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.

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Ceramic Manufacture (1845-1895)

A. de Caranza  

Designer (1843-1914)
(attributed to)

Presentation Bowl

Manufacturer’s Mark of J.Vieillard & Cie à Bordeaux

France
Circa 1880

Earthenware, Gilded bronze

Height : 11 cm (4,3 in.) ; Diameter : 38 cm (14,9 in.)

Beautiful circular earthenware bowl with polychrome decoration painted under glaze and heightened with manganese-brown lines. The rim and background are adorned with a rich, compartmentalized historicist design, alternating rectangular cartouches and circular medallions. The latter feature stylized zoomorphic figures (confronted lions and chimeras), rendered in black on a white ground encircled in turquoise blue, evoking a heraldic and Neo-Renaissance repertoire.
The center is occupied by a large circular polychrome medallion depicting a coat of arms surmounted by a helmet. This central medallion is framed by an architectural motif in black and ochre reminiscent of cut leatherwork, with pronounced scrolls and projections, set against a dense reddish-brown ground covered with a repetitive vegetal design of scrolling foliage and leaves.
A wide circular turquoise-blue frieze with black scrollwork separates the central decoration from the rim. The chromatic palette (turquoise blue, black, reddish-brown, ochre, and white) is characteristic of the productions of the Jules Vieillard & Cie manufactory, which here draws inspiration from Italian Renaissance maiolica and Hispano-Moresque decorative arts, reinterpreted in an eclectic idiom typical of the 19th century.

The bowl is set within a finely chased and pierced gilt-bronze mount forming an openwork border decorated with regular scrolls and interlace, resting on three feet shaped as dog heads terminating in scrolls.
This mount, probably contemporary with the object, reflects the practice of enhancing decorative earthenware with gilt-bronze mounts intended for prestigious display in a bourgeois or collectors’ context. The whole illustrates the high technical and decorative standards achieved by the Bordeaux manufactory under the direction of Jules Vieillard, as well as its taste for learned historical references adapted to the decorative arts of its time.

Biography

Bordeaux knew at the beginning of the 19^th century a great development of fine earthenware due to the establishment of a manufacture by Boudon de Saint-Amans. That factory was however quickly sold to David Johnston, whom opened a factory in Bacalan that counted then up to 700 workers. The production became industrial, with printed patterns of varied colors. Jules Vieillard took after in 1845 David Johnston’s company. His work was crucial to the industrial success of the Bacalan manufacture and also to the artistic quality, which was unanimously celebrated during the famous Universal Exhibitions. His earthenware even earned the generic name of « Vieillard ceramics ». In his last period, Jules Vieillard developed an exceptional Orientalism through his creations. In 1865, his sons Charles and Albert, took after the factory under the company name of « Manufacture Jules Vieillard et C^ie », and produced a lot of various designed pieces, particularly decorated with birds and flowers. However, their printed decors were of quite poor quality. To solve that problem, they decided to renew the forms of the pieces, evolving towards fashionable decorative pieces, such as lamps, jardinieres and vases. As for the oldfashioned decoration, the artistic department worked hard under the direction of Amédée de Caranza newly arrived around 1875. This ceramist from Longwy, launched there in 1872 the famous eponymous enamels « Emaux de Longwy », renewing the ornemental vocabulary with his technique of partitioned enamel. His decorations mainly evoked the brilliance of Persian and Japanese objects. But, as Caranza left Longwy to Bordeaux, Longwy couldn’t keep  any longer its exclusivity. Caranza became then the manager of the Vieillard factory workshop in 1882, which knew thus a new momentum, until his departure a few years later, probably in 1885. The Vieillard factory closed down in 1895.

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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).

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Cabinet-maker
(1830-1907)

(attributed to)

Pair of Neo-Renaissance vitrines

France
Circa 1860

Walnut, Breccia marble

Height : 108 cm (42,5 in.) ; Width : 113 cm (44,5 in.) ; Depth : 50 cm (19,7 in.)

Very beautiful pair of neo-Renaissance vitrines in richly carved walnut, with three glazed sides framed by a relief frieze. Each opening to a drawer decorated with interlacing on the belt, and to a front door, they have two glass shelves. The uprights are composed of a couple of terms ending in a sheath, supporting a capital with acanthus leaves. They rest on lion paws and are topped with a green breccia molded marble top.

Biography

The Fourdinois company was founded in 1835 by Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (1799-1871). The Universal Exhibition held in London in 1851 was undoubtedly their first great artistic and public success. Winning the Great medal for a neo-Renaissance buffet triggered a competition among other cabinetmakers, as the press was unanimously greeting their success. His son Henri-Auguste (1830-1907) was taught design by the architect Duban, then by the silversmith Morel in London, before working with the bronze founder Paillard. He joined the firm in 1860. His talent and the high quality of his designs drew attention at the 1862 World Exhibition in London, where the jury awarded him two medals for « Excellence in Composition and Execution ». Henri-Auguste, now sole in charge, brought the firm to the summit of its achievements at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris by winning the Grand Prix (classes 14 and 15) as well as at the 1878 Exhibition. The 1862-1880 period marks truly the peak for the Fourdinois house, which remains for many cabinet-makers, whether French, English or American, an example to follow.

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Cabinet-maker
(1830-1907)
(attributed to)

Exceptional Renaissance style Cabinet

France
1893

Height : 240 cm (94,5 in.) ; Width : 124 cm (48,8 in.) ; Depth : 56 cm (22 in.)

A walnut cupboard, elaborately carved throughout, dated « 1893 » on the crest. The upper section with a pair of cherubs at the center of a balustrade ornamented with two-handled urns, two architectonic doors below, carved with lady and gentleman in niches surrounded by extensive carving with classical motifs. The lower section with two drawers above a standing female caryatid support at each front corner. The all reposing on four gadrooned round feet.

Biography

The Fourdinois company was founded in 1835 by Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (1799-1871). The Universal Exhibition held in London in 1851 was undoubtedly their first great artistic and public success. Winning the Great medal for a neo-Renaissance buffet triggered a competition among other cabinetmakers, as the press was unanimously greeting their success. His son Henri-Auguste (1830-1907) was taught design by the architect Duban, then by the silversmith Morel in London, before working with the bronze founder Paillard. He joined the firm in 1860. His talent and the high quality of his designs drew attention at the 1862 World Exhibition in London, where the jury awarded him two medals for « Excellence in Composition and Execution ». Henri-Auguste, now sole in charge, brought the firm to the summit of its achievements at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris by winning the Grand Prix (classes 14 and 15) as well as at the 1878 Exhibition. The 1862-1880 period marks truly the peak for the Fourdinois house, which remains for many cabinet-makers, whether French, English or American, an example to follow.

The post H.A. Fourdinois <br/> Exceptional Renaissance style Cabinet appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Cabinet-maker
(1830-1907)
(attributed to)

Exceptional Pair of Armchairs

France
Circa 1870

Height : 113,5 cm (44,7 in.) ; Width : 69 cm (27,1 in.) ; Depth : 60 cm (23,6 in.)

Important pair of armchairs made in solid rosewood with a flat back in « chapeau de gendarme » centered with a carved and foliated cartouche, joining padded scroll armrests carved with acanthus leaves. Standing on two characteristic Renaissance style fluted forelegs of the Fourdinois « savoir-faire », and « sabre » back feet.

Biography

The Fourdinois company was founded in 1835 by Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (1799-1871). The Universal Exhibition held in London in 1851 was undoubtedly their first great artistic and public success. Winning the Great medal for a neo-Renaissance buffet triggered a competition among other cabinetmakers, as the press was unanimously greeting their success. His son Henri-Auguste (1830-1907) was taught design by the architect Duban, then by the silversmith Morel in London, before working with the bronze founder Paillard. He joined the firm in 1860. His talent and the high quality of his designs drew attention at the 1862 World Exhibition in London, where the jury awarded him two medals for « Excellence in Composition and Execution ». Henri-Auguste, now sole in charge, brought the firm to the summit of its achievements at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris by winning the Grand Prix (classes 14 and 15) as well as at the 1878 Exhibition. The 1862-1880 period marks truly the peak for the Fourdinois house, which remains for many cabinet-makers, whether French, English or American, an example to follow.

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Cabinet-maker
(1817-1877)

E. Lievre

Designer
(1828-1886)
(attributed to)

Neo-Renaissance Cabinet

France
Circa 1870

Signed twice on the lock  P. SORMANI 10, r Charlot Paris

Height : 187 cm (73,6 in.) ; Width : 116 cm (45,6 in.) ; Depth : 54,5 cm (21,4 in.)

Rare neo-Renaissance cabinet in mahogany, carved boxwood and Portor marble, adorned with chiseled and gilded bronze.

The upper, part, surmounted by a frieze of posts and marble cabochons, consists of a central door decorated with a carved panel representing the birth of Venus, framed by two pairs of ringed and fluted columns with Corinthians capitals in gilded bronze revealing two doors with secret opening. Two drawers with lion’s head shaped handles and a central drawer decorated with tracery in gilded bronze complete the upper part of this cabinet.

In the lower part, two drawers on the belt with diamond moldings surmount two doors decorated with chiseled bronze medallions representing the profiles of King Charles VII of France and his mistress Agnès Sorel, framed by spandrels on a foliage background. Three detached carved uprights topped with gilded bronze foliage frame the panels.

The whole rests on five feet.

related work

The attribution of the design to Edouard Lièvre is made in comparison with several Renaissance style items from the sale of his goods following his death Succession de Feu Edouard Lièvre, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 21-24 Mars 1887 including :

Biography

Paul Sormani, born in Italy in 1817, dead in 1877, specialized at first in the making of small furniture. He installed 1854 his workshops at the n°114 rue du Temple in Paris. The Sormani company knew then a great success and was much in favour with the Imperial Family as well as with the Paris high society. Empress Eugénie furnished then her palaces in the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles, with some of Sormani’s creations. Presenting his work at all important fairs, such the 1849 Exposition of the Industrial Products or the Universal Exhibitions from 1855 until 1867, Sormani was then honored by jurys for his « production of high standard quality » and won the highest awards. In 1867, by the time of the great Universal Exhibition, Sormani enlarged and transfered his workshops to the n°10 rue Charlot. When Paul Sormani died in 1877, his wife and son took over the business and from this date onwards pieces are normally signed « Veuve Sormani & Fils à Paris ». After World War I, they went into partnership with Thiébaux and the company premises were then installed at n°134 boulevard Haussmann until 1934.

Edouard Lièvre (1829-1886) studied under the painter Thomas Couture (1815-1879), one of the more conspicuous artists in the circle of the Empress Eugenie. E. Lièvre soon devoted himself, however, to the art of furniture design. A talented ornamentalist, marked by the eclecticism typical of the Second Empire, Lièvre knew how to avail himself of skillful collaborators in order to create pieces in various styles: Renaissance, Louis 16^th or Oriental, which last were part of the great artistic movement in fashion since the 1860’s: the Japanese style named also Aesthetic Movement. they recreated an imaginary Far East adapted to decorate Western reception rooms. As an Interior decorator Lièvre also matched his luxurious and refined furniture with bronzes, ceramics and even fabrics. This Oriental exoticism, which only the richest could afford, appealed to bankers, judges, artists and famous courtesans as well as the Royal and Princely families. After the death of Edouard Lièvre, the greater part of his models, sketches and cabinet designs were bought by art publishers such as « l’Escalier de Cristal » or by Ferdinand Barbedienne, thus giving them the right to reproduce Lièvre’s furniture with their own stamp (see « Ventes de la succession Lièvre »,  Hotel Drouot, 27 fevrier 1890).

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Cabinet-maker
(1808-1889)

L.C. Sevin

Ornemanist
(1821-1888)

F. Barbedienne

Bronze-caster
(1810-1892)

Very Important Neo-Renaissance Dining Room Set

France
Circa 1878

Walnut, gilded bronze, “brèche St Maximin” marble, green Campan and “grand mélange” marble.

Display sideboard : Height : 285 cm (112 in.)  ; Width : 215 cm (84,6 in) ; Depth : 70 cm (27,5 in.)
Table (without extension) : Height : 76 cm (29,9 in.) ; Width : 170 cm (66,9 in.) ; Depth : 120 cm (47,2 in.) / Extensions (x 2) : Width : 45 cm (17,7 in.) ; Depth : 120 cm (47,2 in.)
Dresser : Height : 180 cm (70,8 in.) ; Width : 215 cm (84,6 in.) ; Depth : 65 cm (25,6 in.)
Chairs : Height : 114 cm (44,8 in.) ; Width : 48 cm (18,9 in.) ; Depth : 45 cm (17,7 in.)

Woodwork attributed to Maison Meynard (1808-1889), Meynard Fils; ormolu mounting by Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) from works by Louis-Constant Sévin (1821-1888).

Exhibition: Maison Meynard, Frager successeur, Salon des industries du mobilier, 1902. Maison Meynard has exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in 1878 a two-part Neo-Renaissance sideboard adorned with gilded bronze.

This rare Neo-Renaissance dining room furniture by the woodwork factory Meynard is representative of the taste for historical style in the second half of the 19th century.
Consisting of a monumental display sideboard, a dresser, a table and eight chairs, it is made of sculpted walnut, adorned with gilded bronze by Ferdinand Barbedienne, probably inspired by drawings of Constant Sévin.
This furniture is unified by repeated patterns, “brèche St Maximin” marble columns with gilded bronze capitals, ormolu medallions representing Renaissance inspired faces in profile, an ormolu faun mascaron and ribbed vases with ionic capitals.

• Display Sideboard
  

Important two part, Neo-Renaissance style, walnut sideboard; the lower part comprising four doors embellished with low reliefs in gilt bronze alternating with four detached columns of “brèche St Maximin” marble with Corinthian capitals. The upper part comprises two doors ornamented with gilt bronze low reliefs cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne, representing two nymphs after those sculpted by Jean Goujon in 1547 for the Fountain of the Innocents in Paris. On each side gilt bronze caryatids sheathed in Campan marble and recesses decorated with chains of fruit emphasize the structure of the piece. A pediment bearing the gilt bronze mask of a faun completes the ensemble.

• Dresser

The dresser is compartmented in a tripartite lower part, divided by marble and gilt bronze columns.
Two doors, adorned with gilt bronze Florentine Renaissance style medallions, flank the glass case in the centre.  Three sculpted frieze drawers support the top.
The upper part is divided in three panels: in niches on each side two gilt bronze statuettes surround the central gilt bronze pattern.

Statues represent two women draped in the antic style, one holding a palm, the other a cornucopia. Two sculpted chimeras finished the décor on each side. The semi-circular pediment surmounting the upper part presents a gilt bronze faun mascaron.

• Dining room table and chairs

The walnut dining room table, and its three leaves are standing on four richly decorated legs ending in lion claws, doubled with marble columns topped by gilt bronze Corinthian capitals. A strut supporting three ribbed balusters and two ionic capitals vases links the legs.

Eight chairs complete this Neo-Renaissance dining room. The base rests on four legs, the anterior baluster and capital legs and the posterior square section legs, linked by a strut. The back of chairs is adorned with a rich sculpted décor and flanked by two capitals columns. The lower part is decorated with an openwork sculpted vegetal ornament. The wood pediment is ornamented with a central polished marble cabochon.

Biography

The renowned firm of Meynard was established at 50 Faubourg-Saint-Antoine in Paris in 1812. Created by Guillaume Meynard, the company became famous under the name of Father-and-Son Meynard when in 1833, Guillaume-Mathieu, the eldest child of Guillaume Meynard joined him. His father left his son alone managing the family-owned business from 1848. Guillaume-Mathieu was joined by his son Léon-Guillaume in 1866. The firm was then called Meynard and Son. Under the same name, Léon-Guillaume, then representing the third generation, took leadership from 1873 until 1889 when he sold his business to Eugène Frager. After winning numerous awards at the Products of Industry Exhibitions and later at the Universal Exhibitions (a gold medal won in Paris in 1878), the Frager furnishing and decoration company perpetuated the excellent reputation of the firm by being awarded a silver medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.

The low reliefs and other bronze ornaments of this sideboard, of very high standard quality, were cast in the workshops of Ferdinand Barbedienne after designs by Constant Sévin. Those designs had been already used successfully on a bookcase exhibited by Sévin and Barbedienne at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867. Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) started one of the most famous 19th century artistic bronze casting companies. In addition to his personal production, he worked for famous artists such as Clésinger and Carrière-Belleuse. These artists production – as illustrated in their catalogue – varied from busts and ornamental sculptures such as clocks, candlesticks, sconces to decorations for furniture, as shown on our sideboard. 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”.

Louis-Constant Sévin (1821-1888) designed silver-smith’s objects for famous firms like Denière and Froment-Meurice, before working for Barbedienne as sculptor-ornemanist since 1855. Sévin’s works are considerable, he designed furniture bronzes for the « hôtel de La Païva » and was particularly remarked at the London Exhibition in 1862, where he was awarded a medal. The most extraordinary object designed by Sévin for Barbedienne, was a Renaissance style gilded bronze monumental clock, for which Sévin won a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in 1878.

Bibliography

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

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

Les ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Ledoux-Lebard, Ed. de l’amateur, Paris, 1989, p° 209 & 481.

« Le salon des arts du mobilier », La Revue de l’art ancien et moderne, Paris, impr. Georges Petit, t. XII, juillet-décembre 1902, pp.185-186.

Salon des industries du mobilier, Grand Palais des Champs Elysées, juillet-novembre 1902, organisé par la chambre syndicale de l’ameublement, Paris, impr. Wattier frères, 1902

The post Meynard, Sévin, Barbedienne <br/> Important Neo-Renaissance Dining Room Set appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Cabinet-maker
(1808-1889)

L.C. Sevin

Ornemanist
(1821-1888)

F. Barbedienne

Bronze-caster
(1810-1892)

Very Important Neo-Renaissance Dining Room Set

France
Circa 1878

Woodwork attributed to Maison Meynard (1808-1889), Meynard Fils; ormolu mounting by Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) from works by Louis-Constant Sévin (1821-1888).

Walnut, gilded bronze, “brèche St Maximin” marble, green Campan and “grand mélange” marble.

Exhibition: Maison Meynard, Frager successeur, Salon des industries du mobilier, 1902. Maison Meynard has exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in 1878 a two-part Neo-Renaissance sideboard adorned with gilded bronze.

This rare Neo-Renaissance dining room furniture by the woodwork factory Meynard is representative of the taste for historical style in the second half of the 19th century.
Consisting of a monumental display sideboard, a dresser, a table and eight chairs, it is made of sculpted walnut, adorned with gilded bronze by Ferdinand Barbedienne, probably inspired by drawings of Constant Sévin.
This furniture is unified by repeated patterns, “brèche St Maximin” marble columns with gilded bronze capitals, ormolu medallions representing Renaissance inspired faces in profile, an ormolu faun mascaron and ribbed vases with ionic capitals.

• Dining room table and chairs

The walnut dining room table, and its three leaves are standing on four richly decorated legs ending in lion claws, doubled with marble columns topped by gilt bronze Corinthian capitals. A strut supporting three ribbed balusters and two ionic capitals vases links the legs.

Eight chairs complete this Neo-Renaissance dining room. The base rests on four legs, the anterior baluster and capital legs and the posterior square section legs, linked by a strut. The back of chairs is adorned with a rich sculpted décor and flanked by two capitals columns. The lower part is decorated with an openwork sculpted vegetal ornament. The wood pediment is ornamented with a central polished marble cabochon.

• Display Sideboard
  

Important two part, Neo-Renaissance style, walnut sideboard; the lower part comprising four doors embellished with low reliefs in gilt bronze alternating with four detached columns of “brèche St Maximin” marble with Corinthian capitals. The upper part comprises two doors ornamented with gilt bronze low reliefs cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne, representing two nymphs after those sculpted by Jean Goujon in 1547 for the Fountain of the Innocents in Paris. On each side gilt bronze caryatids sheathed in Campan marble and recesses decorated with chains of fruit emphasize the structure of the piece. A pediment bearing the gilt bronze mask of a faun completes the ensemble.

• Dresser

The dresser is compartmented in a tripartite lower part, divided by marble and gilt bronze columns.
Two doors, adorned with gilt bronze Florentine Renaissance style medallions, flank the glass case in the centre.  Three sculpted frieze drawers support the top.
The upper part is divided in three panels: in niches on each side two gilt bronze statuettes surround the central gilt bronze pattern.

Statues represent two women draped in the antic style, one holding a palm, the other a cornucopia. Two sculpted chimeras finished the décor on each side. The semi-circular pediment surmounting the upper part presents a gilt bronze faun mascaron.

Biography

The renowned firm of Meynard was established at 50 Faubourg-Saint-Antoine in Paris in 1812. Created by Guillaume Meynard, the company became famous under the name of Father-and-Son Meynard when in 1833, Guillaume-Mathieu, the eldest child of Guillaume Meynard joined him. His father left his son alone managing the family-owned business from 1848. Guillaume-Mathieu was joined by his son Léon-Guillaume in 1866. The firm was then called Meynard and Son. Under the same name, Léon-Guillaume, then representing the third generation, took leadership from 1873 until 1889 when he sold his business to Eugène Frager. After winning numerous awards at the Products of Industry Exhibitions and later at the Universal Exhibitions (a gold medal won in Paris in 1878), the Frager furnishing and decoration company perpetuated the excellent reputation of the firm by being awarded a silver medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.

The low reliefs and other bronze ornaments of this sideboard, of very high standard quality, were cast in the workshops of Ferdinand Barbedienne after designs by Constant Sévin. Those designs had been already used successfully on a bookcase exhibited by Sévin and Barbedienne at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867. Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) started one of the most famous 19th century artistic bronze casting companies. In addition to his personal production, he worked for famous artists such as Clésinger and Carrière-Belleuse. These artists production – as illustrated in their catalogue – varied from busts and ornamental sculptures such as clocks, candlesticks, sconces to decorations for furniture, as shown on our sideboard. 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”.

Louis-Constant Sévin (1821-1888) designed silver-smith’s objects for famous firms like Denière and Froment-Meurice, before working for Barbedienne as sculptor-ornemanist since 1855. Sévin’s works are considerable, he designed furniture bronzes for the « hôtel de La Païva » and was particularly remarked at the London Exhibition in 1862, where he was awarded a medal. The most extraordinary object designed by Sévin for Barbedienne, was a Renaissance style gilded bronze monumental clock, for which Sévin won a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in 1878.

Bibliography

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

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

Les ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Ledoux-Lebard, Ed. de l’amateur, Paris, 1989, p° 209 & 481.

« Le salon des arts du mobilier », La Revue de l’art ancien et moderne, Paris, impr. Georges Petit, t. XII, juillet-décembre 1902, pp.185-186.

Salon des industries du mobilier, Grand Palais des Champs Elysées, juillet-novembre 1902, organisé par la chambre syndicale de l’ameublement, Paris, impr. Wattier frères, 1902

The post Meynard, Sévin, Barbedienne <br/> Important Neo-Renaissance Dining Room Set appeared first on Tobogan Antiques.

Cabinet-maker
(1830-1907)
(attributed to)

Rare display sideboard

France
Circa 1867

Natural oak, Amaranth, Enamel, Gilt bronze

Height : 332 cm (130,7 in.) ; Width : 200 cm (78,7 in.) ; Depth : 54 cm (21,2 in.)

Important two-tiered sideboard made in natural oak and carved amaranth wood: the lower part made up of four panels, two concave ones and two doors, richly ornated with a polychrome enameled floral decoration and gilt bronze plaques.

A large dual drawer is surmounted by the upper part of the sideboard, opening with two glazed doors, framed by detached columns. The entire unit is topped with a pediment onto which a female bust is carved in relief within a medallion on a gilt background.

The Forney library in Paris preserves order registers of the Fourdinois as well as sketches books and pictures representing pieces of furniture made by the Fourdinois workshops. In this documentation, some elements enable us to link this sideboard with Henri-Auguste Fourdinois’ productions, such as the large scrolls linking the upper part to the lower part of the sideboard, as well as the detached columns carved at their lower third.

Notebook containing ink-sketches coming from the Fourdinois workshop shows a project for a pelmet, beautified with a centering trophy composed of a torch and a quiver within in a foliage wreath, this motif obviously reused by the Fourdinois on the central decoration of the panels of our sideboard.

Biography

The firm of Fourdinois, considered during the Second Empire as the greatest furniture manufacturer in Paris, was founded in 1835 by Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (1799-1871). It was developped in the context of the Expositions Universelles. At the time, the firm already produces furniture of the Neo-Renaissance style, such as a dresser that won the Great Medal at the London Universal Exhibition of 1851. The son, Henri-Auguste Fourdinois (1830-1907), joined the firm in 1860 and will become head of the firm in 1867. The high quality of his designs was remarked at the Universal Exhibition in 1862, when the jury awarded him two medals « for Excellence of Composition and Execution ». Henri-Auguste, now sole in charge, brought the firm to the summit of its achievements at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris by winning the Grand Prize for his stand. Apart from the commissions he executed for the « Mobilier de la Couronne », he also produced high quality furniture for the Parisian bourgeoisie. The firm is at its zenith during the years 1862-1880. At this time, it is considered as an example to follow for other cabinet-makers, whether they are French, British or American.

Through the quality of execution and the extreme care taken in the decoration of furniture, H.-A. Fourdinois was particularly appreciated by Napoleon III and Eugenie, who ordered him to furnish several imperial residences, such with the bedroom of the apartment of the Pope at Fontainebleau Palace. Among his talents, Fourdinois knew how to match furniture with elaborate and luxurious sets, thus causing him to become one of the preferred suppliers of the Empress Eugenie. His meticulous work was in particular made thanks to the new technique of “en plein” marquetry, a decorative technique invented by H.-A. Fourdinois himself, for which he registered a patent allowing him to have the monopoly to use this technique. This new technique is quite different from the traditional marquetry which put together wood sheets veneered on a furniture piece. In Fourdinois’ “en plein” marquetry, the inlaid wood is joined together with the wooden structure of the furniture piece, allowing the cabinet-maker to carve directly the inlaid wood. Such a technique enabled to inlay different types of wood inside the structure as well as precious stones, ivory, slate, etc.

Museology

– Monumental inlaid door, with enameled decoration, shown at the Universal Exhibition of 1878, preserved at the Orsay Museum, Paris (Inv. DO 1980 1).

– A walnut two-tiered cabinet inlaid with bloodstone, lapis-lazuli, ivory and silver, preserved at the Decorative Arts Museum, Paris (Inv. 29921).

– The bedroom set of the apartment of the Pope at Fontainebleau Palace, preserved in situ.

– Psyche of Empress Eugenie’s toilet cabinet at Saint-Cloud Palace, preserved at Compiègne Castle.

Bibliography:

– Sources et modèles d’un ébéniste au XIXe siècle: l’exemple d’Henri Fourdinois (1830-1907), Olivier Gabet, in Bulletin de la Société de l’Histoire de l’Art Français, Paris, 2003, p. 261-278.

– Marqueteries virtuoses au XIXe siècle, brevets d’invention, Marc Maison et Emmanuelle Arnould, Paris, 2012, p. 12-14 et 48-59.

– Croquis et commandes, Henri-Auguste Fourdinois, Fourdinois Rue Amelot Paris, 1855-1865.

– Nouveau recueil d’ameublement: meubles, sièges, lits, tentures, tapisseries, etc., Henri-Auguste Fourdinois, Librairies Imprimeries Réunies, 1890, Vol. I.

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Cabinet-maker
(1808-1885)

Magnificent bookcase

France
Circa 1860

Height: 330 cm (129,9 in.) ; Width: 300 cm (118,1 in.) ; Depth: 80 cm (31,5 in.)

Exceptional neo Renaissance bookcase forming desk in birds-eye carved mahogany. This monumental piece consists in a lower part forming drop-front desk supported by two pillars with drawers. The lateral parts each open with a moulded door.  The bookcase occupies the upper part, opening by four windows separated by carved semi-columns finishing in Corinthian capitals. The whole is surmounted by a large pediment adorned with chimera and a female head. The ornaments is inspired by the Renaissance and consists mostly in carved foliate, chimera, griffins and  phantasmagorical masks, what makes this piece not only a masterpiece of architecture, but also of sculpture.

Biography

Guillaume Grohé (1808-1885) born in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt came to settle in Paris in 1827. With his brother Jean-Michel, he run a successful company named “Grohé Brothers” featuring furniture and objects of art, and presenting successfully works at the Exhibition of the Products of Industry in 1834. His success was as well as fast as substantial. Guillaume received the Legion of Honour in 1849 and was later promoted to officer of that order. In 1861, his brother retired from business, leaving Guillaume alone at the head of the company. With no successor, the company ceased trading in 1884. Supplier of King Louis XVIII (Louis XIV style console, National Exhibition of 1844, a Renaissance style Ebony museum cabinet, 1844), King Louis-Philippe, the Emperor Napoleon III (mahogany dining room, Palace Saint-Cloud, 1855; mahogany furniture, Compiègne Palace, Renaissance style mahogany furniture at the Palace of Fontainebleau, 1859), and after 1862, he supplied Queen Victoria. Specialized in the making of furniture of various styles, the Duke of Aumale commissioned him the furniture of the castle of Chantilly. He took part brilliantly and was also several times member of the jury at the Universal Exhibitions. According to the report of the jury for the 1878 Paris Universal Exhibition, Grohé is described, as “the undisputed master of the modern cabinet-making, was exhausted in respect of all forms of praise, as he won all the series of rewards.” Maxime Boucheron last quoted in an article in Le Figaro in 1884 that “Grohé was a true grand master of the art of the nineteenth century cabinetmaking. A career of over fifty years has filled our museums, our national palace with incomparable masterpieces. He assured the dominance of French taste in luxury furniture.”

Bibliography

Les ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Ed. de l’Amateur, 1984, p. 237.

This exceptional piece was sold when the Grohé factory completely stopped its production, in 1884, in Paris.

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Cabinet-maker
(1843-late 19th century)
(attributed to)

Neo-Renaissance Cabinet

France
Circa 1889

Presented at the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1889  

Height : 194 cm (76,5 in.) ; Width : 173 cm (68 in.) ; Depth : 56 cm (22 in.)

Important sculpted and engraved natural wood, patinated bronze and Griotte de Campan red marble inlaid Neo-Renaissance style cabinet.

The upper part is composed of a frieze of bronze medallions separated by triglyphs and supported by ribbed columns with corinthian capitals. There are eight of these columns paired at the front and two simple columns at the rear. The facade presents an alternation of bronzes in niches and cartouches, of marble slates in cartouches sometimes flanked by palmettes, and of engraved motives of laurel and foliage scrolls. The upper part opens with three leaves and three mobile compartments. The belt carved with acanthus leaves opens with two drawers. This cabinet is supported by four richly sculpted tapered feet ending with claws. Four fluted pilasters are inscribed in the moulded back as counterparts. The whole ensemble stands on a moulded plinth and eight rounded feet.

The bronze ornamentation

The iconography of the bronze low-reliefs adorning this cabinet brings together the mythology, the Roman world and the Renaissance period. The facade presents two bronze pannels with camp scenes depicting the Emperor talking to his soldiers. A third medallion scene depicts a soldier next to his wounded companion. This medallion is framed by two bronzes featuring Poseidon.

A frieze including 24 bronze medals girds the top of the cabinet. Some of them depict notable figures in Renaissance history in the manner of Guillaume Dupré (c.176-1643), who trained with Prieur and was close to King Henri IV, then sculptor of King Louis XIII. Some others picture Roman emperors after sestertium models or scences from the antique life.

Medal with the effigy of Henri IV, Guillaume Dupré, 1600, collections of the Medal Cabinet, French National Library

Sestertium depicting Aulus Vitellius Germanicus 59 A.D

Period texts

Around 1889, numerous cabinets or commodes included this type of medals or medallions (it can be noted that during the years 1880, F.Levillain (1837-1905) developped a new technique of production for low-reliefs that allowed creating medallions through a system of mechanical sculpture). Several of this type of cabinets were produced by G.F.Quignon, including a ‘joli cabinet, d’une construction parfaite, élégant de forme, enrichi de colonnettes, de bas-reliefs de bronze, et de frises en marqueterie’ (a nice cabinet, perfectly constructed, of an elegant shape, enriched with small columns, bronze low-reliefs, and marquetry friezes; in Exposition Universelle, 1889, les Beaux-Arts et les Arts Décoratifs, published under the direction of L.Gonse and A. de Lostalot, Paris, Journal Le Temps, p.351). In the Rapports du Jury International, Exposition Universelle de 1889 à Paris, Alfred Picard noted that Quignon became a ‘maître’ : ‘who has not admired his very fine Henri II piece of furniture, in natural pearwood ?’. V. Champier reproduced a pearwood cabinet identical to ours in Les Industries d’Art à l’exposition universelle de 1889.

Neo Renaissance Cabinet exhibited at the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1889 illustrated in J. Meyer, Great Exhibitions, London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851-1900, Antique Collector’s Club, 2006, p. 281.

Neo-Renaissance Style

This piece of furniture is a very fine example of the Neo-Renaissance style, which appeared in the years 1830 with Claude-Aimé Chenavard (ornemanist, 1798-1838), and was notably developed by the decorator Michel Liénard (1810-1870). This style followed the Neo-Gothic style and the cult of the Middle-Ages and succeeded on the long run. Inspiration sources were numerous in France and the iconographic richness of the mannerism flattered the taste of the Second Empire. Cabinet-markers notably took inspiration from the Henri II period and favored the use of richly sculpted solid wood.

Biography

Gustave-Frédéric Quignon, born in 1843, worked with his father Napoléon Quignon, boulevard Richard-Lenoir. He took the lead in 1874 and expanded the production of the firm with other seats and pieces of furniture, but also with sculpture. Like his father before him, he produced richly carved and gilded Louis XV and Louis XVI style furniture, but also some Neo-Renaissance furniture. He became a supplier of the Mobilier National. He exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in 1878 and won a gold medal. He was a member of the jury at the Universal Exhibition in 1889. The same year, he relocated the firm rue de Saint-Sabin, where he worked until the end of the century. He participated to the French Exhibition of Moscow in 1891, next to H.Dasson and P.Sormani, and to the rapports sur l’Exposition Internationale de Chicago in 1893. He won the Grand Prix for his stand at the Universal Exhibition of 1900.

Museology

A set of furniture (a great sideboard, a display case, a table and eighteen chairs) in natural wood from the Quignon firm, circa 1870, is housed at the Willet-Holthuysen Museum, Amsterdam.

Bibliography

V. Champier, Les Industries d’Art à l’exposition universelle de 1889, Paris, 1889.

D. Ledoux-Lebard, Les Ebénistes du XIXe siècle, Les Editions de l’Amateur, 1984, p.538.

J. Meyer, Great Exhibitions, London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851-1900, Antique Collector’s Club, 2006 (an identical pearwood cabinet illustrated p. 281).

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Cabinet-maker
(active circa 1880)

H.-A. Fourdinois

Cabinet-maker
(1830-1907)
(after)

Remarkable Cabinet with the ‘Four Seasons’

Signed « Meubles D’Art, M. Lerolle, Fabricant, 61, Rue des Sts-Peres. Paris »

France
Circa 1890

Height : 239 cm (94 in.) ; Width : 149 cm (58,6 in.) ; Depth : 56 cm (22 in.)

Remarkable walnut and boxwood cabinet, richly sculpted in the Neo-Renaissance style, and inlaid with vert de mer marble cabochons and cartouches.

The upper part is formed by a scrolled broken pediment with a carved medallion supported by two putti at the centre. The facade features seven ionic columns adorned with ivy at their base and four female figures sculpted in the round, sheltered in niches and supported by cherub heads. The sculptures are allegories of the seasons. The upper part opens with three leaves and three drawers. In the lower part, the belt includes three drawers and is adorned with cartouches with mythological scenes. This piece of furniture is supported by two very richly sculpted winged sphinxes surrounding a central medallion adorned with a bacchanal scene, and stands on a moulded plinth and height feet.

This piece of furniture is a very fine example of the Neo-Renaissance style, which appeared in the years 1830 with Claude-Aimé Chenavard (ornemanist, 1798-1838), and was notably developed by the decorator Michel Liénard (1810-1870). This style followed the Neo-Gothic style and the cult of the Middle-Ages and succeeded on the long run. Inspiration sources were numerous in France and the iconographic richness of the mannerism flattered the taste of the Second Empire. Cabinet-markers notably took inspiration from the Henri II period and favored the use of richly sculpted solid and dark wood.

Our piece of furniture witnesses the interpretation and blending effort made by the artists of the nineteenth-century. It brings together the classicism of the Renaissance and its mythological subjects and the rigorous architectured structure, with a certain exuberance inherited from the Romanticism.

Related work :

Cabinet exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in 1867 (Fourdinois won a Grand Prix for his stand).
Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris (Inv. 29921).
Made by Henri-Auguste Fourdinois, Nivillier (ornaments design), Party (modelling of the bodies), Hugues Protat, Primo et Maigret (sculptures).
Illustrated in D. Ledoux-Lebard, Les Ebénistes du XIXe siècle, Ed. de l’Amateur, 1984, pp.205

 Biography

The firm of Fourdinois, considered during the Second Empire as the greatest furniture manufacturer in Paris, was founded in 1835 by Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (1799-1871). It was developed in the context of the Expositions Universelles. At the time, the firm already produces furniture of the Neo-Renaissance style, such as a dresser that won the Great Medal at the London Universal Exhibition of 1851. The son, Henri-Auguste Fourdinois (1830-1907), joined the firm in 1860 and will become head of the firm in 1867. The high quality of his designs was remarked at the Universal Exhibition in 1862, when the jury awarded him two medals « for Excellence of Composition and Execution ». Henri-Auguste, now sole in charge, brought the firm to the summit of its achievements at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris by winning the Grand Prize for his stand. Apart from the commissions he executed for the « Mobilier de la Couronne », he also produced high quality furniture for the Parisian bourgeoisie. The firm is at its zenith during the years 1862-1880. At this time, it is considered as an example to follow for other cabinet-makers, whether they are French, British or American.

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Cabinet-maker & Bronze-caster
(1855-1946)
(attributed to)

Pair of Renaissance revival cabinets

France
Circa 1880

Cabinet 1 – Height : 152 cm (59,8 in.) ; Width : 96 cm (37,8 in.) ; Depth : 48 cm (18,9 in.)
Cabinet 2 – Height : 150 cm (59 in.) ; Width : 87,5 cm (34,4 in.) ; Depth : 42 cm (16,5 in.)

Rare pair of French Renaissance style ebonized cabinets. Composed of an architectured upper part, with inlaid panels alternated with fine fluted columns, opening with a central door onto an exquisite ebony filet framed sycamore veneered interior fitted with shelves. The decor of the panels inlaid with blend wood onto ebonized background is made of very fine designed motifs such scrolls, grotesques and flowery vases, all characteristic of the Renaissance decorative repertoire. The lower section with three drawers above a three arched support adorned with columns, raised on a stepped base ; the back with similarly-inlaid decoration.

These neo-Renaissance style cabinets are very close to François Linke’s one presented in his private collection.
(Reproduced and commented in François Linke (1855-1946), The Belle Epoque of French Furnitures, Ch. Payne, pp.40-41).
If the style, characterizing François Linke, is mostly recognizable by its Rococo-Art Nouveau motifs, it occasionally appealed other historical ornaments, such from the French Renaissance. That reminds of the time, when the cabinet took the central place in the interior furnishings. This collector furniture piece, which facade has sumptuously decorated doors matching the base, presents a decorative aesthetic coming from the architectural vocabulary.

Biography

François Linke, born in 1855 in Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), worked as a cabinet-maker in Paris from about 1882 until his death in 1946. In 1900, at the apex of his career, he opened a new shop at the famous Parisian place Vendôme. He specialized in Louis XV and Louis XVI style furniture: all pieces were beautifully mounted with gilt-bronze ornaments, and he received numerous commissions. Later Linke decided to collaborate with the well-known sculptor Léon Messagé and integrated new lines and shapes announcing the “Art Nouveau” style. His great success is definitely the 1900 Universal Exhibition where he was awarded the gold medal for his extraordinary kingwood desk, designed by Messagé. At this occasion, the “Revue artistique et industrielle” commented that “Linke’s stand is the biggest show in the history of art furniture”.

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Applied Arts School
(Founded in 1846)

Renaissance style center table

Label mentioning “I.R. Scuola…, Sezione Intarsio e Intaglio, Cortina d’Ampezzo, n°146”

Italy
Circa 1890

Height : 77 cm (30,3 in.) ; Width : 102 cm (40 in.) ; Depth : 62 cm (24,5 in.)

Exceptional Venetian Renaissance style center table. The top and the frieze opening with four drawers are fully ornamented with a flat carved decoration and a floral and geometric inlay according to the technique of Tarkashi. It rests on four architected legs joined by a stretcher.

Commentary

Don Cipriano Pescosta (1815-1889) created in October 1846 in the small town of Cortina d’Ampezzo, Veneto, a school for the teaching of drawing. The institution was gradually gaining wide popularity for its courses in sculpture as well as in cabinet making. In 1874, the school became “State Industrial School” and in September 1876, they opened sections of wood inlay and mosaic. In 1881, John Coddington, President of the famous Oriental Club in London, which included British nobles and other gentlemen residing in Asia, made known to the Italian School a new technique, the Tarkashi, thanks to some objects brought from a trip to India. It was a technique of marquetry employing refined interlaced ribbons of various woods and sometimes decorated with ivory and mother of pearl. Artists and students of the Ampezzo art school, already skilled at woodworking, adopted this technique, which was successfully developped and even brought the fame to Cortina d’Ampezzo. In 1889, the school was open to women with sections of sewing, embroidery and lace. Cortina d’Ampezzo School was awarded a silver medal in 1893 at the Regional Exhibition of Innsbruck in Austria. They then sold all of the exhibited pieces, including a large part to the German Darmstadt and Stuttgart museums.

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France
Circa 1880

Height : 99 cm (39 in.) ; Diameter : 26 cm (10,2 in.)

A very fine pair of Gothic Revival natural walnut stands. Each composed of a hexagonal molded red Griotte marble top, resting on a hexagonal tapeting shaft. Adorned all over with carved and pierced walnut pinnacles and lambrequins.

The somewhat architectural design evokes the creations of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879), who was not only a renowned theoretician, but above all an accomplished architect, whose genius lay in his acute observation of medieval buildings in view of their restoration, as well as the continuation of the Gothic style in architecture and decorative arts.

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Ornemanist
(1821-1888)

F. Barbedienne

Bronze-caster
(1810-1892)

E. Frager

Cabinet-maker

Exceptional display-sideboard

France
Circa 1865

Height : 285 cm (112,2 in.) ; Width : 215 cm (84,6 in.) ; Depth : 70 cm (27,5 in.)

Exposed on the stand of Frager – Maison Meynard at the Salon des industries du mobilier of 1902.
(Reproduced in « La Construction Moderne », planche n° 38)

A two part, neo-Renaissance style, walnut sideboard; the lower part comprising four doors embellished with low reliefs in gilt bronze alternating with four detached columns of red marble with corinthian capitals. The upper part comprises two doors ornamented with gilt bronze low reliefs cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne, representing two nymphs after those sculpted by Jean Goujon in 1547 for the Fountain of the Innocents in Paris. On each side gilt bronze caryatids sheathed in Campan marble and recesses decorated with chains of fruit emphasize the structure of the piece. A pediment bearing the gilt bronze mask of a faun completes the ensemble.

It is part of a dining room set consisting of a monumental display sideboard, a dresser, a table and eight chairs.

Biography

The renowned firm of Meynard was established at 50 Faubourg-Saint-Antoine in Paris in 1812. Created by Guillaume Meynard, the company became famous under the name of Father-and-Son Meynard when in 1833, Guillaume-Mathieu, the eldest child of Guillaume Meynard joined him. His father left his son alone managing the family-owned business from 1848. Guillaume-Mathieu was joined by his son Léon-Guillaume in 1866. The firm was then called Meynard and Son. Under the same name, Léon-Guillaume, then representing the third generation, took leadership from 1873 until 1889 when he sold his business to Eugène Frager. After winning numerous awards at the Products of Industry Exhibitions and later at the Universal Exhibitions (a gold medal won in Paris in 1878), the Frager furnishing and decoration company perpetuated the excellent reputation of the firm by being awarded a silver medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.

The low reliefs and other bronze ornaments of this sideboard, of very high standard quality, were cast in the workshops of Ferdinand Barbedienne after designs by Constant Sévin. Those designs had been already used successfully on a bookcase exhibited by Sévin and Barbedienne at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867. Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) started one of the most famous 19th century artistic bronze casting companies. In addition to his personal production, he worked for famous artists such as Clésinger and Carrière-Belleuse. These artists production – as illustrated in their catalogue – varied from busts and ornamental sculptures such as clocks, candlesticks, sconces to decorations for furniture, as shown on our sideboard. 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”.

Louis-Constant Sévin (1821-1888) designed silver-smith’s objects for famous firms like Denière and Froment-Meurice, before working for Barbedienne as sculptor-ornemanist since 1855. Sévin’s works are considerable, he designed furniture bronzes for the « hôtel de La Païva » and was particularly remarked at the London Exhibition in 1862, where he was awarded a medal. The most extraordinary object designed by Sévin for Barbedienne, was a Renaissance style gilded bronze monumental clock, for which Sévin won a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in 1878.

Bibliography

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

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

Les ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Ledoux-Lebard, Ed. de l’amateur, Paris, 1989, p° 209 & 481.

« Le salon des arts du mobilier », La Revue de l’art ancien et moderne, Paris, impr. Georges Petit, t. XII, juillet-décembre 1902, pp.185-186.

Salon des industries du mobilier, Grand Palais des Champs Elysées, juillet-novembre 1902, organisé par la chambre syndicale de l’ameublement, Paris, impr. Wattier frères, 1902.

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