Ref.3445
Antique Regence period fireplace in Red from the North marble

This antique Regence style fireplace in Red from the North marble was made during the 19th century. Its imposing dimensions come from Louis XIV style while its lines are more and more curved which is characteristic of the Regence style. The jambs are discreetly fluted and support a frieze decorated with a large bollection.

Ref.11604
An antique Empire style overmantel, gilded, lions decorated pediment

Antique Empire style overmantel pierglass made out of wood and gilded stucco in the 19th century. Topped with a triangular pediment adorned with two winged lions framing a cup of fruit, this trumeau is adorned with the decorative vocabulary characteristic of the Empire style: rosettes in medallions, palmettes and flowers.

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.12839
Ferdinand Duvinage – Pair of single-flower vases with a ivory marquetry decoration

This beautiful pair of single-flower vases was made by Ferdinand Duvinage between 1874 and 1884. He files in 1874, 1876 and 1877 patents for a marquetry technique of mosaic with metallic partitioning for furniture and art objects. His method is really original because it involves the combined union of ivory as a base, wood for the designs or ornaments, and copper or other metal to partitioning the ivory fragments. The firm continues to participate to World Fairs where they win many medals, even though they are not that much mentioned by the critics, we know that the productions with the Japanese vocabulary created under the direction of Duvinage were also very appreciated and were a real commercial success. He creates here, a beautiful pair of vases in glass with a shaped thin and elegant shape, that evokes a flower’s corolla and adorned on the walls with a enameled reed decoration. The vases rest on a gilt bronze base remarkably and finely chiseled lightened up with a marquetry decoration of ivory taking from the process invented by the artist.

Ref.12083
Paul Berthier, Rebecca and Ruth, early 20th century

These two sculptures in marble were made by Paul Berthier in the early 20th century. Paul Berthier (1879-1916) was a pupil of two sculptors, Antonin Mercié and Victor Peter. He exhibited at the 1903 and 1904 Salons and received an honourable mention in 1904. His work is part of the Orientalism movement, with figures from the Maghreb and the Middle East, and animals representative of the fauna of these countries. The first of these two statues depicts a young woman standing by a well, holding a jug in her hand; she is dressed in a drape with light embroidery incised into the collar and lower fringe, and wearing a turban. Her name, Rebecca, is inscribed on the base. The second statue features a young woman dressed in the same way and carrying a sheaf of wheat at her side; the inscription refers to her as Ruth. The two statues correspond in their postures: Rebekah's hand is raised towards her lowered face, while Ruth's head is raised and she is looking straight ahead. Both are depicted in contrapposto. The names of the two young women refer to two biblical characters from the Old Testament: Rebecca is Isaac's wife, while Ruth is Boaz's wife. The first appears in the Genesis: Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. He tells him that he will find her drawing water, and that he will recognise her because she will give him something to drink. The sculptor depicts the young woman as she is described in the Bible, dressed simply, with a few jewels. The full jug symbolises her intact virginity, and her lowered face refers to her modesty and shyness. The story of Ruth is told in the book that bears her name. Originally from the kingdom of Moab, Ruth marries Noemiah's son; now a widow, she moves to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law. At harvest time, they both glean ears of wheat from a field belonging to Boaz. Ruth is shown meeting Boaz, holding the ears of wheat she has just gathered in her left hand and trying to hide them with her right. Berthier sculpted two women from the Bible as they meet their future husbands. These iconographic themes can also be found in the work of other artists. In 1855, Pierre Antoine Hippolyte Bonnardel sculpted Ruth Gleaning (now in the Louvre), a statue of the young woman in action. In 1866, Giovanni Maria Benzoni created a veiled Rebecca, now in the Salar Jung Museum in India. Both statues bear witness to the influence of Orientalism on Berthier's work. However, the models for these two figures are clearly characterised by a European canon of beauty, as was often the case at the time. This oriental influence is reminiscent of that exerted on the art of Eugène Delacroix, whose female figures may also be turbaned and wrapped in a wide drape marked at the waist, as in Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Blue Turban or Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi. Berthier's statues were therefore in keeping with the times, and with his contemporaries' pronounced taste for representations inspired by travel or accounts of journeys to the South or East. Like other artists, he did not have the opportunity to travel to these lands in person, but this did not prevent him from depicting a dreamlike, fantasised elsewhere.

Ref.14635
Louis XVI style vase decorated with rope and flowers

Ref.14808
BACCARAT, Pair of vases with Japanese decoration, circa 1900

Pair of Japanese-style vases made by the Baccarat crystalworks, around 1900. The crystalworks created these baluster-shaped vases in opaline glass resting on a patinated bronze setting. This precious glass is adorned with a natural, highly poetic decoration. Founded under Louis XV, the French crystal manufacturer Baccarat demonstrated its excellence at the Universal Exhibitions throughout the 19th century. The decoration is in keeping with the fashion for Japanese art at the end of the 19th century: against a cloudy gray background spangled with gold, branches of cherry blossom stand out against two birds, probably blue nuthatches and red shrikes, two Asian species. In the background, the full moon is flanked by a circular cartouche painted in imitation of Japanese prints. The bronze frame is also orientalist in style : it echoes the style of the belly of the vase. Baccarat created other vases with similar decoration, which are now in the Corning Museum of Glass.

Ref.15674
Pair of Oil Lamps in Satsuma Faience with Baccarat Opaline Globes – Second Half of the 19th Century

A superb and rare pair of Japanese oil lamps dating from the second half of the 19th century. The bases are made from Satsuma faience vases, richly decorated with polychrome enamels depicting detailed samurai scenes. The opaline glass globes, crafted by Baccarat, feature raised dragon motifs, adding a dramatic and symbolic touch to the ensemble. This pair is preserved in perfect condition.