Ref.12449
Eugène Piat (attr. to), Gilt-bronze wall light

This sumptuous gilt bronze wall lantern is attributed to Eugène Piat (1827-1903). The design, with its historicist references, complex and inventive, is typical of the ornemaniste. The acanthus leaves unfurl into a winged chimera forming both the lantern and a basket housing a modernised lighting system. If there is one artist who grasped the full significance of industry applied to the arts, it is assuredly Eugène Piat. A leading figure in the nineteenth-century rapprochement between industry and the arts, Piat was among the co-founders in 1864 of the Union Centrale des Beaux-arts appliqués à l'Industrie, the forerunner of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Our wall lantern is representative of his work in that the artist applies the technical possibilities offered by industry to the bronze d'art. Piat collaborated with numerous trading houses, among them De Marnyhac, Lemerle-Charpentier, Maison Marchand and Mottheau, whose preferred clientele was the urban bourgeoisie. In 1889, the Jury of the Universal Exhibition observed: « Manufacturers owe him their greatest successes. » The choice of gilt bronze and the prominence of ornamentation reflect the relative need felt by the nineteenth-century urban bourgeoisie to manifest its opulence. The historicist and eclectic aesthetic then in vogue particularly appealed to this rising bourgeoisie, eager to signal its command of historical references, which it wished to be at least equal to that of the nobility. Although the founder of our model is unknown today, the quality of the casting is excellent and allows for an attribution to the Maison Barbedienne. By skilfully employing vegetal elements in his composition, Eugène Piat confers upon this wall lantern an effect of continuous metamorphosis. One of the chimera's legs rests on a lion-headed mascaron while the other is extended toward the basket; the lower part of its body transforms into foliage brushing against the winged bust, while from the unfurling volute forming the neck emerges a grotesque mask from which the imposing basket is suspended. The design, of great virtuosity, skilfully blends volutes and rinceaux with the wings that form the main support of the sconce. This work presents an association of styles characteristic of the ornemaniste's historicist production: a trefoil motif at the base of the basket (Gothic inspiration), a lion-muzzle mascaron (Renaissance), palmettes along the rim of the basket (Greek Antiquity), and the sinuous form of the chimera's body (evoking the Chinese dragons fashionable in France from the eighteenth century). His numerous collaborations contributed to his international recognition. The 1889 Universal Exhibition was a resounding success for Piat, the only artist in Group III (furniture and accessories) to win a Grand Prix. The jury was effusive in its praise: « Mr Piat deserves it in every respect; for nearly forty years, he has been at the forefront of those industrial artists who ensure the pre-eminence of our art industries. Mr Piat is the creator of the most remarkable works to have appeared at the international exhibitions [...]. » At the end of his career, he donated his archives and his most important works to the Musée Saint-Loup in Troyes, thereby contributing to the creation of one of the first museums dedicated to the decorative arts in France.

Ref.13325
Series of four simple Louis XV style doors

These four simple doors were made of wood painted in white in the late 19th century. Three of them are identical and present a beautiful Rococo decoration in relief composed of scrolls, shells and acanthus leaves on their main side. The verso is not adorned but we can see frame line of the main side. The fourth door is adorned on both sides, the recto depicts a beautiful Louis XV decoration with the same decoration than on the three others, while the verso depicts a simple paneled decoration.

Ref.13323
Series of three double wood doors with glasses

Series of three double doors with glasses on more than half of the heigh, some are bearing recent mirrors stuck above, especially on the lower part. The door's ironworks are made of bronze.

Ref.13418
Pair of double oak doors with an Oriental inspiration

These double doors were made of oak in the 19th century. They are adorned on their main side with an Oriental inspired decoration.

Ref.15235
BACCARAT - Pair of Persian ruby bottle-shaped vases, circa 1880

This pair of Persian bottle-shaped vases with Japanese vegetal decoration was made by the Baccarat crystal works around 1880. Founded under the reign of Louis XV, the French crystal manufacturer Baccarat excellence at the World's Fairs throughout the 19th century. These ruby-hued blown crystal vases feature acid-etched and gilded decoration. The Japanese-style decoration features a plant stretching its branches around the circumference, interrupted only at the ring, in the middle of the neck, and at the top. The top of the neck is decorated with geometric friezes. The influence of Japanese prints is perceptible in the theme, as well as in the way of space and the representation of the plant world. Each vase bears an antique label on the base, marked "BACCARAT - FRANCE". The Baccarat crystal works produced a number of ruby-colored vases with very similar designs similar to this one in the 1880s, including two from a set that sold at at Drouot in 2016.

Ref.5112
Louis XVI periode mantel in statuary marble adorned with a string of pearls

Ref.15266
Jacques Philippe IMBERTON, Orientalist-Style Bowl, second half of the 19th century

This bowl was made by Imberton in the second half of the 19th century. Jacques Philippe Imberton was born in Portugal in 1846. This glassmaker and enameller participated in the major exhibitions held between 1878 and 1889, during which he received several gold medals. He notably invented a new glass enamelling process, a technical achievement that took his name. This glass is a fine example of his work. Its enamelled decoration, standing out clearly against the smoked glass, is inspired by oriental motifs forming a geometric frieze. The ornamentation of the base mirrors that of the neck; in the middle of the base, the bulge of the baluster also features delicate decoration. With its design, this bowl can be compared to an enamelled glass mosque lamp made by Imberton in 1881, which is housed at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris.

Ref.15315
Quadruple glass door

Ref.5555
Louis XVI style carved in Carrara marble mantel with flower

This fireplace is in the XVI-style and is made of Carrara marble. This white marble, sometimes with gray veins, quarried in the Apuan Alps, highlights the fireplace’s central and lateral flower motifs. The band is adorned with a central ceiling rose featuring a flower. On either side of this ceiling rose, moldings extend across the band, following its shape. On the console part of the fireplace, acanthus leaves and a bud form a flower motif in relief, contrasting with the rest of the fireplace. The rest of the fireplace legs repeat the fluting motifs of the Greek columns, with variations added by filling in the fluting at the bottom of the leg.

Ref.15591
THOMIRE & Cie, Hunting-Themed Centerpiece, before 1853

This hunting-themed centerpiece was crafted by the Thomire & Cie company around 1850. Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843) was the most famous member of a distinguished family of artists. The son of a founder, he excelled in bronze production and received prestigious commissions. In 1804, his company, Thomire, Duterme & Cie, acquired the succession of the cabinetmaking, bronze, gilding, and curiosities business of Martin-Éloi Lignereux and incorporated its own bronze and gilding workshop. In 1820, Pierre-Philippe Thomire founded a new company with his sons-in-law, Carbonelle and Beauvisage, who took over the company in 1823. This firm continued its production until 1853, ten years after its founder’s death. This centerpiece belonged to the noble de Pierres family. Originally from Anjou, the de Pierres family dates back at least to the 13th century with Baudouin I, Lord of Plessis-Baudouin. ‘Pour loyauté soutenir’ is the family motto, while their coat of arms is “or, a cross pattée couped gules”. This particular coat of arms must have adorned the de Pierres table when they hosted at the Château des Brétignolles in Anché, which belonged to the family from 1811 to 1932. The centerpiece consists of a large central bowl, two candelabras, and four compotes, each featuring Renaissance-inspired motifs related to the theme of hunting. The central piece rests on four reclining stags bearing the weight of the structure, each lifting its front left leg as if to rise. The exceptional precision of the chasing renders both the silky texture of the animals’ fur and the roughness of their antlers. Their posture recalls that of the magnificent beast accompanying Diana in the statue from the Château d’Anet, now housed at the Louvre Museum. The circular base of the piece, supported by the backs of the stags, is bordered by a frieze of eggs and darts. Above, it features a space adorned with feminine masks framed in cartouches connected by still-life motifs. The upper level is decorated with four pairs of animal heads: two pairs of hunting dogs and two pairs of snarling wolves. A gadroon frieze introduces a vase motif, topped by twisted flutes containing a rose surrounded by leafy designs. Under the bowl, scrolls and palmettes reminiscent of Renaissance grotesques unfold, interspersed with still-life fruit motifs. Near the rim of the bowl, a second level multiplies the intricate leafy patterns. Each candelabra rests on a polygonal base topped by a mirror frieze and a heart-leaf frieze. The arrangement of the four animal heads differs slightly from the central piece: two deer heads are flanked on one side by a dog’s head and on the other by a snarling wolf. The upper section, introduced by a gadroon frieze, features a column with spiraling fluting encircling the shaft. This column supports a platform where three light arms extend in an arc, one ending in a volute and the other in a griffin’s head supporting a leafy basin. At the center, an ornamental support holds a fourth basin. For the four compotes, the dog heads alternate with wolf heads, echoing the design of the centerpiece and unifying the set. Each supports a flared glass corolla. Two pieces of evidence support the attribution of this set to Thomire & Cie. First, one of the wooden supports beneath the base of the compotes bears an inscription written in ink, linking the centerpiece to a certain “Mr. Tomirun(e)”, a distorted reference to the bronzier and founder’s name. Second, the motif of the four animal heads – stag, dog, and snarling wolf – can be found identically on the candelabras of a Carrara marble and gilt bronze fireplace garniture signed “Thomire & Cie”, sold at CR Art Auctions in 2024.