Ref.15606
BALLEROY & Co. (porcelain), Joseph Albert PONSIN (painter), Pair of Decorative Plates Adorned with Portraits of an Assyrian Man and Woman, 1876?

This Pair of Ornamental Porcelain Dishes Was Crafted by the Company Balleroy & Cie in Limoges and Decorated by Joseph Albert Ponsin, Likely in 1876 Both dishes bear the mark of the company Balleroy & Cie. In 1900, brothers Antoine and Henri Balleroy acquired a factory in Limoges. Their partnership with Léon Mandavy and Paul Grenouillet de Mavaleix four years later resulted in the formation of the company “Balleroy & Cie”. The Balleroy brothers continued the business independently from 1908 onward, and Henri Balleroy eventually assumed sole leadership in 1929, managing the enterprise until its closure in 1937. The works are signed by Joseph Albert Ponsin (1842-1899), a former actor and songwriter who became one of the most renowned stained-glass painters of the late 19th century. Awarded a bronze medal at the 1889 World Fair, Ponsin also designed a “luminous palace” made of several thousand molded glass pieces for the 1900 Paris Exhibition. His use of porcelain is highly unusual within his work. The decorations on the two dishes are complementary, both in their chromatic harmony and in the selection and poses of the figures. The male figure’s profile exudes a certain severity, despite his slightly smiling lips. His long hair is matched by a similarly full beard. He wears an earring, and his opulent tunic combines gold and green. The female figure, in contrast, stands out against a blue background. Her attire is distinctly oriental: her gown is trimmed with gold, and her long black hair is adorned with a veil, secured on each side by two serpents and a wide golden band. In front of her is a white bird with a long yellow beak, which wraps its neck around one of its wings. Beneath the artist’s signature, the inscription “1[8?]76” provides an approximate date for the creation of these works. The portrait of the man bears a resemblance to the Dish with Assyrian Design by Théodore Deck and Albert Anker, housed in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Both Anker and Ponsin appear to have drawn inspiration from the same source: Sir Henry Layard’s publication, The Monuments of Nineveh from Drawings Made on the Spot Illustrated in 100 Plates (London, 1849). In Ponsin’s work, the male figure’s profile closely mirrors those in Layard’s book, though he took greater liberties than Anker in his interpretation of the character’s headdress.

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.