Ref.17931
Jean-François GECHTER (1796-1844) - Pair of candlesticks with warriors

This extraordinary pair of candlesticks was made out of bronze by Jean-François Gechter around 1850. Two warriors in armor are represented in Gechter's particular style. The Louvre Museum in Paris has a very similar pair of candlesticks. The rediscovery of these candlesticks is exceptional due to their extremely high quality and to the rareness of this model that was previously only known thanks to the Louvre Museum's model.The warriors strongly support the hefty flags topped with shields to which the lights are attached. Wearing chain mail and finely crafted armor, the warriors are also carrying their arms, a hatchet and a dagger, in their belts.The remarkable depiction of the warriors' armor, the attention to detail for the chain mails, the weapons, and the faces lead us to attribute this artwork to Jean-François Gechter . The sculptor accomplished incredible variations in texture for this piece: the roughness of the chain mail, the chiseling of the details on the armor and the faces, with a sense of Romanticism. A student of Bosio and Baron Gros, Gechter made these objects during the Romantic movement. He enjoyed historic themes that allowed him to express his talent for ancient scenes, featuring characters with elaborate, sometimes anachronistic and imaginative costumes, representative of his poetic side. In this way, this pair of candlesticks epitomizes Gechter's art.The pair that is kept at the Louvre Museum is made of silvered and gilt bronze, thus using the variations in color and effects. Based on the same design, these candlesticks are different, as they are topped off with an animal helmet that does not exist on the Louvre's pair.

Ref.13709
Antique paneled room elemen with sculpted cross motif, 18th century

This antique paneled room element was made of walnut wood in the 18th century It is adorned with sculpted cross motifs.

Ref.13756
Napoleon III style trumeau with a cartouche in wood and stucco painted in brown

This trumeau was made in the second half of the 19th century in wood and stucco painted in brown. It presents a rich and eclectic sculpted decoration typical of the Napoleon III style. Indeed, the mirror is framed with a pearls edging and a frieze of coiled acanthus leaves. It is also surmounted by a cartouche in a lavish decoration composed of flowers, fruits, ribbon and shell. The mounts shows on their upper and lower part a decoration of flowers and acanthus leaves.

Ref.14791
Persian vases from the Manufacture de SÈVRES, a historic model

Our pair of vases are among the beautiful pieces of bourgeois decor from the Belle Epoque. The model, known as the “Persian Bottle”, was created by the Sèvres Manufacture in 1874, based on a Persian (metal) prototype. The Manufacture de Sèvres produced other examples of this model, with variations in color and ornaments. It was chosen by Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, a renowned sculptor who took over as artistic director of the Manufacture between 1874 and 1887. The particularity of the Persian bottle is that it has a very elongated neck, made of white porcelain generally decorated with patterns or flat areas of blue color. The pair of vases we are presenting was made in 1887. They are in plain cobalt blue glazed porcelain. The decor, composed of fine golden borders, dates from 1888. Blue is considered the favorite color of ceramics from Persia, a culture which was of great interest to earthenware makers in the second half of the 19th century. The era, tired of neo-Greek and neo-Etruscan fantasies, was indeed keen on exotic and oriental references.

Ref.13397
Gabriel VIARDOT, Japanese style support unit with bouquet, 1888

This piece of furniture and display was made by Gabriel Viardot in 1888, at the height of his career. A talented wood sculptor, Gabriel Viardot opened a furniture factory and store in Paris in 1853. In the 1870s, he decided to devote himself to “Chinese-Japanese furniture”. He obtained a silver medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878, then the gold medal at the International Exhibition in Antwerp in 1884, and at the Universal Exhibitions in Paris in 1889 and 1900. This piece of furniture, although adapted to European uses, is part of Viardot's Sino-Japanese production. Its base is pierced with geometric scrolls forming a heart in the center. The door is decorated with an exceptional Japanese panel from the Meiji period (1868-1912). It is decorated with a still life combining bas-relief and mother-of-pearl inlay. This representation is characteristic of Japanese art of this period. It has many stylistic and technical similarities with this other panel from the Meiji era. One of the short sides is decorated with a bamboo in bloom accompanied by an inscription made of characters chosen for their aesthetic appearance, probably taken from Japanese prints. The other is carved with mistletoe branches. The crown of the piece of furniture is inspired by Far Eastern architecture and is decorated with a roaring lion. Viardot's signature is on the right side of the piece of furniture, in the lower part. The stamp and the date, rarely indicated, which is indicative of the value of this piece of furniture, are on its left side. Gabriel Viardot created a small Japanese style cabinet known by an old drawing, the upper part of which, more especially the crowning, is very close to that of this piece of furniture.

Ref.15269
Émile HÉBERT, The Champion, circa 1890

The Champion was created by Émile Hébert around 1890. The sculptor Émile Hébert (Paris, 1828-1893) first learned sculpture from his father, Pierre Hébert (1804-1869), and then from Jean-Jacques Feuchère (1807-1852). He participated in the Salons, where he was particularly noticed in 1859, and in the World's Fairs. The Champion is a bronze statuette with a silver patina, depicting a victorious rower with a joyful expression, saluting an invisible crowd with his cap in his right hand while still holding an oar in his left hand. He is dressed in a sports jersey and knee-length pants. The long, slender lines of the skiff rest on waves still stirred by the movement of the boat. The plaque on the base indicates the title of the work: “Le Champion”. The skiff is one of the few rowing events that have always been part of the Olympic disciplines, although events have sometimes had to be canceled due to bad weather. Like a self-referential piece, The Champion can be a trophy intended to be awarded to the winner of a skiff race. This function is even clearer for another version of the sculpture sold by Coutau-Bégarie in 2019, whose base indicates that it is a trophy for the Coupe de Paris 1898, a competition held on the Seine that year. Hébert created at least one other sports-related work in his career: it is Bare-Knuckle Fight, also called The Boxers. This suite different work was sold by Coutau-Bégarie in 2021. It depicts the fight between two men, whose musculature and movements suggest the power of the blow delivered at that moment. Here, the men are in action, in the violence of the sporting effort. However, the sculpture does not require as much technical knowledge of the sport as the one representing the skiff.

Ref.14915
François-Rupert CARABIN, Woman with a Gourd, circa 1900

This sculpture in brown glazed ceramic with earth-toned and red nuances, called Woman with a Gourd, was executed by François-Rupert Carabin around 1900. François-Rupert Carabin worked in multiple artistic fields. He was a pioneer in the revival of decorative arts at the end of the 19th century and foreshadowed Art Nouveau. A part of his work had an erotic dimension, which is echoed in his Woman with a Gourd. The sculpture depicts a crouching woman holding a gourd in her arms, gazing at it tenderly as if it were her child. The gourd's leaves form a removable pewter lid, allowing the sculpture to function as an inkwell. The woman's back, with its complex and detailed modeling, is a reminder that Carabin frequented the dissection rooms of the medical faculty to study anatomy and was also a notable photographer of female nudes.

Ref.15696
GODCHAUX – "Panorama of the Cirque de Gavarnie", signed oil on canvas

Oil on canvas signed GODCHAUX in the lower right, depicting a mountainous landscape identified as the Cirque de Gavarnie, located in the French Pyrenees. The composition features a flowing stream in the foreground, framed by rocks and vegetation, with a wooden chalet centrally positioned. In the background, the mountain peaks add depth and structure to the scene. The color palette includes greens, blues, and earthy tones.

Ref.15805
Eduard STELLMACHER for Amphora, Ceramic owl vase, circa 1900

This Art Nouveau ceramic vase was produced around 1900 by the Amphora factory. Located in Turn-Teplitz (Austria), the factory was run by Riessner, Stellmacher and Kessel (RSt&K). The piece is stamped "E. St" in a triangle because the design is by Eduard Stellmacher, sculptor and ceramist, son of Albert Stellmacher, who left his partners in 1904 to create Eduard Stellmacher & Co. The number 18 is stamped close to the triangle. Around this vase, with its flattened body and cylindrical neck, an oak branch adds both structure and lightness to the whole. The branch supports the weight of an owl observing the container. The piece is glazed in a green whose reflections vary from more intense shades to subdued ones. A gilded effect highlights the relief of the piece. The enamel is reminiscent of a bronze that would have developed a verdigris patina over time. There are other examples of this vase with a finish that reminds us of metallic surfaces, for instance this piece is enameled in golden and copper colours.

Ref.15866
Fireplace plate with the coat of arms of France, dated 1654