Ref.3255
Antique Louis XVI style fireplace mantel with round corners in Griotte marble and gilt bronze ornaments

This antique Louis XVI style fireplace was made in the 19th century in a Griotte type marble, with a matching three-square marble floor . This round-cornered model features two fluted pilasters with gilt bronze asparagus, and three golden bronze rosettes, the one in the entablature's center is flower-shaped. The luminosity of the marble, speckled with many colors, is enhanced by the bronze's gold.

Ref.16107
Longwy faience: pair of vases on a wood base

Enameled faience, bases made out of wood. This pair of vases was made by the Longwy manufacturer, Fainencerie of Meurthe-et-Moselle, around 1880. In blue enameled faience and goldened with an engraved decoration, these two vases are elaborately decorated on their paunches. A vegetal decor of floral branches decorates the whole surface of the faience. In the middle of each vase there is a cartouche with an intertwining decor, around which there are bats with their wings spread. These same bets are displayed in relief on the neck of each vase. These vases play on the ornamental vocabulary from the Far East that were really in fashion in France at the time, thanks to the Universal Exhbitions where China was able to present its most illustrious creations. Created in 1798, the Faincerie of Longwy was well renowned from the start of the 19th century. With the arrival of the Italian Amédée from Carenza who bought with him the technique of cloisonné enamels on faience, the Faiencerie diversified and largely expanded its production, changing it to produce oriental and Far East style works of art, according to the trend at the time. This pair of vases is a clear example of this.

Ref.15384
O. MILET, Émile Diffloth, Ornamental Dish with Hummingbird, late 19th century

This decorative dish featuring a kingfisher results from the collaboration between ceramist Félix Optat Milet (1838-1911) and Emile Diffloth (1856-1933). Born into a family of potters, Milet joined the Manufacture de Sèvres in 1862 as a modeler before becoming a decorator. In 1866, he founded his own factory, which would become the largest private ceramics manufacturer in Sèvres. In 1876, Optat Milet participated privately in the Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition of the Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts, where his brightly colored creations were a great success, as evidenced by the lines dedicated to him by Adrien Dubouché in 1876 in his article “Contemporary Ceramics at the Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts Exhibition” in the second issue of L'Art: la revue hebdomadaire illustrée. At the 1889 World's Fair, Milet won the gold medal and Loebnitz highlighted the wonderful effects made possible thanks to the new technique used by Optat. It was also in the 1880s that Optat Milet and Clément Massier opened the Delvaux boutique (18, rue royale in Paris), which remained in business until the 1970s. Our dish bears Emile Diffloth's signature on the front and the Milet factory mark on the back. Based in Sèvres, Milet was famous for his technical expertise and his close ties with the Manufacture Nationale. The central decoration created by Diffloth features a vibrant cobalt blue kingfisher. The motif of the kingfisher just leaving its branch and the elegant composition are inspired by Japanese art, which was in vogue at the time. The details and relief effects under the glaze are striking: the veins of the leaves are brilliantly rendered and the gold background dotted with plant elements creates a luminous vibration contrasting with the powerful blue of the bird's plumage.