Ref.3182
Antique Louis XV period fireplace in Grey Sainte Anne marble, 18th century

Antique Louis XV style fireplace made out of Grey Sainte Anne marble during the 18th century. Curved lines adorned with carved shells.

Ref.10838
Delphin MASSIER (1836-1907) - Important Orientalist style earthenware planter

This important Orientalist earthenware planter was made around 1880 in the workshops of Delphin Massier, a member of the Massier family which was a dynasty of ceramists established since the 17th century in Vallauris. It consists of a large earthenware vase on a base with four columns adorned with muquarnas and covered with a floral and abstract Oriental ornamentation. The blue tones are both characteristic of the Massier production and of the Orientalism, especially in the field of ceramics. The pottery family tradition began with Pierre Massier (1707-1748) then with Jacques Massier (1806-1871) who gave to the workshop a new lease of life. Indeed, their factory, which was at first a simple workshop with an utilitarian vocation, stood out from the local production tanks to an innovative and artistic production. In Vallauris they introduced an art ceramic, notably thanks to the arrival of the Italian potter Gondolfi Gaetano in 1859, who initiated Delphin and his brother Clément (1844-1917) to numerous practices such as plaster molds and enamelled earthenware decoration techniques. The glory of the Massier family peaked at the turn of the century with Delphin and Clément and their cousin Jerome and son (1830-1916), son of Jerome (1820-1909). Both art ceramists and entrepreneurs, the Massiers had also made themselves known thanks to their elaborate sales catalogs which give us today a way to appreciate the diversity of their productions and to identify their models. The ceramicists family had built its reputation thanks to their ability to innovate (they developed several techniques) and because their productions were inspired by the important trends of the period. The Massiers, who played a certain role in the revival of the decorative arts, are very representative of the characteristic wealth of the 19th century. Thus, if their first realizations were inspired by historicism and eclecticism, Jerome and Delphin will devote themselves later to an Art Nouveau style production. Our planter is inspired by Orientalism, surely one of the greatest artistic movement of the 19th century which inspired the Massier for many creations as we can see in their catalogs where we can also find several similar planters to the one we present. Otherwise, one of the most prestigious realizations of Clément Massier is this planter constitued with a base, almost identical to ours, and a bowl. It is called Large Persian bowl with four columns base, whose one copy is preserved at the Vallauris Museum. Among Orientalism, Moorish Spain is one of the decorators lands of preference which gave them the turquoise blue for example. The Massiers, which developed an important taste for colors, will make green and red, but especially blue, and more precisely peacock blue, like the color of our planter, inspired by the Hispano-Moorish art, their favourite colors. The Massiers collaborated with great artists of their time such as Lévy-Dhurmer, Dominique Zumbo and their talent will be rewarded for example at the Paris World Fair in 1889 where Clement received a gold medal. They acquired an international reputation thanks to competitions and exhibitions in which they participated and had among their clients Victor Hugo or Emile Zola. This beautiful planter, with its exceptional large dimensions, its rich polychrome and its abstract and floral ornamentation, reflects both the taste for the Orient and the production of the Massier family, surely the most known dynasty of ceramists of the 19th century.

Ref.3449
Large antique oak wood fireplace, Regence style, 1st half of the 19th c.

This antique Regence style fireplace was made in the first half of the 19th century in oak wood. The rounded and paneled jambs support a frieze delicately curved  and adorned with stylized curves. Fine and elongated, this fireplace has important dimensions.

Ref.10987
Antique fireback with French coat of arms and lions, 17th century

This antique fireback was made during the 17th century. Two lions are supporting on each sides the traditional French coat of arms, the crowned three fleur-de-lys .

Ref.11274
Beautiful antique Louis XV style overmantel mirror with an oil on canvas representing a woman and putti

This Louis XV style overmantel mirror was made in the 19th century. The moulded decoration, simple and curved, frames an oil on canvas representing a woman lying down and surrounded with putti.

Ref.15871
Sphinx Table in oak, Napoleon III style

This Napoleon III style table was made in the 19th century in oak.The top is ornamented with an Arts & Craft tapestry, and has round molded corners.The jambs of this table are sphinx shaped. They are joined by two snakes, finely carved.

Ref.4056
Italian 18th century fireplace in carved wood

Antique fireplace in carved wood, polychrome and gilded battle scenes, carved in the 18th century

Ref.4073
Antique Louis XVI style fireplace in Bleu Turquin marble and statuary marble

Antique two tone Louis XVI style fireplace, carved in the 19th century in Blue Turquin and statuary marble with a beautiful frieze running along the entablature and square rosettes at the ends, and on the jambs carved with fluting

Ref.12446
Baccarat crystal and gilt bronze bowl with Japanese decoration

Oblong crystal bowl signed Baccarat, with Japanese engraved decoration, chased and gilded bronze base with partridge decoration.

Ref.12241
Louis XV oak paneled room with its fireplace and a canvas by Paul Tavernier

This paneled room made at the end of the 20th century with moulded and sculpted oak, is presented with its stone fireplace and its original cast iron interior and a large oil on canvas depicting a hunt with hounds scene in the Fontainebleau Castle's park, painted by Paul Tavernier (1852 – 1943) in 1925. In our ensemble, the oil on canvas by Paul Tavernier is presented in an alcove decorated on its middle by a shell and scrolls sculpted in the wood. The canvas is surrounded by two bookcases. The oak panels are slightly decorated with wood moulding and sculptures depicting flowers and scrolls. There is on the next wall, a Louis XV stone fireplace with its original cast iron interior. It's decorated on its middle with a shell surrounded by flowers on each side. On the top of the mirror an elegant wood decor is sculpted, it depicts again a shell on the middle and scrolls. On the other side of the room, facing it, an other but larger mirror is put on the center of the wall in which there are two doors on each side with mirrors on their upper parts. The oak panels are moulded and sculpted with the same decor. The room dimensions are H : 138.19 Inch, L : 341.73 Inch, D : 205.51 Inch. More dimensions available on request.

Ref.12889
Louis XVI period gilt wood overmantel with a double crown of flowers and olive tree branches

This wooden overmantel was made at the end of the 18th century and shows a beautiful decor in gilt wood with typical Louis XVI style motifs. The mirror is framed by a frieze of pearls and a laurel leaves crown. It is surmounted by a frame decorated with a palm frieze showing a relief decoration of a very rich double crown of flowers knotted with a ribbon from where are escaping olive tree branches.

Ref.12736
Louis XVI style overmantel in painted wood and stucco with flowers garlands

This overmantel was made in the second half of the 19th century in stucco and wood painted in white. Its elegant decoration is typical of the Louis XVI style, the mirror is framed with friezes and the corners are marked by a square rose. A very rich flowers crown hold by a knotted ribbon is over it. The overmantel's sides are also adorned in their upper and lower parts with roses garlands. This overmantel can eventually be paired with the reference 12737.

Ref.13131
Important Louis XVI style trumeau in painted wood and stucco with laurel garland

This important trumeau was made in the late 19th century in wood and stucco painted in white. The frame decoration takes motifs from the Louis XVI style, we especially find in each corner, the rose. On the upper part, laurel leaves garlands are escaping from it to fall along the mirror, while on the lower part, acanthus plants are climbing on the sides. The mirror is also framed with small friezes.

Ref.11429
Fernand THESMAR, Ceramic gardener with applied enamel flowers decoration

This important gardener bears the monogram of the enameler André-Fernand Thesmar (1843-1912), and was made in the beginning of his enemaler career when he discovers the enamel work and starts his first tries in the 1870's. Andre-Fernand Thesmar first devoted himself to oil painting and was known as a painter of flowers. He was educated in drawing in a factory for printed-fabric in Mulhouse where he had been placed at fourteen years old to learn the trade of a draftsman. His teacher was a painter of flowers: he “drew and dissected the plant with fury, requiring an anatomical analysis of shapes and a meticulous copy of nature.” He left this industrial environment to go to Paris in 1860 and engaged in various activities. It was probably for his talent as a painter that Thesmar was noticed in 1872 by Ferdinand Barbedienne. With Barbedienne, later Thesmar succeeded to the management of the production of enamels. The productions of Thesmar and Barbedienne reflected the interest that they had for the decorative techniques and compositions of Japanese enamel. It was as “co-operator of the Barbedienne company” that Thesmar exhibited at the Exhibition of Decorative Arts in 1874, A cock pheasant from China. At the exposition in 1875, Thesmar exhibited two large enamel compositions on copper. In 1891, Thesmar turned to the decoration of porcelain and introduced himself to Charles Lauth who, since 1879, led the Factory de Sèvres. Its at this time that the collaboration with the Barbedienne company ended. Afterwards, he would be especially known for having invented the “plique à jour” technique, which numerous pieces of are kept in public collections. He creates here a very beautiful gardener with a brown background on which is detaching a floral decoration, favorite theme of the artist, in light relief with applied enamel. His study of the botany allows him to create decor of which the flower speciment are easily recognizable. For instance, we can identify here on one face yellow bindweed as flowered rosemary. On the ohter side he depicts holly. Finally on the whole a rain of aquilegias put randomly on the surface.

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.13884
Trumeau in stucco and painted wood in the Louis XVI style

Ref.13175
Trumeau in stucco and painted wood in the Louis XVI style

Ref.13885
Trumeau in stucco and painted wood in the Louis XVI style

Ref.13988
Louis XVI style trumeau with plant frieze decoration

Louis XVI style trumeau in white painted stucco with gold painted moldings. The frame is surrounded by a beaded border and a plant frieze with leaves painted in white and gilded.

Ref.14306
Fireback from 1561 with the alliance arms of Jacques de Tige and Blanche de Villelongue.

Fireback from 1561 with the coat of arms of Jacques de Tige, son of Gobert de Tige and Catherine de Serainchamps, and Blanche de Villelongue, daughter of Jean de Villelongue and Claude de Pavant, married in 1561. The design of this plaque was created on the occasion of the marriage, sealing the union between the two families, in the fortified house of La Raminoise in Maisoncelle-et-Villers. It bears the inscription: "MOURIR POUR SES AMIS OU VAINCRE SES ENNEMIS" and the words: "DE TIGE. DE VILLONGUE" and the date: "1561".

Ref.14327
18th century Louis XV style fireback representing the Queen of France Marie Leczinska

18th century Louis XV style fireback depicting the French Queen Marie Leczinska. Three similar firebacks are reproduced in Henri Carpentier's book "Plaques de Cheminées" on page 456. One was found in the Hôtel de Chastellux in Paris, demolished in 1903. Another is kept in the Musée Saint-Jean in Angers.

Ref.5005
Louis XIV style mantel in Red of the North marble

This Louis XIV style mantel was realized in the second half of the 19th century in Red of the North marble. It has a continuous molding, called a "bolection", characteristic of this style. The perfectly rectangular shape of the frame is derived from the shapes in vogue under Louis XIII and then Louis XIV. The mantel is crowned by an acroterion derived from ancient architectural vocabulary, panelled and adorned in its centre with a circular medallion.

Ref.14684
Louis XVI style trumeau with pearl frieze and rounded corners

Ref.14299
Adrien DALPAYRAT, Glazed Ceramic Vase, 1900 Paris Exposition

Inimitable in craftsmanship, this numbered vase evokes natural shapes, typical of the Art Nouveau style which fascinated collectors in 1900. Our precious piece is characterized by its colors, in particular the famous “Dalpayrat red”, a warm and deep shade which made the ceramist internationally renowned. Adrien Dalpayrat is a famous artist in the world of decorative arts at the end of the 19th century. Based in Bourg-la-Reine, its earthenware factory is a family business which has enjoyed great success in the field of flamed stoneware. Our vase was presented on the stand of the great art dealer Samuel Bing at the Universal Exhibition of 1900. It adorned a niche in the upper part of a sumptuous Art Nouveau style bench signed by Eugène Gaillard. Adrien Dalpayrat's creations made a big impression during the Universal Exhibition of 1900 and earned him a gold medal. Dalpayrat's works are kept in the largest museums in the world such as the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, or the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.

Ref.14682
The Opaline vase, the magic of BACCARAT in the 19th century

The Baccarat crystal factory, an internationally renowned French crystal factory, was founded under Louis XV. Our vase, made in the 19th century, is made of opaline. Opaque, this precious glass is decorated with a poetic and animal decoration painted by hand. It consists of tits, symbols of marital happiness and fidelity, frolicking on branches. The vase is encircled by a rich silvered bronze frame. It was designed specifically for this piece. This richly decorated object is the result of the combination of the magic of glass and crystal with the magic of bronze workers specialising in the decorative arts. The feet, known as "lion's paws", refer to the Renaissance imagination, which was very popular in the 19th century. The frame is decorated with figures and ornamental details of great refinement.

Ref.14105
Théodore DECK (ceramist), Eugène GLUCK (painter), Ornamental dish decorated with a bucolic scene with an escarpolette

This large dish, decorated with a bucolic scene, was created by Théodore Deck and painted by Eugène Gluck in 1866. Théodore Deck initially trained as a stove maker. When he set up on his own in Paris in 1858, he made stove linings and, building on his success, moved into ceramics. The studio produced a large number of dishes, sometimes in collaboration with well-known painters. He gradually perfected his technique and enjoyed great success at the many World’s Fairs he took part in. In 1878, he was made an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur. He ran the Sèvres factory between 1887 and his death in 1891. Like Deck, a native of the Haut-Rhin region, Eugène Gluck was both a painter and an illustrator. He worked with Théodore Deck from 1862. A member of the Société des artistes français, Gluck exhibited picturesque historical scenes in the vein of this décor at the Salon in Paris.

Ref.14067
Pierre BRAECKE, Art Nouveau style handle with the inscription “L. Solvay”, 1901

This handle bearing the inscription "L. Solvay" comes from the house of Lucien Solvay (1851-1950), a journalist, art historian and poet. He was also a member of the Solvay family, one of the greatest patrons of Art Nouveau. This house was built in 1901 by the architect Georges Hobé at number 76 rue Gachard in Ixelles (Brussels). Hobé commissioned sculptor Pieter Braecke (1858-1938) to create this handle, which adorned the front door of Lucien Solvay’s house. This work is both functional and highly decorative. Its base, adorned with a feather recalling the commissioner's literary activities, also bears the inscription that gives his name. The recess in the handle is formed by the body of a woman drawing a bow; a drapery emphasises its curve. Pieter Braecke was one of Victor Horta's most loyal friends. When the architect built his house and studio in 1903, the sculptor designed the door handles himself. They take up the idea of inscribing the name of the owner of the house and feature the motif of the drapery enveloping the woman in the Solvay handle, in a stylised way. The shape of the woman's body is also reminiscent of the Braecke statuettes crowning the sideboards in the dining room created by Victor Horta at number 22 Voorstraat, Kortrijk. Finally, a handle similar in shape to that of Lucien Solvay can be found on the front door of the house built by the architect Ch. Sée in 1909 at number 51 rue Forestière, Brussels. As with Braecke, a female sculpture in relief forms the handle. Sée drew his inspiration from Braecke, since the rue Forestière house was not completed until eight years after the Solvay house. At the time of its conception, the imposing door handle created by Pieter Braecke for Lucien Solvay had both a practical and highly decorative purpose. Today, it retains mainly its ornamental interest, making it an art object. The delicacy of the sculpture and the prominence given to the personality of the commissioner make it one of the most interesting testimonies both to the history of Lucien Solvay's commission for his house and to the art of Pieter Braecke.

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.15022
Théophile SOYER, Renaissance-Style Ornamental Dish, 1880

This enameled ornamental dish was created by Théophile Soyer in 1880. Théophile Soyer (1853-1940) learned his craft from his father, Paul Soyer, who was already practicing the technique of painted enamels, before joining the École des Beaux-Arts. He studied under Eugène Levasseur and Adolphe Yvon. He began working with enamel in Courbevoie, then joined his father's workshop, which he took over in 1896. He exhibited for the first time at the Salon in 1870, then regularly between 1875 and 1882, as well as at the Expositions of the Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts starting in 1876. His great technical mastery was rewarded with a silver medal at the World’s Fair in 1889, and then a gold medal in 1900. Soyer actively participated in the artistic life of his time: he was successively Vice-President of the Chamber of Ceramics and Glassware and President of the Société des Éclectiques, a humorous society founded in 1872 by etchers and poets. He married Eugénie Dejoux, a painter-enameler of Genevan origin, with whom he had a daughter, Jeanne, who worked with her parents before marrying in 1906. Théophile Soyer's work was part of the troubadour and Neo-Renaissance movements, at a time when past styles were in vogue.

Ref.15384
O. MILET, Émile Diffloth, Ornamental Dish with Hummingbird, late 19th century

This decorative dish featuring a kingfisher results from the collaboration between ceramist Félix Optat Milet (1838-1911) and Emile Diffloth (1856-1933). Born into a family of potters, Milet joined the Manufacture de Sèvres in 1862 as a modeler before becoming a decorator. In 1866, he founded his own factory, which would become the largest private ceramics manufacturer in Sèvres. In 1876, Optat Milet participated privately in the Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition of the Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts, where his brightly colored creations were a great success, as evidenced by the lines dedicated to him by Adrien Dubouché in 1876 in his article “Contemporary Ceramics at the Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts Exhibition” in the second issue of L'Art: la revue hebdomadaire illustrée. At the 1889 World's Fair, Milet won the gold medal and Loebnitz highlighted the wonderful effects made possible thanks to the new technique used by Optat. It was also in the 1880s that Optat Milet and Clément Massier opened the Delvaux boutique (18, rue royale in Paris), which remained in business until the 1970s. Our dish bears Emile Diffloth's signature on the front and the Milet factory mark on the back. Based in Sèvres, Milet was famous for his technical expertise and his close ties with the Manufacture Nationale. The central decoration created by Diffloth features a vibrant cobalt blue kingfisher. The motif of the kingfisher just leaving its branch and the elegant composition are inspired by Japanese art, which was in vogue at the time. The details and relief effects under the glaze are striking: the veins of the leaves are brilliantly rendered and the gold background dotted with plant elements creates a luminous vibration contrasting with the powerful blue of the bird's plumage.

Ref.15558
Louis XVI style gilded trumeau adorned with a wreath of flowers

This overmantel is made of gilded wood. The mirror takes up most of the space, leaving only the frame and its upper part decorated. The frame is composed of a first pearl frame, a motif often used under Louis XVI. This is followed by a second frame with a repeating motif of scrolls meeting in the center and encompassing an ear of wheat. At the corners of the overmantel, a leaf does the junction between the two directions (vertical and horizontal), and a flower motif is created by an arrangement of leaves in the inner corner of the frame. The overmantel is adorned with a crown of roses sealed by a bow, two motifs typical of the Louis XVI style.

Ref.13926
Taxile DOAT, Porcelain soliflore, monogrammed “TD”

A French ceramist active in France and the United States, Taxile Doat (1851-1938) worked at the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres from 1877 to 1905. From 1900, he became interested in the organic forms of Art Nouveau and created his own pieces independently of his activities at Sèvres. He was dismissed from the Manufacture in 1905 for failing to comply with the directives of the administrator at the time, Émile Baumgart. These stipulated that a practitioner employed by the Manufacture Nationale could not pursue an independent activity at the same time. Far from being discouraged by this incident, Doat continued to create in his studio at the Villa Kaolin in Sèvres. Inspired by plant forms, particularly gourds and squashes, he continued his creations by exploring new techniques such as the flowing glaze shown in our soliflore. At the end of 1909, Taxile Doat left France for the United States, where he taught ceramics at the People's University of Missouri. He returned to France in 1914 and reestablished his independent practice in Sèvres. There, he produced in a more classical style until his death in 1938. Our porcelain soliflore offers a sober and visually effective decoration. Similar in shape to a gourd, it features a particularly voluminous rounded body and a tall, narrow neck. It presents a subtle beige-ochre monochrome, green hues, and brownish highlights; the vertical drips accentuate the slender neck. The patina allows for subtle variations in tone and emphasizes the organic appearance of the soliflore. The aesthetics of this object and the chronology of Taxile Doat's life allow us to propose a date between 1900 and 1909.