Ref.10746
Gilt bronze 19th-century Romantic clock set with the Four Seasons

This Romantic style garniture set was made in the 19th century. Including a clock and two candelabras, it is a beautiful gilt bronze garniture carved in a meticulous way over its entire surface, in the manner of romantic goldsmith's work. Like many Romantic works, the decoration is inspired by the Renaissance style , with many arabesques and grotesques. The important clock features a dial decorated with interlacings where the hours are painted in enamel. Four young women, allegories of the Four Seasons, were modeled after late medieval and early Renaissance statues, standing on winged chimeras. The arch front is crowned with two cherubs girl and boy, while the pedestal is chiselled of beautiful scrolls. The two candelabras with six branches are also richly carved and adorned with three musician children on their feet. The chiseling of the bronze is very fine and alternates smooth and textured surfaces to bring out the luxuriant ornamentation.

Ref.14019
Pair of neo-Gothic lanterns with fleur-de-lis and dolphins, circa 1895

This pair of neo-Gothic lanterns fits perfectly into the architecture of the Château de la Cordelière for which it was designed. Commissioned by Viscount Frédéric Chandon de Briailles (the son of the founder of the famous champagne house Moët & Chandon), the castle was built by the architect Raphaël Nicolas Sauger, between 1895 and 1900. The lights are suspended from a long wall bracket ending with a fleur-de-lis at each end and extending into a volute decorated with acanthus leaves ending on a dolphin's head. The lights themselves are crowned with fleur-de-lis as well as clovers evoking the family coat of arms (silver, with a fess gules, accompanied by three sable clovers). The lantern bulbs are protected by yellow and blue stained glass windows. A few underlying scrolls complete this very homogeneous decor. The decoration of these lanterns reveals the ambition of the commissioner: the fleur-de-lis and the dolphins are originally symbols reserved for the royal family; the Chandon de Briailles are counts, therefore close to the royal family, which they do not hesitate to affirm through these symbols.

Ref.15394
Napoleon III style gilded trumeau with richly decorated palmette motif

Ref.16006
Henri CHAPU — À la Jeunesse

This sculpture depicts a woman with her arm raised, leaning on a monument at the base of which are inscribed the words: “A LA JEUNESSE” (To Youth). Signed by Henri Chapu, this work is composed of various materials skillfully blended together: carved from white marble, the female figure holds a gilded bronze laurel branch in her hand and leans on a red stone monument left rough in places. Our work should be compared with two sketches dated around 1875, commissioned by the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1872 for a monument in memory of the painter Henri Regnault, who died at the front during the Franco-Prussian War. The first terracotta model is kept at the Musée Carnavalet (inv. S3494). Entitled La Jeunesse (Youth), the stele bears the inscription “LAUREA / NON LACRYMAE / 1870-1871.” Accompanied by the dates of the conflict, the motto “Glory, not tears” explains the motif of the laurel branch. The second sketch is a plaster cast kept at the Musée d'Orsay (inv. RF 1785) on which no date accompanies the sober dedication to Henri Regnault and the artist's signature. Henri Chapu présente le modèle au Salon de 1875 et remporte une médaille d’honneur. Le 12 août 1876, le monument est inauguré dans la cour du mûrier aux Beaux-Arts de Paris. Le succès de cette figure féminine porte le sculpteur à éditer le modèle dans trois dimensions en collaboration avec Ferdinand Barbedienne à partir de 1878. Ces fontes présentent quelques variantes quant à leur dédicace. Notre variante, sculptée de la main de l’artiste, est exceptionnelle : à notre connaissance, elle est la seule version à proposer une telle combinaison de matériaux. La variété des matériaux est soulignée par la diversité de leur traitement : la douceur du modelé de la figure féminine en marbre blanc contraste avec les degrés sommairement dégrossis dans la pierre rouge ou le chapiteau ionique gravé en très bas relief.