Ref.12874
Lot of 10.5 m² of antique hexagonal terracotta tiles, 19th century

Antique 19th century period floor composed of hexagonal terracotta tiles. About 620 tiles of which the six sides are 3 3/8 for 6" 11/16 length and 1" thick. The whole surface area is about 10.5 m².

Ref.15005
Friedrich HÜLLWECK, A Fine Catch, late 19th to early 20th century

This sculptural group depicting a fisherman and a mermaid, created by Friedrich Hüllweck, was originally designed as a basin ornament. The German sculptor Friedrich Hüllweck (1870-1945) worked notably in Dessau, Germany. He served as both a professor and director at a school of arts and crafts, likely the one founded in Dessau in 1888. From 1912 to 1922, he directed the woodcarving school in Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój, Poland (known in German as the “Holzschnitzschule Bad Warmbrunn”), contributing significantly to its development and raising its interregional reputation. He later joined the applied arts school in Flensburg, where he also held the position of director. Among his notable works are a statue of Eike von Repko, a 13th-century legal administrator considered a foundational figure in German law, a statue of Saint John, and, according to the Handbuch des Kunstmarktes, one of the two bears guarding the entrance to the Ducal Mausoleum in Dessau. This sculpture portrays a fisherman and a mermaid. It is unclear whether the mermaid has been caught in the fisherman’s net or whether she has lured him and now seeks to drag him into the depths. In either case, true to tradition, the mermaid embodies both seduction and strength: while the man firmly holds her on his knee, grasping her arm and one of her tails, she reaches for his left chest and thigh, attempting to pull him along with her. She smiles, revealing her teeth, and her loose hair, crowned with flowers, cascades down her shoulders and back. In contrast, the fisherman, depicted with heroic nudity reminiscent of ancient sculptures, shows a face strained with effort. The rock on which the figures stand is covered by the fisherman’s net and scattered with marine elements such as a starfish and a seashell. The depiction of mermaids as half-woman, half-fish creatures originates from Nordic medieval legends. These legends, like Greek mythology, portray mermaids as seductive beings meant to lead sailors to their doom. In the 19th century, mermaids became a favored subject, especially among artists of the Jugendstil movement – the German expression of Art Nouveau that flourished in Germany and neighboring countries at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1896, Ernst Herter created a sculpture on the same subject, now located in Viktoriapark in Berlin. This piece, titled The Rare Catch (“Der seltene Fang” in German), clearly shows the fisherman capturing the mermaid in his net. He appears both surprised and delighted, while the mermaid (or nixe in German mythology) struggles to escape, reversing the roles typically seen in mythological tales.

Ref.15673
Victor BALTARD, Medallion from the Wheat and Flour Pavilion of the Paris Central Market, circa 1860

This medallion is one of the only bas-reliefs to have been preserved after the destruction of the Halles centrales of Paris in 1971. This exceptional rediscovery now brings the number of original medallions still existing and located to four. The first, with the coat of arms of Paris, is in the collections of the Carnavalet Museum. Two other copies had been saved by Mr. Crucy, contractor in the destruction of the Halles in 1971, and were sold in 2022: one identical to that of the Carnavalet and the other representing an allegory of wheat. Finally, the only counterpart of the latter is the medallion that we present here; the fourth and final bas-relief found. Together, these two allegories of wheat decorated the entrance to the Pavilion of Wheat and Flour above which culminated a third bas-relief, with the coat of arms of Paris. Ce médaillon en alliage métallique présente en son centre une femme drapée à l’antique tenant de sa main droite une botte d’épis de blé. La figure centrale est entourée de part et d’autre de cornes d’abondance, symbolisant le foisonnement de produits qui pouvaient être trouvés dans ces Halles historiques. Le Pavillon au blé et à la farine était essentiel puisque c’était là qu’une grande partie des Parisiens et des commerçants (restaurateurs, boulangers, pâtissiers) venaient se fournir pour faire leur pain ou leurs pâtisseries. En 1848, un concours fut organisé pour trouver l’architecte qui aurait la charge de construire les nouvelles Halles de Paris. La décision se porta sur Victor Baltard (1805-1914), architecte déjà reconnu puisqu’il avait entre autres remporté le Prix de Rome 15 ans plus tôt. S’il était prévu que les Halles soient construites en pierre, Napoléon III en changea les plans au profit d’une structure en métal après une visite sur le chantier en 1853. Fasciné par le Crystal Palace de Londres inauguré en 1851 pour l’Exposition universelle, Napoléon III était devenu un fervent promoteur de cette nouvelle architecture en France. C’est la Fonderie de Mazières et Bourges qui fut en charge du projet. Les Halles, qualifiées de « Ventre de Paris » par Emile Zola, sont aujourd’hui encore l’oeuvre la plus reconnue de Victor Baltard, une institution qui reste emblématique plus de 50 ans après sa disparition. Chacun des 12 pavillons des Halles était ouvert par une porte monumentale de 20 mètres de haut ornée de trois médaillons. Comme évoqué plus haut, les armes de Paris étaient toujours placées dans le médaillon sommital, tandis que les deux autres représentaient la marchandise dudit pavillon. Le bas-relief que nous vous présentons ici est donc le second et dernier exemplaire existant de médaillon représentant le blé qui ait orné le Pavillon au blé et à la farine.