Ref.03168
The seats coming from an exceptional furniture set realized by Moses Michelangelo Guggenheim for the Palazzo Papadopoli in Venice, Italy

Two armchairs and four chairs in carved walnut wood. This set is coming from the Palazzo Papadopoli, Venice, Italy, "Salone delle Quattro Porte" which was totally refurnished between 1874 and 1881 by Moses Michelangelo Guggenheim . The armchairs and the chairs of this set are produced in the same way with the difference that the armchairs are fitted with sculpted armrests. The base is made of four legs resting on round feet. The two front feet are tapered and fluted in their middle part, similar to columns. The architectural language here adopts an ornamental theme. The two back legs are from a square section. The feet are connected to each other by a spacer in the shape of an H, decorated in its center with an image of acanthus leaves. The frame of the seat is carved from a frieze of small flowers taking place in flowery containers. The main surface is decorated with a plant motif hanging from this frame. In the center of this motif is a crown of a duke. The uprights of the back are represented in an identical manner on all the chairs. The upper part shows the busts of sheathed women carved in very high relief and ending with an acanthus leaf. They rest on a console which again depicts the crown of the duke.The handles of the two chairs are a beautiful work of sculpture, notably through the back attachment where a winding acanthus leaf is represented. The grips protrude from the arms and show the heads women with extravagantly made up hair.

Ref.11547
A large Louis XV style bench made out of gilded wood

This beautiful bench was made out of gilded wood during the 19th century. Its ornamentation is characteristic of Louis XV style with highly decorative curves and counter-curves, stylised shells, vegetal rinceaux and Acanthus leaves forming scrolls. Modern seat padding.

Ref.14831
Italy, 19th century, Rare armchair with owls.

Walnut Armchair with OwlsThis extraordinary armchair is designed like the bow of a boat. In walnut and fully carved it is very unique.The armrests and chair back are topped by carved figures of owls. They stand peacefully, their claws dug into moon crescents. Several owls are carved in low relief on both sides of the seat. On the seat, the birds stand on a crescent flanked by holly branches.By the quality of the carvings and originality of design this is a remarkable and highly decorative piece of furniture.

Ref.11229
Emmanuel FREMIET (1824-1910) et Emile MÜLLER ET CIE The Eagle and The Lizard, ridge tiles after the sculpture of the Château of Pierrefonds

Glazed stoneware H : 60 cm / 23” 5/8 ; W : 76 cm / 29” 15/16 ; D. : 30 cm / 30” 13/16. Circa 1900 A major sculptor of the nineteenth century, Emmanuel Frémiet imagined "The Eagle" around 1878, a chimera with an armor and its feet protected by spurs, for the renovation of the Chateau of Pierrefonds under the direction of Viollet-le-Duc. The Grande Tuilerie of Ivry creates from this stone sculpture a work in glazed sandstone circa 1900, of which we have here a copy. These enameled stoneware chimeras are museum pieces: the Metropolitan Museum of New York holds one of the only two known copies of the Lizard made by the Grande Tuilerie, while a copy of the ceramic Eagle is preserved at the Chateau of Pierrefonds. It is indeed one of the first important works of Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910), who started as a lithographer at the Museum of Natural History in Paris in the 1840s. His observation of animals made him an excellent sculptor who, with a taste for the Troubadour fantasies, gave birth to this chimera. Emmanuel Frémiet is one of the most important artists of the 19th century. Pierrefonds truly launched his career, both as an animal sculptor and for his future great equestrian statues. In fact, he is the author of the golden statue of Joann of Arc installed on Place des Pyramides in Paris (1874), and of the statue of St. Michael of the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey (1897). Widely rewarded, he was a Legion of Honor Officer in 1887, a member of the Institute and professor of animal drawing at the Museum in 1892, and he was consecrated by a Grand Prix at the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The Emperor noticed his talent during the construction of the Salle des Manèges at the Louvre in 1858, and recommended him to Viollet-le-Duc for the restoration of the Chateau of Pierrefonds. For this work, fantasy is allowed and artists have the freedom to let their sensibilities run free. Frémiet was commissioned to make the great equestrian statue of Louis of Orleans, completed in 1869, and also made four chimeric animal statuettes for the main staircase. He designed them around 1878 and they were carved in stone in the 1880s. Thus, the Eagle is part of a set of four chimeras, with the Ox, the Marabou and the Lizard, which stand behind the great statue of Louis of Orleans. The whole decorates the castle courtyard, where the guests of the imperial couple arrived for the Séries de Compiègne. The four chimeras of the staircase in Pierrefonds immediately marked the public and became works in their own right. These four figures are engraved by A. Raguenet for his journal Materials and documents of architecture, sculpture, and all the industrial arts in 1895, then in 1905, they are illustrated in The monsters in art, by Edmond Valton. Faced with the success of these four chimeras, Emmanuel Frémiet collaborates with Louis Müller to adapt them to ceramics, a collaboration from which comes our ridge tile. Indeed, at the end of the 19th century, the best artists appealed to the Émile Müller et Cie factory, led by the son of the founder, Louis Müller, since 1889. Emile Müller (1823-1889), a trained architect, founded "La Grande Tuilerie" in Ivry in 1854, a decorative ceramic factory for architecture, which has enjoyed increasing success over the years. The Grande Tuilerie was crowned with a Grand Prix in 1889. It was widely renowned and extended its activities to include reproductions of masterpieces such as Eugène Grasset, Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec, and the sculptors Vibert, Charpentier, Falguière, Guillot, and Emmanuel Frémiet. In fact, the Grande Tuilerie develops a Catalog for the execution in sandstone of a selection of works by the masters of contemporary statuary, and in 1896 proposes the Ox and the Lizard by Frémiet. In 1904, the catalog proposes the four animals. It was in these same years that the factory produced its most famous masterpieces: the domes’ roofing of the Grand and Petit Palais, the Bakers by Alexandre Charpentier in 1900, and the "Maison des Chardons" in 1903.

Ref.11418
Pair of chair with openwork backseat in the taste of Japan

This pair of sculpted, moulded and engraved side chairs was made in the 19th century. The backseat has an openwork decoration of flowers and a dragon. The seat rail is engraved with flowers and carved with openwork motifs. The seat is covered with red velvet. The front legs are arched and finished in claws

Ref.11886
Pair of Neo-Gothic walnut chairs, 19th century

This pair of chairs was made of walnut wood in the 19th century. Its shape and decoration are inspired by Gothic seats, indeed we can see on the high and straight backrest some sculpted motifs reminding of the ones of the cathedrals and especially the rosaces frame and pilasters. The four moulded feet are joined on the back and the sides. The fabrics of our chairs was made of a very beautiful brown velvet brightened up with trimmings. The Neo-Gothic style is originally an architectural style born in the middle of the 18th century in England, it meets an important enthusiasm in the 1830's in Europe and in North America, and spread on all the arts. Thus, furniture and art objects are also under the Neo-gothic influence, the artists are inspired by the Flamboyant style of the 15th century, called "cathedral".

Ref.13299
Pair of vases in malachite and gilt bronze, Russia, late 19th century

This beautiful pair of vases was made of gilt bronze and malachite. It's very likely a Russian work from the end of the 19th century. The belly of our vases was made of malachite and welcomes a Rococo style decoration of gilt bronze. The whole decoration was made of gilt bronze, like the handles which are also reminding of the Louis XV style as they are shaped of thin acanthus leaves scrolls, or even the neck where are attached the handles and the foot. Finally, from the neck a beautiful gilt bronze tulips bouquet springs while the vase rests on a small malachite square base. The malachite, is an intense green stone because of its high copper composition, which makes it very appreciated in the 19th century. This stone mainly comes from Russia where important deposit are known since the 17th century, we can name the one called Nijni Taguil, discovered in 1835 and exploited by the Count Demidoff (1812 - 1870). Used in bloc to create small objects, the malachite can't be used for big pieces as the ones we can make in marble. That's why the technic called “Rusian mosaïc” was invented during the second half of the 19th century : malachite strips are inlaid to create the illusion of a block , allowing to put this extraordinary color on walls, columns or other interior elements like in the Malachite Room in the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. It's the Royal stone manufactory of Peterhof and Ekaterinbourg that develop this art which quickly seduces the aristocracy. This technic is discovered in France when Alexander I of Russia (1777 - 1825) gifted Napoléon Ier (1769 – 1821) a set of malachite element in 1808. Candelabras, big vases and basins are placed in the Emperor Room in Trianon, which became the “Malachite Room”. The new beauty of this sophisticated art creates an important enthusiasm which lasts during the entire 19th century.

Ref.12793
Gabriel VIARDOT - Beautiful square stand with a coiling dragon

This beautiful stand was made of tainted sycamore circa 1880-1890 by the famous french furniture maker of the late 19th century, Gabriel Viardot (1830-1904) as indicates the signature. It is composed of a square shelf with a sculpted decor of abstract geometrical motifs typical of the Asian art. The openwork base receives a beautiful coiled dragon in gilt bronze with a remarkable carving. The square bottom with steps rests on four feet. Gabriel Viardot became famous from the 1870 with his production of furniture inspired by the Asiatic ones, of which he makes his specialty. He takes his inspiration from the 1867 Worlds's Fair where Japan participates for the first time. His very characteristic furniture production was sometimes inlaid with Tonkin mother-of-pearl, but always made with tinted sycamore wood.