Ref.10841
Jean-François GECHTER (Att. to) - "Bonaparte crossing the Great Saint Bernard", important patinated bronze sculpture

This important patinated bronze sculpture, representing General Bonaparte crossing the Great-Saint-Bernard, is attributed to the romantic sculptor Théodore Gechter (1796-1844). The general is represented according to tradition, « calme on a fiery horse », although he had crossed the pass on a mule. The prancing animal confers a dynamism to the composition, which is reinforced by the grandiloquent gesture of Bonaparte draped in a loose cloak. The victorious general, with an idealized face, looks at the spectator and shows him the direction to follow, this third political way which he sought to impose between the royalists and the republicans . This beautiful sculpture was executed after the famous painting by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). This representation commemorates the victorious passage, in May 1800, of the Great-Saint-Bernard pass by the reserve army under the direction of the First Consul, the first stage of his triumphal reconquest of Italy. With great audacity, Bonaparte played the surprise by crossing a pass, deemed impratical in the spring. He returned to the feat of great captains of the past : Hannibal, passing through the Alps with his elephants in 218 during the Second Punic War, and Charlemagne, in 773, in his fight against Lomabards. Even before the Napoleonic victories, Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland, Wagram, the painting inscribed the name of Bonaparte among those of the greatest conquerors of History. The composition of David, taken up by Théodore Gechter, is an absolute icon, archetype of the representation of the hero of the Revolution, probably the most famous portrait of Napoleon around the world. There are several bronzes edition of this model. The representation of Gechter differs in several points from that of the painter J. L. David. General Bonaparte, realized by Gechter does not look at the spectator but at the ground. This rocky and eventful base underscores the obstacles that General Bonaparte has had to face and thus reinforces his heroic action. It should also be noted that Gechter did not go so far as to inscribe the names of victorious conquerors on the rock, as in the case of David’s painting. We find the fiery movement of the characters in Charles Martel and Abdérame, King of the Saracens, plaster group presented by Gechter at the Salon of 1833. A bronze model, commissionned by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, melted by Gonon is now preserved in the Louvre. The sculptor represents Charles Martel in armor slaying his enemy. The representation of the rider is a pretext for the study of the movement and contortions of the horse. The expression of the warriors pride and this victorious feeling is the sign of a romanticism peculiar of Gechter. The artist has taken great care with the modeling of theses faces, perfectly catching the light. The precision in rendering the details is obvious (the helmet, the crafted brigantine, the chainmails). In addition, Gechter alternates in his compositions rough surfaces, smooth or chiseled throughout the sculpture, precisely as in the Bonaparte crossing the Great-Saint-Bernard. The extraordinary quality of our sculpture, the composition in movement, the precision in the rendering of the details suggest that it is indeed a model of Gechter, executed around 1840. This bronze sculpture is of high quality, by the delicacy of carving, the quality of the details and ornaments, the fiery movement, which are characteristic of Théodore Gechter, a romantic sculptor who particularly liked the modeling of horses.

Ref.12653
Charles Hunsinger (attributed to), Beautiful presentation stand with a marquetry decor, circa 1870-1880

Even though it is not signed, this beautiful presentation stand is very likely a work made in the 1870's-1880's by the French funriture makers Charles Hunsinger and Charles Wagner because of the caracteristic marquetry decoration. Indeed, we find on our blackened wood stand a remarkable and very interesting decor of precious woods and ivory marquetry, drawing on a checked pattern, horns of plenty and flowers crowns. These elements frame an ivory medallion receiving the profil protraits of sovereigns. Small animals come also to animate the scene, such as a butterfly, a dragonfly or even snails. this stand is a very elegant and luxurious work. Charles Husinger was born in Dossenheim in 1823, it's only around 1859 that he starts to be named in the Almanachs du Commerce as a luxurious furniture maker. He specializes himself in the ebony furniture inlaid with ivory and marquetry furniture making. In 1872, he creates a business with Charles Adolphe Frédéric WAGNER, which lasted for about ten years. During his whole career, he participates to many World Fairs and especially the ones taking place in Paris (1865, 1867, 1878 et 1889), and exhibits also in the Havre. His work was rewarded by a gold medal in Brussels in 1881, a Progress and Merit medal in Vianna and another medal in London. The inventory after his death, in 1893, shows that he continued to work during the last years of his life, dropping furniture at some sellers shops, even though he had to legally close down his business in 1890, because of a long list of creditos among which we can name his old partner, Wagner. RELATED WORK : HUNSINGER, WAGNER Paris, Cabinet made of sculpted and blackened lime wood, marquetry of diverse variety of woods and engraved bones, 1879, Conserved at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Ref.11377
Very beautiful Japanese bedroom furniture in sycamore

These japanese bedroom furniture were made in the late 19th century of tainted sycamore in the taste of Gabriel Viardot or the production of the Maison des Bambous and includes 3 pieces : - A bed (H : 267,5 cm ; L : 157 cm; P : 208,5 cm) - A bedside table (H : 80,5 cm ; L : 60 cm ; P : 37,5 cm) - A wardrobe (H : 235 cm ; L :148 cm ; P : 53 cm). The bed is adorned with a very high headboard with Japanese open work friezes to which was hang a beautiful and colored tapestry in the same taste, adorned with an ibis in plants very characteristif of the Far-East. It also depicts an engraved and in relief decoration of asian motifs, bamboos and dragons, lightened up with inlaid element of mother-of-pearl. The bedside table is composed of an engraved slab with rolled edges, it opens with a small drawer with its key and a small cupboard having also its keys. The door is also adorned with inlaid mother-of-pearl. The asymmetrical wardrobe, as it is very often the case in the production of Japanese furniture, opens by a large mirror door, a drawer and a small cupbord. Its decoration in relief is lightened up with a mother-of-pearl inlaid scene depicting characters sat under a temple. One of the furniture mounts takes the shape of an ibis on a turtle shell.

Ref.13453
Maison des Bambous, Alfred PERRET et Ernest VIBERT (attributed to)- Japanese bed with dragon-tigers

This Far-East inspired bed, made in the late 19th century, is attributed to the Maison des Bambous of Perret and Vibert. Alfred Perret founded in 1879 in Paris a firm specialized in the creation of bamboo furniture and importation of authentically Japanese objects for a rich Parisian clientele. Located on the 33 de la rue du Quatre-Septembre, the firm becomes then specialized in the beginning of the 1880's in the fabrication of sculpted wood furniture inspired by the Far-East. In 1886, the firm is taken by the son of Alfred Perret and by Ernest Vibert, it becomes thus, « Perret et Vibert » and will take the name « Maison des Bambous » in the early 1890. Perret and Vibert, astrue creators of their time, participate to the World Fair of 1889 taking place in Paris and win two silver medals. Following this first exhibition, they participate to many others : in 1894 the Exposition Universelle, Internationale et Coloniale of Lyon and the Exposition d'Horticulture des Tuileries, in 1900 to the World Fair of Paris. Our Japanese bed present a rich decoration inspired by the Far East iconogrpahy. The headboard is crossed by a threatening hybrid creature, with a dragon body and a tiger head on which is attached a cartouche with a monogram. The headboard and footboard, on which we find the samed hybrid creature, are also adorned with plants and animals motifs sculpted in relief in the wood or inlaid with ivory and mother of pearl. Our bed comes from the same address as the reference 13452 - Furniture for bathroom sink with its dragon mirror.

Ref.14399
Fireback with the coat of arms of the Duke of Lorraine and Bar of Leopold I

Ref.15499
E. BRUN after Jules-Claude ZIEGLER, Portrait of Louis de Champagne, Count of Sancerre, 1920

This portrait of the Count of Sancerre was made by E. Brun in 1920. It is a copy of the work by Jules-Claude Ziegler preserved at the Château de Versailles, as indicated by the inscription placed at the bottom left of the canvas. The original portrait was commissioned for the Galerie Militaire at Versailles in 1834; upon its delivery, it was placed in the Hall of the Constables. Under the reign and initiative of Louis-Philippe (1773-1850), the former residence of the kings of France was transformed into a museum dedicated to “all the glories of France”. In this context, numerous works were commissioned to illustrate the political and military history of France, including this portrait. The copy of the Versailles portrait was likely commissioned by the Sancerre family for their personal residence, the Château de Sancerre, where it was displayed. The constable and his mount occupy the center of the composition. Very dignified, he turns his head to the left, as if his attention has been drawn there – a way for the painter to partially conceal his strabismus, as noted in the Chronicle of the Monk of Saint-Denis. He guides his horse with his left hand while holding a staff of office in his right. He is dressed in armor and chain mail, over which he wears a large red cape and a yellow tunic bearing his family’s coat of arms. The crest is also present on the barding covering the horse’s upper body, surmounted by a comital crown. The horse is shown in motion, its tail in the wind, imparting a sense of movement to the portrait. The scene unfolds against a rocky landscape extending to the horizon. The sky is heavy with clouds at the lower part, transitioning from dark gray to a lighter tone, culminating in a blue sky in the upper third of the canvas. The copy is rigorously identical to the original, with two exceptions: the absence of the artist’s signature on the rock, replaced by the inscription, and the inclusion of a castle in the background. This was likely an express request by the commissioners of this painting: as it was intended to adorn the walls of the Château de Sancerre, it seemed fitting to depict the structure as an integral part of the count’s history. Louis de Champagne, Count of Sancerre (1341/42–1402), was Lord of Charenton, Beaumetz (or Bommiers?), Menetou-Salon, and later Ambrault (1391). Having fought in numerous battles during the Hundred Years’ War, he was named Marshal of France in 1368 and distinguished himself in combat on many occasions. The chronicler Jean Froissart (c. 1337-c. 1410) described him as “a valiant man and a boldly steadfast knight” and “the finest ornament of French chivalry”. He also served as an ambassador to England in 1385, governor of Languedoc from 1390 to 1401, and finally Constable of France in 1397. The Count of Sancerre was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, where his effigy can still be seen today. This effigy, the closest temporal likeness of Louis de Champagne, was likely a source of inspiration for Jules-Claude Ziegler’s portrait. He is depicted here as constable, a title denoting the supreme commander of the king’s armies from the late 12th century, and as Lord of Sancerre, with the château in the background and his coat of arms included in the imagery. This representation aligns with the 19th century’s documentary interest in French history, particularly in the depiction of armor. This historical passion extended into the 20th century, as seen in the creation of this copy, which was accompanied by a frame adorned with neo-Gothic cabbage-leaf moldings.

Ref.15606
BALLEROY & Co. (porcelain), Joseph Albert PONSIN (painter), Pair of Decorative Plates Adorned with Portraits of an Assyrian Man and Woman, 1876?

This Pair of Ornamental Porcelain Dishes Was Crafted by the Company Balleroy & Cie in Limoges and Decorated by Joseph Albert Ponsin, Likely in 1876 Both dishes bear the mark of the company Balleroy & Cie. In 1900, brothers Antoine and Henri Balleroy acquired a factory in Limoges. Their partnership with Léon Mandavy and Paul Grenouillet de Mavaleix four years later resulted in the formation of the company “Balleroy & Cie”. The Balleroy brothers continued the business independently from 1908 onward, and Henri Balleroy eventually assumed sole leadership in 1929, managing the enterprise until its closure in 1937. The works are signed by Joseph Albert Ponsin (1842-1899), a former actor and songwriter who became one of the most renowned stained-glass painters of the late 19th century. Awarded a bronze medal at the 1889 World Fair, Ponsin also designed a “luminous palace” made of several thousand molded glass pieces for the 1900 Paris Exhibition. His use of porcelain is highly unusual within his work. The decorations on the two dishes are complementary, both in their chromatic harmony and in the selection and poses of the figures. The male figure’s profile exudes a certain severity, despite his slightly smiling lips. His long hair is matched by a similarly full beard. He wears an earring, and his opulent tunic combines gold and green. The female figure, in contrast, stands out against a blue background. Her attire is distinctly oriental: her gown is trimmed with gold, and her long black hair is adorned with a veil, secured on each side by two serpents and a wide golden band. In front of her is a white bird with a long yellow beak, which wraps its neck around one of its wings. Beneath the artist’s signature, the inscription “1[8?]76” provides an approximate date for the creation of these works. The portrait of the man bears a resemblance to the Dish with Assyrian Design by Théodore Deck and Albert Anker, housed in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Both Anker and Ponsin appear to have drawn inspiration from the same source: Sir Henry Layard’s publication, The Monuments of Nineveh from Drawings Made on the Spot Illustrated in 100 Plates (London, 1849). In Ponsin’s work, the male figure’s profile closely mirrors those in Layard’s book, though he took greater liberties than Anker in his interpretation of the character’s headdress.

Ref.16067
Antonio Salviati (Vicenza, 1816 – Venice, 1890), attributed to Mosaic portrait of Bernard Palissy

Trained as a lawyer, Antonio Salviati developed a keen interest in glassmaking and mosaic production. In 1859, after contributing to the restoration of the mosaics of St Mark’s Basilica, he founded his first glass and mosaic workshop. In 1866 he established a second company—Salviati & Cie—which he later divided into two distinct branches: glassmaking on the one hand and mosaic production on the other. Salviati was entrusted with major commissions. His firms produced the mosaic glass for the reredos of the high altar at Westminster Abbey (1866–1867), took part in the restoration of the Palatine Chapel in Aachen, executed exterior mosaics for the Opéra Garnier, and contributed to the decoration of the Albert Memorial, inaugurated in 1872. Salviati’s enterprise also became renowned for reviving the traditional glassmaking of Murano. This mosaic portrait depicts the French ceramist Bernard Palissy (1510–1590). Celebrated for his polychrome dishes and basins decorated with animals in relief, Palissy is shown here dressed in 16th-century attire. Rendered in a three-quarter view, he holds in his hands a “rustique figuline,” the term he used to describe his own creations. An eel or serpent can be discerned on the surface of the basin, recalling examples such as MR 2293 or R 231 preserved at the Musée du Louvre. In a similar spirit, Salviati supplied the tesserae for the mosaic portrait of Abraham Lincoln executed by Enrico Podio in 1866, now held in the United States Senate. Public appreciation for the meticulous craftsmanship of mosaicists has been particularly strong in Italy since the 16th century. While the 18th century renewed the fashion for micro-mosaics in precious luxury objects, the 19th century restored mosaic art to its status as a public art form—just as it had long been in Salviati’s native Venice. Through his entrepreneurial spirit, the lawyer-turned-master glassmaker played a central role in the resurgence of mosaic art in Europe between 1866 and 1890.