Ref.3326
Beautiful antique Napoleon III fireplace with windings and acanthus leaves in Black Belgium marble

This Napoleon III style fireplace was made in the 19th century. Its shelf rests on doucine-shaped capitals, setting back the entablature. The jambs are richly ornamented, giving relief to the sumptuous Belgium Black marble . Console feet are strongly curved by large scrolls, decorated on the sides with a central flower and a sculpted bellflower. Topped with matching modillions, they are covered with acanthus leaves and adorned with a row of oblong pearls.

Ref.18720
Matthew (1815-1889) and Willem (1816-1881) HORRIX (attrib. to) Important dining room set in "Black Forest" style

This dining room set set was made in the second half of the 19th century. It is very likely that it was designed by the Horrix workshops, of the brothers Matthew and Willem HORRIX. Here the rustic style, also called in the 19th « Black Forest », expressed itself at its fully. All the various elements that are composing this dining room set were made of beech wood richly carved imitating nature, with a nice brown patina. Thus, those furniture seems to be made of twigs, roots, vines, flowers and fruits. Amusing details sprang out of the carving, such as snails, grasshoppers, beetles.… and different elements are in the form of plants, for instance the buffets' handles are mushrooms' shaped. The Dining Room set is composed of: - 2 SIDEBOARDS opening with two doors and two drawers. Topped with mercury mirrors (oxidized). Dim.: H. 78''3/4 x L. 53''9/16 x D. 24''3/16 cm. - 1 SERVER, trapezoidal, with Blue Turquin marble topped by a miror and a narrow shelf. It opens with two drawers and the jambs holding two shelves. Dim.: H. 59''5/8 x L. 53''1/8 x D. 20''1/2 cm. - 5 CURTAIN RODS, branch shaped and decorated with vine leaves, topped with a basket of grapes. Dim.: H. 13'' x L. 69''5/16 – 77''3/16 x D. 3''15/16 cm. - 1 round TABLE with a central quad (slightly piqued), that can be opend (extensions missing). Dim.: H.. 30''1/2 x L. 50'' x D. 52''3/8 cm. - 6 CHAIRS, all unique, each receiving a different carved decoration, with brown leather-upholstered. Dim.: H. 36''1/4 x L. 18''7/8 x D. 21''11/16 cm.

Ref.11850
Beautiful cement doghouse in Rocaille style

Beautiful doghouse with half-timbered decoration and "rocaille" style, a rustic art very popular at the end of the 19th century. This doghouse was built in reinforced cement, imitating tree branches. André TEXIER Plate, mason in Normandy (France).

Ref.11955
Maison Denière - Patinated and gilded bronze clock symbolizing Uranie

Antique Louis XVI style clock, made in the 19th century, in chased and gilded bronze. It depicts Urania, the muse of astronomy, sitting on a platform on which celestial planes, structures, a compass and a sphere rest. Dial signed Denière in Paris. Counter base in Red Griotte marble.

Ref.12655
Ettore XIMENES (1855-1926) (attr. to), « Boy with a beret », Carrara marble bust, Second half of the 19th century

This Carrara marble bust was made in the second half of the 19th century, it depicts a boy with young features, his head turned slightly to the left. He is dressed with a sailor collar jacket and a large beret. This sculpture can be compared with another bust depicting a similar subject and made by the Italian sculptor Ettore Ximenes (1855 – 1926). It's the representation of a boy, obvisouly a little bit older than ours, frowning and smoking a cigarette. He is dressed with a fabric around his shoulders and a beret put on his head in the same way than in our bust. Ettore Ximenes is an Italian sculptor, painter and illustrator, born in 1855 in Palermo and dead in Roma in 1926. He starts his artistic career by taking class at the Art Academy of Palermo, then from 1872 he enters the Royal Academy of Napoli where he spends time with the painter Domenico Morelli (1826 – 1901) and the sculptors Stanislao Lista (1924 - 1908) and Vincenzo Gemito (1852 – 1929). Finally, he wins in 1874, a scholarship to study for four years in Firenze. The works of art he makes at his beginning are very realistic like in the two busts presented here. Later, he starts adding symbolic elements et Neo-Renaissance ones answering the artistic trend of the end of the century. All along his career, he participates to many European exhibitions such as the International Exhibition of Vienna in 1873 or the one in Paris in 1878 where he meets the French sculptors Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917) and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827 - 1875). He participates also to the Napoli exhibition in 1877 where he exhibits a full-size sculpture untitled “Balance” which depicts a gymnast woman walking on a sphere, of which many small bronzes were made after. From the 80's, he makes many monumental projects in Italy and decides to dedicate himself to it from 1911 to enliven the public spaces of the world by sculpting for some cities like New York, Sao Paulo, Kiev or Buenos Aires.

Ref.11361
Small Japanese unit with a decor of vase with flowers and mother of pearl inlays

This small Japanese unit is a work made of tainted sycamore in the 1880's in the taste of Gabriel Viardot (1830-1904), important Parisian furniture maker specilized in the Japanese furniture. Our furniture is composed of a first higher unit with a glazed door and a small dresser opening by a door, surmounted by a small shelf. All our furniture is adorned with motifs in relief inspired by the Asian iconography, such as dargon, poppy flowers, a hanging vase or even decorative elements in frieze. We also find mother of pearl inlays bringing light to the furniture thanks to the contrast and also forming friezes of flowers. Our furniture rests on typical feet and is surmounted by a pediment inspired by the pagoda roof. The sides receive a carved decor depicting bamboo branches and clouds.

Ref.12204
Large pink and green earthenware planter with plant decoration

This large pink and green earthenware planter is decorated in the centre with a medallion surrounded by scrolls and acanthus leaves, with two horizontal bands surrounded by a plant decoration of large leaves and flowers. Two bands of gadroons on three sides of the piece frame the central decoration, and are embellished with beehives in their corners. The piece is made up of different separable parts, as earthenware pieces, which need to be fired at high temperatures in a kiln, must have volumes adapted to the kiln in which they are fired. Each part was made separately from the others and then, once all the parts had been fired, they were all assembled to obtain the final work. Each part is signed by the artist, Pierre Perret, and by the place where the planter was produced, Mont Boron in Nice. The intertwining of plant motifs in the decoration, giving an effect of movement, and the imposing size of this planter are a perfect example of Napoleon III's reinterpretation of the Baroque style, however, the colours seem more markedly Art Nouveau, particularly the green that appears in the ceramics under the direction of the Massier family. A former notary of the town of Vallauris, located on the French Riviera, Pierre Perret worked from 1895 with the Massier family, owners of a ceramic factory. This family of ceramists innovated in the artistic field through their research into old techniques, such as glazed earthenware, or metallic lustre, but also showed great originality, characteristic of the works of the factory, with the search for harmony between green and purple with a floral and plant vocabulary of the art nouveau. In 1898, Pierre Perret bought the Mont Boron and Vallauris potteries from Jérôme Massier Fils (Jean-Baptiste). He sold them in 1901, but after going bankrupt in 1908, took over his property, finally selling it to Jean-Baptiste Massier in 1909.

Ref.15032
Charles Stanislas MATIFAT, the elephant clock an oriental model presented at the Crystal Palace in 1851

Biography of Charles Stanislas Matifat Regarded as one of the most prominent Parisian art founders of the mid-19th century, Charles Stanislas Matifat established his decorative bronze factory and showroom in 1820. His creations were renowned for their exceptional refinement and high quality of finish. The bronzier was celebrated for his ability to seek out new, varied, and elegant forms, devoting as much care to the execution as to the selection of his models. Recognized for his technical expertise, he collaborated with famous sculptors such as Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and Emmanuel Frémiet on the creation of monumental bronzes, notably for the Fontaine de l'Observatoire in Paris. His work was also highly esteemed by architect Charles Garnier, who commissioned him to cast the monumental torchères that still adorn the Opéra Garnier today. Description of the Work Created for the European and Ottoman-Persian markets, this clock bears the signature of Charles Stanislas Matifat and the date 1851. This specific model was showcased in the French section of the very first Universal Exhibition, held at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851. Matifat’s work was particularly well-received by the jury, which awarded him a second-class medal. The structure of the piece is defined by a pair of elephants supporting an Oriental architecture of rare complexity. The tiered composition incorporates motifs evoking Persian decorative arts, such as polylobed arches, bulbous domes, and crescents. The exquisite finesse of the polychrome ornamentation is achieved through a glass-on-bronze enamel process invented by the founder himself. This piece stands as a testament to Matifat’s technical and aesthetic inventiveness, successfully merging exotic influences with the precision of French art casting.

Ref.15238
Maison des Bambous, Alfred PERRET and Ernest VIBERT (attributed to) - Japanese sideboard with fan-shaped mirror