Ref.11249
Pair of cassolettes with blowers and griffins, in Napoleon III style, in Vert de Mer, Jaune de Sienne marble and gilded bronze.

Very nice pair of antique Napoleon III style cassolettes made out of gilded and chiseled bronze, Siena yellow and sea green marbles, revealing a beautiful polychrome. The work of bronze is quite interesting, especially in the patterns of griffins and players of aulos. Wind instrument very used during the Antiquity in religious rites, the aulos is composed mainly of a pipe pierced with holes, most often played in pairs. The general shape of these cassolettes is reminiscent of the Athenian, sort of pedestal table with three high feet supporting a shelf or a basin, forming a cassolette, a burning-perfume or a basin to wash the hands. Appeared at the end of the 18th century, the Athenian is inspired by the models of antiquity found during the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Neoclassicism of the decorative vocabulary, combined with the shape of these cassolettes inspired by Antiquity and the polychromy of the materials mark well a Napoleon III style realization of high quality where eclecticism is the signature.

Ref.12369
Louis XV period fireback with the coat of arms of France

This cast iron fireback was made in the 18th century. It presents the arms of France crowned in a decoration of foliated scrolls.

Ref.11997
Clément MASSIER, Allegory of Dante, glazed ceramic dish with iridescent glaze

This ornamental dish entitled "Allegory of Dante" was created by Clément Massier around 1900. Clément Massier trained under his father and one of his workers, Gaetano Gandolfi. He settled in Golfe-Juan, near Vallauris, with his brother Delphin, in 1883. This plate with a symbolist design reveals his mastery of iridescent (or metallic luster) glazed ceramics, for which he was awarded a gold medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. It features variations in blue, gray, and pink tones. The silhouettes of Dante and Virgil, his guide in hell, barely stand out against a desolate landscape evoking hell as described by the author in his Divine Comedy. The figures are on the edge of a precipice; they are likely standing before the frozen lake in which Lucifer is trapped, at the lowest point of hell. The work is signed under the base; the inscription specifies that it was made in Golfe-Juan. Clément Massier also created a plate in iridescent glazed earthenware depicting Dante contemplating the sea. Its iridescent decor in blue, pink, and purple tones also results in a depiction filled with mystery and poetry.

Ref.15009
Conrad KIESEL (after), Japonist portrait of a woman wearing a kimono, circa 1880

This portrait of a European woman dressed in the manner of a Japanese woman, set against a Japonisant backdrop, was probably executed after a work by the German painter Conrad Kiesel, displaying the same features. Several copies of this work, executed like ours in oil painted on embossed leather, were however attributed to Franz Schier. Against a background of embossed leather decorated with motifs of flowers, butterflies (a symbol of eternity in Far Eastern cultures) and dragons, a woman with European features stands out, dressed in the Japanese manner: she wears a short-sleeved kimono (known as a tomesode) fastened by an obi (a wide Japanese sash) tied at the back. Her hair is arranged with a butterfly-shaped comb and chopsticks, and she holds a fan in her right hand. Her bracelet, however, owes more to Orientalism than to Japonisme. In the lower right corner, her legs appear caught in a bush of pink flowers, thus justifying the imbalance of her posture. The enthusiasm born in the second half of the nineteenth century, notably following the reopening of Japan to international trade and its participation in the 1867 Universal Exhibition, took the name of "Japonisme". It sparked a genuine revolution in Western art, strongly inspiring numerous artists across all fields. This work bears witness to the powerful influence of Japanese art on Western creations at the end of the nineteenth century, both in subject and in execution, notably in the deliberate absence of depth and perspective, tempered however by the presence of the flowers.

Ref.14143
Neo-Renaissance cabinet, Napoleon III era

This imposing Neo-Renaissance cabinet is a superb example of the eclectic taste under the rule of Napoleon III. Richly sculpted, it reuses the essential elements of Renaissance ornamentation: cornice, frieze of figures and Bacchic mascarons, a body flanked by pilasters with grotesque motifs and cornucopias supported by dolphins. A rare feature is the sculpted shields on the lower doors, depicting hunting and fishing trophies. Neo-Gothic chimeras are nestled in the corners and appear to support the upper section. The base of the cabinet take the appearance of monsters crushed beneath the weight of the piece—a motif borrowed from the corbels of Gothic architecture.