on three sides with exceptional « Sicily Jasper » plaques framed with water leaves motifs. Gilt-bronze mounts figuring lion masks, scrolls, garlands, acanthus leaves and laurel crowns. Alfred-Emmanuel Beurdeley took inspiration for his vases from the famous model, made in antique porphyry, mounted with gilt bronzes in the eighteenth century and now part of the collections of the Louvre Museum.

Considering the quality of the bronze chiseling, of the mercury gilding as well as the rarety of the marbles such the « African Brèche » and « Sicily Jasper », these presented pieces can be considered as one of the most prestigious works produced by A.-E. Beurdeley. A similar pair of vases, made in gilded bronze mounted porphyry, was made by Alfred-Emmanuel Beurdeley for the Great Hall of The Breakers, Newport (USA), the luxurious estate of Cornelius II Vanderbilt.

Biography

In 1875, Alfred-Emmanuel Beurdeley (1847-1919) was at first assistant to and later succeeded his father Louis-Auguste Beurdeley, one of the main cabinet-makers of the Second Empire, specialising in XVIIIth century furniture. Louis-Auguste was the star whenever he exhibited and was “most favored by the royal and imperial families”. Although he produced the same kind of works of art as his father, Alfred Beurdeley was also a very well-known art collector and a skilled bronze sculptor. With Dasson, Grohé, Sauvresy and Fourdinois, the most famous artists of the period, he took part in the 1878 Universal Exhibition and won the gold medal. Crowned with glory he went so far as to open a shop in New York. His participation in the 1883 Amsterdam Universal Exhibition drew considerable attention to his work and “Alfred Beurdeley, Fabricant de bronzes d’art” was then awarded the Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur, France’s hightest official mark of recognition. He thus won the respect of both the government and contemporary art critics. His last presentation was during the 1889 Universal and International Exhibition, when the director of the Exhibition wrote in his report : “The talent of Mr Beurdeley is self evident when one inspects his furniture.”

Bibliography

L’univers des bronzes, Yves Devaux, Ed. Pygmalion, Paris, 1978, p°261.

« La saga Beurdeley (1814-1919) », Bernard Dorival, B.S.H.A.F., 1989, p°191.

L’ameublement d’art français, 1850-1900, Camille Mestdagh, Les Ed. de l’Amateur, Paris, 2010, p°130.

The post A.-E. Beurdeley<br/>Rare set of urns and pedestals appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Sculptor-ornemanist
(1821-1888)

F. Barbedienne

Bronze-caster
(1810-1892)

Exceptional pair of jardinieres

Signed F. Barbedienne

France

Height : 61 cm (24 in.) ; Width : 75 cm (29,5 in.) ; Depth : 35 cm (13,7 in.)

Model presented at the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition
(Reproduced and commented in Victor Champier’s book « Les Industries d’Art, Exposition Universelle de 1889 »)

A pair of exceptional jardinieres made in a very beautiful red « Griotte » marble. Each of « crater » shape, the centerpiece is sumptuously adorned with Renaissance style gilded bronze mounts cast after a design by Louis-Constant Sévin, such the mask of Medusa beneath a shell and flanked by swirling foliate acanthus with gadrooned rim. The handles cast with seated thinking putti on lion head-cast handles.

Biography

Born in 1821 and dead in Paris in 1888, Louis-Constant Sévin was apprenticed to the parisian sculptor Marneuf. In 1839, he joined the sculptor-modelors Phénix and Joyau, as designer, and designed silver-smith’s objects for famous firms like Denière, Froment-Meurice, Morel and Duponchel. During the Revolution in 1848, C. Sévin joined Morel in London, as workshop manager and designed pieces that Morel exhibited in 1851. Back in France in 1851, C. Sévin went to Limoges and designed models for the porcelain factories of Jouhanneaud and Dubois of which many pieces were exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in 1855. From this date on, he worked for Ferdinand Barbedienne as sculptor-ornemanist until the end of his life. Sévin’s works are considerable, he designed furniture bronzes for the « hôtel de La Païva ». At the London Exhibition in 1862, he was awarded a medal « pour l’excellence artistique des meubles qu’il a dessinés et qui sont exposés par Barbedienne » : for the artistic excellence of the furniture he designed and which is exhibited by F. Barbedienne. He won a second class medal at the Union centrale des Arts décoratifs Exhibition in 1863 and was awarded a gold medal as « cooperator ». F. Barbedienne said that posterity would remember Sévin’s compositions. The most extraordinary object designed by C. Sévin for F. Barbedienne, was a Renaissance style gilded bronze monumental clock, four metres high, for which C. Sévin won a gold medal as well as was awarded the Légion of Honor at the Universal Exhibition in 1878. His triumph was still valid at the 1889 Universal Exhibition.

Born in 1810, Ferdinand Barbedienne started one of the most famous 19th century artistic bronze casting companies. He died in 1892. In addition to his personal production, he worked for famous artists such as Clésinger, Carrière-Belleuse and Guillemin. Barbedienne’s production was always highly esteemed and he was, himself admired by contemporary art critics who compared him during the 1878 Universal Exhibition to a « prince of industry and the king of bronze-casting ». He was there awarded the « Grand Prix » as well as 28 cooperator medals. His glory did not decline with the passage of the time for at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 the critics thanked Barbedienne for the example he set for other bronze-casters by the perfection of his bronzes.

The post L.C. Sévin & F. Barbedienne<br/>Exceptional pair of jardinieres appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Crystal manufacture
(attributed to)

Pair of crystal vases

France
Circa 1920

Height : 35,5 cm (14 in.) ; Diameter : 13 cm (5 in.)

A beautiful pair of baluster shaped vases made in fine cut-crystal, allover decorated with star and diamond motifs. Mounted at the mouth with a large sterling silver ring.

Between 1764 and 1860, with rare exceptions, the crystal Manufacture of Baccarat doesn’t sign its works. The first paper labels appear in 1860 and represent inside a circle, a carafe surrounded by a goblet and a cup above which is marked BACCARAT.  From 1875, the brand BACCARAT in stick letters and in relief is present on  some blown models and on the bronze parts of the mounts. It’s from 1936 that the carafe, surrounded by a goblet and a cup with BACCARAT marked above, appears systematically on the production.

Biography

The famous crystal manufacture of Baccarat, that dates back to the 18th Century, was awarded its first medal in 1823, during the « Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie » for the « brilliance and the sharpness of its crystal » and became then the most renowned French cristallerie. Baccarat was undoubtedly the only French manufacture, that exhibited steadily and magnificently its products at the various Universal Exhibitions, and especially between 1855 and 1867. In all reports one can read about the « perfection of the material and of its cut ».

Bibliography

Dany Sautot, Baccarat, une histoire, éd. Baccarat, 1993.

L’Art en France sous le Second Empire, Exposition Grand-Palais, Paris, 1979, p. 238-239.

Exposition Universelle de 1867, Rapport adressé à la commission d’encouragement, classe 16 et 17, p.24- 25.

The post Baccarat<br />Pair of crystal vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Porcelain-maker
(19th Century)
(attributed to)

Pair of vases with covers

France
Circa 1890

Porcelain, Gilded bronze

Height : 45 cm (17,7 in.) ; Width : 21 cm (8,2 in.) ; Depth : 15 cm (6 in.)

Pair of Louis XVI style baluster shaped covered vases, made in porcelain with green background and gold dots, flanked by two applied handles made of white and gold double-coiled snakes. The bodies are finely painted with polychrome medallions, representing mythological scenes such as “Diana bathing caught naked by Actaeon” and “Meleager presenting the Calydon boar’s head to Atalanta”. Beautiful ormolu ornaments mounting the cover with a finial, the rim of the neck as well as the pedestal resting on a square base.

Biography

Edmé Samson (1810-1891), painter on ceramics established 1845 at n°7 rue in Paris, bought his white porcelain pieces, in other words undecorated porcelains from various Paris manufactures. His son, Emile (1837-1913) who succeeded him, began to make reproductions from older models. Exhibiting at the 1863 Exposition of the fine Arts applied to Industry, Emile Samson became particularly noted for his porcelain works imitating the « Old Japan » ones. He installed in 1864 a factory in Montreuil-sous-Bois, nearby Paris and enjoyed great success at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867 with their imitations of Saxony, China and Japan porcelain pieces, all considered of very fine quality. At the 1889 Universal Exhibition, Samson & Cie was deemed to be specialized in large size pieces, made either in porcelain or earthenware, whose models were chosen from the most wellknown museums, such as the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. In 1891, Emile went into partnership with his son Léon (1868-1928), under the name Samson & Son, who gave a major extension to the factory, employing a large number of workers and decorators. In addition to the manufacturing of porcelain, they also made their own bronze decorative mounts used on the pieces.

Bibliography

F. Slitine, Samson, génie de l’imitation, Massin, Paris, 2002.

Faënce et porcelaine de Paris, XVIIIe-XIXe siècles, Régine de Plinval de Guillebon, Editions Faton, Paris, 1995, p° 406 & 407.

The post Samson et Cie <br/>Pair of vases with covers appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Porcelain-maker
(19th Century)
(attributed to)

Impressive pair of vases with covers

Bearing the mark AR interlaced (Samson Manufacture)

France
Circa 1890

Height : 59 cm (23,2 in.) ; Diameter : 35 cm (13,7 in.)

A pair of large Chinese style white porcelain baluster shaped vases and covers. Each finely painted with polychrome 18th century style gallant scenes and flower garlands. The neck decorated with the famous gilded « caillouttis » created in the Sèvres Manufacture and the conforming domed cover with gilded finial.

Biography

Edmé Samson (1810-1891), painter on ceramics established 1845 at n°7 rue in Paris, bought his white porcelain pieces, in other words undecorated porcelains from various Paris manufactures. His son, Emile (1837-1913) who succeeded him, began to make reproductions from older models. Exhibiting at the 1863 Exposition of the fine Arts applied to Industry, Emile Samson became particularly noted for his porcelain works imitating the « Old Japan » ones. He installed in 1864 a factory in Montreuil-sous-Bois, nearby Paris and enjoyed great success at the Paris International Exhibition of 1867 with their imitations of Saxony, China and Japan porcelain pieces, all considered of very fine quality. At the 1889 Universal Exhibition, Samson & Cie was deemed to be specialized in large size pieces, made either in porcelain or earthenware, whose models were chosen from the most wellknown museums, such as the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. In 1891, Emile went into partnership with his son Léon (1868-1928), under the name Samson & Son, who gave a major extension to the factory, employing a large number of workers and decorators. In addition to the manufacturing of porcelain, they also made their own bronze decorative mounts used on the pieces.

Bibliography

F. Slitine, Samson, génie de l’imitation, Massin, Paris, 2002.

Faënce et porcelaine de Paris, XVIIIe-XIXe siècles, Régine de Plinval de Guillebon, Editions Faton, Paris, 1995, p° 406 & 407.

The post Samson and Cie<br/>Pair of vases with covers appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Ornemanist
(1821-1888)

F. Barbedienne

Bronze-caster
(1810-1892)

A pair of Oriental style planters

Signed F. Barbedienne

France
Circa 1870

Height : 16 cm (6,2 in.) ; Diameter : 18 cm (7 in.)

A lovely pair of two handled pierced and gilded bronze flower planters, decorated with oriental style entrelac motifs. Richly ornamented with a floral decor made of polychrome cloisonné enamel on turquoise blue background.

Biography

Already esteemed at the London Exhibition of 1851 with two « Council medals », Barbedienne’s firm won at the 1855 Paris Universal Exhibition a medal of honor and eleven cooperator’s medals for the work of his co-workers, such as his designer Louis-Constant Sévin (1821-1888) and his chaser Désiré Attarge (c.1820-1878). The success of Barbedienne’s firm brought him many official commissions, such in about 1860, as Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) supplied bronzes for furniture for the Pompeian Villa of Prince Napoleon, located avenue Montaigne in Paris. At the London Universal Exhibition of 1862 Barbedienne won medals in three different categories : Furniture, Silversmith work and Artistic bronzes, combining for some pieces with onyx marble and enamel. Barbedienne was not only, with the Parisian silversmith Christofle, one of the leaders of the French Aesthetic Movement in decorative arts, but also the first artist to produce the famous « cloisonné » enamels (see « L’émaillerie moderne », Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Alfred Darcel, t. XXIV, janv.-juin 1868, p° 75-84). At the 1867 Universal Exhibition in his capacity as member of and speaker for the Jury, he was non-contestant, but exhibited nevertheless with great success cloisonné and champlevé enameled pieces. Barbedienne was made an officer of the Légion d’Honneur in 1867 and Commander in 1878 when he was compared with « a prince of industry and the king of bronze casting ». His glory did not decline with the passage of the time for at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 the critics thanked Barbedienne for the example he set for other bronze-casters by the perfection of his bronzes.

Bibliography

« L’Exposition universelle de 1889 : l’exemple de Barbedienne », Catherine Chevillot, in Revue de l’Art, 1992, n°95.

Catalogue de l’exposition : « L’art en France sous le Second Empire », Grand-Palais, Paris 1979.

Catalogue de l’Exposition Universelle, les Beaux-Arts et les Arts décoratifs, t. I : l’Art moderne, Paris, 1878.

The post L.C. Sévin & F. Barbedienne<br /> Pair of Oriental style planters appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Cabinet-maker
(1830-1906)
(attributed to)

An Aesthetic Movement jardiniere

France
Circa 1880

Height : 42 cm (16,5 in.) ; Width : 138 cm (54,3 in.) ; Depth : 37 cm (14,5 in.)

A large Japanese style boat-shaped jardiniere, made in carved stained alderwood, ornated with panels decorated with Japanese blossoming cherry tree branches and a trophy of musical instruments.

Biography

Gabriel Viardot career began as a wood carver and he produced small furniture, sculpturally carved with naturalistic motifs and animals. In the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris, his finely sculpted objects were well received. However, with the increasing importation of similarly produced Swiss and German articles, he found less opportunity for these and decided to innovate. G. Viardot succeeded to his father’s business in 1861 installed rue Rambuteau in Paris. Around 1870 he turned to the idea of producing « Meubles genre Chinois et Japonais ». The taste in Europe for exotic furniture, incorporating sometimes authentic Chinese or Japanese objects was well established. But Viardot early designed his own models enriched with ivory, mother-of-pearl and beautiful gilt-bronze mounts. After having won four medals at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867, Viardot was awarded a silver medal at the 1878 Universal Exhibition in Paris. He was also awarded gold medals several times : Universal Exhibitions in Anvers (Belgium) in 1884, and again in Paris in 1889 and 1900. A contemporary commentator notes that he had a workshop employing approximately 100 men, both sculptors and cabinet-makers with another 25 to 30 outside contract workers. « l’Escalier de Cristal », the famous Parisian offering luxurious furniture got the exclusivity to use their own stamp on six Viardot’s furniture models.

The post G. Viardot<br/>Aesthetic Movement jardiniere appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Silversmiths
(19^th Century)

Jardiniere

Signed Cardeilhac, Paris

France
Circa 1860

Height : 10 cm (4 in.) ; Width : 38,5 cm (15 in.) ; Depth : 25,5 cm (10 in.)

A jardiniere consisting of an oval bowl in engraved crystal, decorated with a frieze of foliate waves and a rayed star in the bottom. It fits into a silver plated metal base ornamented with rococo motifs arranged asymmetrically, comprising branches, foliate scrolls and palmets on a mat background. It rests on four scroll feet.

biography

Antoine-Vital Cardeilhac founded his silver-smith’s firm in 1804. He specialized in silver cutlery and table ware. During the 19^th century the firm was handed down from father to son (Armand-Edouard followed by Ernest) and continued to produce with great success, pieces which were largely inspired by wrought iron originals with a rich and finely executed ornamentation. These models, of various forms and styles, were all judged remarkable for their chasing. Inevitably the firm of Cardeilhac was noticed for the high quality of the pieces shown to the public at national and international exhibitions and they received many awards such as a bronze medal in 1823 and a silver medal in 1827 and again in 1834 and yet again at the famous Parisian Universal Exhibition in 1867. They were finally consecrated with a gold medal at the 1878 Universal Exhibition which gave them an unprecedented renown. After more than a century of success confirmed at the great Universal Exhibitions, the famous silver-smith firm Christofle at last took over Cardeilhac in 1951.

museology

Numerous pieces are now exhibited in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris and also at the Christofle Museum.

bibliography

Rapport du Jury international, Exposition Universelle de 1878.

Rapport du Jury international, Exposition Universelle de 1889, Groupe III, Classe 23 (coutellerie) et 24 (orfèvrerie), p. 413

Catalogue sommaire illustré des Arts décoratifs, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, 1988, p. 229.

The post Cardeilhac <br/> Jardinière appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster
(1810-1892)

D. Attarge

Chaser
(1820-1878)

Pair of “Alésia” cups

Signed Désiré Attarge Fit and F. Barbedienne Paris

France
Circa 1878

Height : 11 cm (4,3 in.) ; Width : 19 x 11 cm (7,4 x 4,3 in.)

Pair of silvered bronze cups, chased by Désiré Attarge after an antique model (Ist Century), known as the Coupe d’Alésia or Canthare d’Alise-Sainte-Reine (now preserved at Antiquités Nationales Museum, Saint-Germain-en-Laye).

The archaeological excavations led in Alise-Sainte-Reine (Côte-d’Or, France) were commissioned from 1861 until 1865 by His Majesty the Emperor Napoléon III in order to find back the place of the Alesia Siege, led by Caesar against Vercingétorix. As soon as 1866, F. Barbedienne was allowed by the emperor to make a replica of that cup for the Dijon Museum, as well as to reproduce it for his own clients (Coignard, « Agapes impériales », L’objet d’art, juin 1987, p. 30-41). Nowadays, some pieces are known, such the one exposed at the Château de Compiègne or another one presented at the famous Orsay Museum.

One of those cups was presented at the 1878 Paris Universal Exhibition on F. Barbedienne’s stand, where his silvered works after antiques were more appreciated than his common other bronze pieces, which were however very successful.

Biography

Born in 1810, Ferdinand Barbedienne started at n°30 boulevard Poissonnière in Paris one of the most famous 19th century artistic bronze casting companies. He died in 1892. In addition to his personal production, he worked for famous artists such as Auguste Clésinger, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse and Louis Barrias. At the London Universal Exhibition of 1851, Barbedienne’s firm won two « Council medals ». At the 1855 Universal Exhibition, he won a medal of honor and eleven cooperator’s medals for the work of his co-workers, such as his model designer Louis-Constant Sévin (1821-1888) and his chaser Désiré Attarge (c.1820-1878). D. Attarge won also the Crozatier Prize in 1862 and 1864, which was awarding the France best chaser, and was once again awarded at the 1867 Universal Exhibition with a Silver medal as Barbedienne’s co-worker. Jury’s report was then very explicit : « It’s impossible to show more taste in composition and more maestria in the making of these leaves and elegant flowers, all chased with so extreme delicacy ». The success of Barbedienne’s firm brought him many official commissions, such in about 1860, as Barbedienne supplied bronzes for furniture for the Pompeian Villa of Prince Napoleon, located avenue Montaigne in Paris. Barbedienne’s production was always highly esteemed and he was, himself admired by contemporary art critics who compared him during the 1878 Universal Exhibition to a « prince of industry and the king of bronze-casting ». His glory did not decline with the passage of the time for at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 the critics thanked Barbedienne for the example he set for other bronze-casters by the perfection of his bronzes.

The post D. Attarge & F. Barbedienne <br/> Pair of “Alésia” cups appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Ornemanist
(1821-1888)

F. Barbedienne

Bronze-caster
(1810-1892)

A pair of Louis XVI style “porte-fleurs”

Signed F. Barbedienne

France
Circa 1880

Height : 18 cm (7 in.) ; Diameter : 21 cm (8,2 in.)

A lovely Louis XVI style pair of « porte fleurs », each consisting of a vase on his tray, made of pierced and gilded bronze, decorated with four medallions alternating putti and trophies of musical instruments, fruits and doves. A garland of fruits and foliage completes that decoration. The vases are lined with red and blue crystal goblets.

This vase is a creation by Constant Sévin, renowned for his “exquisite compositions”, made for the Barbedienne cast company. It demonstrates the Louis XVI style developed in France in the second half of the nineteenth century, enhanced by the enthusiasm of Empress Eugénie for Queen Marie-Antoinette. Our model is similar to a two handled vase reproduced in the Journal of Decorative Arts in 1888.

Biography

Louis-Constant Sévin (1821-1888) designed as soon as 1839 silver-smith’s objects for famous firms like Denière, Froment-Meurice, Morel and Duponchel. During the Revolution in 1848, he joined Morel in London, as workshop manager and designed pieces that Morel exhibited in 1851. Back in France, he worked in 1855 for Ferdinand Barbedienne as sculptor-ornemanist until the end of his life. Sévin’s works are considerable, he designed furniture bronzes for the « hôtel de La Païva ». At the London Exhibition in 1862, he was awarded a medal for the artistic excellence of the furniture he designed and which was exhibited by F. Barbedienne. He won a second class medal at the Union centrale des Arts décoratifs Exhibition in 1863 and was awarded a gold medal as « cooperator ». F. Barbedienne said that posterity would remember Sévin’s compositions. The most extraordinary object designed by C. Sévin for F. Barbedienne, was a Renaissance style gilded bronze monumental clock, four metres high, for which C. Sévin won a gold medal as well as was awarded the Légion of Honour at the Universal Exhibition in 1878. His triumph was still valid at the 1889 Universal Exhibition.

Born in 1810, Ferdinand Barbedienne started one of the most famous 19th century artistic bronze casting companies. He died in 1892. In addition to his personal production, he worked for famous artists such as Clésinger, Carrière-Belleuse and Guillemin. Barbedienne’s production was always highly esteemed and he was, himself admired by contemporary art critics who compared him during the 1878 Universal Exhibition to a « prince of industry and the king of bronze-casting ». He was there awarded the « Grand Prix » as well as 28 cooperator medals. His glory did not decline with the passage of the time for at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 the critics thanked Barbedienne for the example he set for other bronze-casters by the perfection of his bronzes.

Bibliography

« Les artistes de l’industrie, Constant Sévin », dans la Revue des arts décoratifs, Victor Champier, décembre 1888, février 1889, p.163.

The post L.C. Sévin & F. Barbedienne <br /> Pair of “porte-fleurs” appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Bronze-caster
(19th century)
(attributed to)

Pair of Japanese style Vases

France
Circa 1880

Bronze

Height : 22,5 cm (8,8 in.) ; Diameter : 8 cm (3 in.)

A very fine pair of Japanese style vases made in two patina bronze. Each vase in form of a patinated bronze ovoid body, subtly ornated in gilded relief with blossoming Japanese cherry tree branches laid out in spiral, which form the handles as well. Standing on elegant pierced and gilded bronze bases.

Biography

The Susse company, a worldwide renown foundry, began to cast pieces as soon as the first half of the 19th Century. Awarded medals several times at the famous Paris « Expositions des Produits de l’Industrie », Susse brothers, Victor (1806-1860) and Amédée (1808-1880), were known since 1841 as makers of « Art bronze pieces for clocks, candelabras, statuettes, etc. ». The most well-known French sculptors gave their sculpted models to Susse in order to cast them, such James Pradier (1790-1852) who signed in 1841 the oldest known publishing contract for bronzes between publisher and artist. After the death of the two brothers, Albert Susse took over the business from 1880 until 1922. He developed so far the company as to open a new luxurious shop in Paris, at n° 13 boulevard de la Madeleine.

Bibliography

Les bronzes du XIXe siècle, P. Kjellberg, Les Ed. de l’amateur, 1989, p° 665

The post Susse Frères<br />Pair of Japanese style Vases appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Designer and Art Objects Editor
(19th century)
(attributed to)

Rare mural fountain

French Gilt-bronze (circa 1880) – Chinese porcelain (18th Century)

Height : 61 cm (24 in.) ; Width : 30 cm (11,8 in) ; Depth : 25 cm (9,8 in.)

Rare 18th Century Famille rose China porcelain mural fountain, decorated with lotus, tree and bird motifs. The faucet coming out of a dragon mouth. Beautiful gilt-bronze mounts with rocks, rushes and water motifs. Small gilt-bronze basin ornamented with pearls.

The Famille rose decors were developed by Chinese ceramists and then exported throughout Europe under the reign of Emperor Yongzheng (1723-1735). Those China pieces were much appreciated for their motifs, using vivid colors, but never overdecorated.

Biography

“L’Escalier de Cristal”, an old and famous Parisian firm, specialized in glass products and ceramics but also suggested furniture and bronze sculptures. It was led from 1885 to 1923 by Emile Pannier’s sons, who gave the name of Pannier Frères to the society, located at the corner of Scribe street and Auber street, next to the new built Paris Opera house. Their Japanese style creations were among many others much appreciated by the critics and the public. They were awarded many medals at various exhibitions, such as the Gold medal at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition. Lots of artists participated in that world success, such as Emile Gallé, who gave to Pannier Frères the exclusive rights of some of his models, or François-Eugène Rousseau, who designed many vases and gave the model of his successful Japanese style dining-set as well. This set was made by the Creil et Montereau Manufacture. In the Japanese style furniture branch, many famous makers such as Majorelle from Nancy, Edouard Lièvre or Gabriel Viardot worked for Pannier Frères. Some pieces are to be seen in the greatest museums : the Ermitage in Saint-Petersburg, the Orsay Museum in Paris, the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. The Maison “L’Escalier de Cristal” was sometimes the exclusive owner of the models and then those pieces were just signed by “L’Escalier de Cristal” or sometimes beside the artist signature. But “L’Escalier de Cristal” was also very creative, completing pieces with superb gilded bronzes, glass or enamelled panels and including often authentic Japanese or Chinese elements.

Bibliography

Catalogue de l’Exposition Universelle, les Beaux-Arts et les Arts décoratifs, t. I : l’Art moderne, Paris, 1878.

Catalogue de l’Exposition Universelle, les Beaux-Arts et les Arts décoratifs, Paris, 1889.

Les créations de l’Escalier de Cristal, Philippe Thiébaut, Revue de l’Art, 1989, n° 85.

The post L’Escalier de Cristal<br />Mural fountain appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.