Ref.14747
Gilt bronze guéridon with painted porcelain plaque, after Adrian VAN DER WERFF, “The Dismissal of Hagar”

This circular display pedestal table in gilded bronze rests on an elaborately designed base. Large acanthus leaves rest on a tripod base and adorn a twisted fluted shaft. The top is decorated with eclectic motifs typical of the historicist style. The tabletop features a large German painted porcelain plaque based on the work of Dutch painter Adriaen van der Werff (1659–1722), The Banishment of Hagar (Genesis, 21:9), which is kept at the Dresden Museum. The image is distinguished by the delicacy of the expressions and the soft modeling of the skin tones, typical of late 19th-century German productions. On the reverse of the plaque, the inscription Verstoßung der Hagar identifies the scene, and a blue fasce coat of arms is probably linked to a private manufacturer in Dresden or Berlin, active around 1870-1900. The painted porcelain panel is set in a richly decorated frame presenting a light relief, combining finely chiseled gilded bronze and porcelain marquetry. The decorative elements include acanthus leaves, foliage, cornucopias, vases, and charming imaginary landscapes in gilded bronze within white porcelain cartouches.

Ref.14224
Maison Mottheau et Fils, Japonist gilt-bronze chandelier

Founded in 1864 by Maison Mottheau et Fils, when Ernest Mottheau was only 23 years old, the firm became one of the great Parisian names in the design and manufacture of chandeliers and candelabra. Ernest Mottheau frequently collaborated with sculptors in the creation of certain works. The firm took part in the Universal Exhibitions of 1867, 1878, 1889 (gold medal), and 1900. The 1900 Universal Exhibition crowned a lifetime of work, as Ernest Mottheau was awarded a Grand Prix for La Nature, a torchère in onyx and gilt bronze created in collaboration with the ornamental sculptor Eugène Piat, making full use of the possibilities offered by the then-new electrical technology. Designed around 1900, this Japonist chandelier with dragons in gilt bronze by Maison Mottheau is fitted with seven lights. It features three dragons descending onto an openworked hexagonal band. The winged creatures are finely chased, their jaws open in a powerful expression. Pierced Japonist motifs, evoking architectural elements, alternate with the dragons along the band. Flowering plum branches emerge from within these openwork motifs, while flower-shaped glass shades cover the bulbs. The lower section holds an engraved glass bowl and terminates in a fleuron motif.