Ref.10859
Paul ROUSSEL (1867-1928) - Pair of pewter lamps, cast by Eugène Soleau and globe signed Sèvres

This beautiful pair of lamps was made around 1900 out of pewter. Inspired by Art Nouveau, they bear the signature of Paul Roussel, sculptor, and Eugène Soleau, bronze manufacturer in Paris. A farandole of putti unfolds along the neck while the body of each lamp is adorned with flowers in slight relief. Paul Roussel is a major sculptor of the turn of the 20th century. Born in 1867, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he studied with Jules Cavelier, Louis-Ernest Barrias and Jules Coutan. In 1895, he won the Grand Prix of Rome for the bas-relief "David, winner of Goliath, brought in triumph to Saul". He won several medals at the Salons and exhibited Hors-Concours in London, Brussels, Turin, Liège, Amsterdam, Ghent. From 1906, he became a member of the jury of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and member of the grand jury of the Salon des artistes français. He obtained many orders from the State, including several monuments of importance: "The Duke of Aumale", stone statue commissioned by the State and kept at the entrance of the Museum of Decorative Arts of Paris, for example. He is decorated Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1914 and is promoted officer July 23, 1920. Eugène Soleau, bronzier, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1853. His foundry was located at 127 rue de Turenne in Paris. Secretary (1885-1889), then vice-president (from 1895 to 1899) and finally president (from 1900) of the Union of Bronze Manufacturers, he invested himself, at French and international levels, in the protection of Intellectual property.

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.14227
A rare piece by Emile GALLÉ, moon and landscape fantasy after Joseph Vernet

This rare piece by Émile Gallé, bearing his signature, is a creation from the years 1863-1877. The interior is decorated with a landscape scene inspired by a painting by Joseph Vernet, Le Rocher percé, disseminated through engraving. The shape of the dish is original. In relief, the rim of the circular dish takes up the motif of a crescent moon, symbolized by a face. This is a pareidolia (optical illusion), or the propensity to see an identifiable shape in a natural element (in the clouds, on the illuminated surface of the moon, in a rock, etc.). This iconography has ancient roots, with mythological stories readily associating the moon with a male character. The creation of this lunar frame model comes from Gengoult Prouvé, who worked for Emile Gallé's father, at the head of the family glassmaking business that his son developed in the 1870s. A study drawing by Gallé representing the same lunar-shaped piece with a different decoration is in the Musée d'Orsay, in Paris. This model was also used to create blown, molded and wheel-engraved glass ashtrays, called Clair de lune. Finally, the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris keeps an identical work, representing Pierrot and Columbine, known under the title La Lune rousse.

Ref.15127
Louis-Édouard LEMARCHAND - Napoleon III low bookcase About 1850

.am-parent-card{ display: flex; width: 100%; gap: 5%; } .am-child-card{ display: flex; flex-direction: column; border-radius: 5px; background-color: white; box-shadow: 2px 2px 5px #8080807d; width: 50%; overflow: hidden; } .ref-img1 { border-radius: 5px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px grey; width: 100%; } .ref-img2 { border-radius: 5px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px grey; width: 400px; } .ref-img4 { border-radius: 5px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px grey; width: 400px; max-height: 600px } .ref-sect { display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center; gap: 30px } figcaption { text-align: center; } @media screen and (max-width: 640px) { .am-parent-card { display: flex; flex-direction:column; width: 100%; } .am-child-card { width: 100%; } .ref-img2 { width: 100%; } .ref-img3 { width: 100%; } .ref-img4 { width: 100%; max-height: auto !important; } .ref-img10 { width: 100%; } .ref-sect { display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; gap: 30px } } This low bookcase in rosewood with figures of philosophers was made by cabinetmaker Louis-Édouard Lemarchand around 1850. Louis-Édouard Lemarchand (Paris, 1795-1872) was the son of Charles-Joseph Lemarchand (1759-1826), who founded a dynasty of cabinetmakers. He studied architecture and spent two years in the Empire. Under the Restoration, he returned to Paris to help his father in the workshop. Their cabinetmaking business took off. In 1817, they became Fournisseur Breveté du Garde-Meuble. Active under Charles X, Louis Philippe and then Napoleon III, Lemarchand fils continued to use his father's stamp, deleting the initial of the first name. It was he who executed Napoleon I's coffin in 1840. In 1846, he formed a partnership with André Lemoyne; when he retired, the business was continued by the Lemoynes, until it was taken over by Charles Jeanselme in 1893. L.-É. Lemarchand, 1/5th scale model of Napoleon's coffin at Les Invalides, c. 1840, Paris, Musée Carnavalet (D. R.) The format of this bookcase means it can be placed under windows, in a bright room, ideal for reading. Above a long, solid plinth, five glazed openings open out; the two side doors operate in pairs, while the central door has a single leaf. The arch above the openings is adorned at the top with a shell surrounded by darker wood foliage. The corners of the cabinet are beveled and feature two carved atlatls representing literary figures. On the right, the man depicted as a thinker is Socrates; on the left is another writer, looking worried, holding a roll of papers in his hand. This iconography is particularly well suited to library furniture. The atlantes adorning the corners of the dresser are particularly characteristic of Lemarchand's art, which he used in a variety of formulas on a relatively large number of works. This is the case of a cabinet sold at Tajan in 2016, richly carved in the corners and on the top.

Ref.15562
Louis XVI period gilded trumeau decorated with a garland of flowers

This overmantel is made of wood and decorated with gilding. It is from the Louis XVI period and embodies the style of the period, depicting ribbons or flowers, motifs characteristic of the decorative arts under Louis XV. Gilded moldings frame the overmantel, and the mirror and decorate the top of the overmantel. In the space created by the molding at the top, ribbons and a garland of wildflowers decorate the overmantel. In a central position, a ribbon knot is placed on top of the molding, supporting a ring that allows the garland to pass through.