Ref.11645
Clock with a egyptian meharist on his mount, late 19th century

This clock was made in the late 19th century. Made out of spelter, it represents an Egyptian meharist riding a camel. A regiment of camels was created by Napoleon Bonaparte during the Campaign of Egypt between 1799 and 1801. The armament consists, in addition to the sword and the pistols, in a bayonet rifle which seems to be the missing element in the hand of the character . The dial with enamelled Roman numerals is placed close to the saddle.

Ref.13002
Surprising pair of varnished earth depicting a woman bust, North Italy, circa 1850

This pair of andirons is quite original because of the material used to create them. Indeed, very often we find andirons made of cast iron or wrought iron but not many in ceramic. Our pair of andirons is the work of an art craftsman, living in the old Duchy of Savoy in the north west of the actual Italy, annexed by France under the Second Empire, while the rest of the Italian peninsula territories are integrated to the new kingdom of Italy. The shape of these anthropomorphic andirons are quite simple, they are decorated with women busts of which each face’s lines and strand of hair have been marked carefully, while the front is adorned with neoclassical decoration with volutes. Sculpted in terra cotta, they were next, enameled with a brown glaze. Our pair of andirons were presented during the exhibition « Terres de feu, de lumière et de songes » organized in Aubagne in 2009 by les Ateliers Thérèse Neveu and are illustrated on the exhibition catalogue at page 18. This event was the occasion to reunite many ceramic objects used to heat, light and smoke.

Ref.16024
KOWALSKY Léopold-Franz – "Summer"

Léopold-Franz Kowalsky (1856–1931) was a French painter renowned for his portraits of young women and idyllic rural scenes. A student of Henri Lehmann, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1878 and later studied at the Académie Julian. He first exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1881 and continued to do so until 1914. His painting Summer (Été) was shown several times at the Salon: in 1899 at the Galerie des Machines (no. 1073), and again in 1909 (no. 1003) and 1913 (no. 1009) at the Grand Palais. In the foreground’s tall grass, vivid patches of color represent flowers being gathered by three young women dressed in classical-style robes. Their arrangement subtly echoes the classical motif of the Three Graces. Despite the soft, hazy sunlight, one figure wipes her brow, a gesture that conveys the summer heat and the physical effort of gathering blooms. Two tree masses frame the scene, while a blue-tinted hill closes the landscape in the distance through atmospheric perspective. The composition evokes a pastoral and sensual ideal characteristic of Belle Époque aesthetics. The painting is in excellent condition and retains its original gilt papier-mâché frame. On the back, the stretcher bears an original period label inscribed with the title Été ("Summer").