Ref.15013
BACCARAT, Crystal Vase with Neo-Greek Decoration, circa 1867

This vase was executed by the Baccarat manufacture, which presented several pieces with similar decoration at the 1867 World’s Fair; it can therefore be dated to this period. Founded under Louis XV, the French crystal manufacture Baccarat demonstrated its excellence and creativity at the World Fairs throughout the 19th century. This double-layered crystal vase, etched with acid, adopts the shape of a crater, a vessel in which wine and water were mixed before meals in ancient Greece. Its decoration, blue on a white background, is also inspired by ancient Greece: the body is adorned with a figure of a young ephebe playing cymbals and a woman, probably a bacchante, dancing. Below the handles, there is a stylized decoration of scrolls and palmettes, while the base and neck are adorned with regular friezes. These elements are highlighted with gold. The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk (USA) and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris both have a Neo-Greek vase in the shape of an amphora executed by Baccarat around 1867, whose blue and white double crystal decorations are very similar to ours.

Ref.14143
Neo-Renaissance cabinet, Napoleon III era

This imposing Neo-Renaissance cabinet is a superb example of the eclectic taste under the rule of Napoleon III. Richly sculpted, it reuses the essential elements of Renaissance ornamentation: cornice, frieze of figures and Bacchic mascarons, a body flanked by pilasters with grotesque motifs and cornucopias supported by dolphins. A rare feature is the sculpted shields on the lower doors, depicting hunting and fishing trophies. Neo-Gothic chimeras are nestled in the corners and appear to support the upper section. The base of the cabinet take the appearance of monsters crushed beneath the weight of the piece—a motif borrowed from the corbels of Gothic architecture.