Ref.2315
Antique Napoleon III style oak wood fireplace with ""JF"" initials

Large antique oak wood fireplace in the Napoleon III style from the second half of the 19th century. The straight lines of this antique fireplace are decorated with foilage carved in low relief. The central frieze is decorated with a medallion with the initials ""JF"".

Ref.9997
Cast iron fireback with Napoleon's soldiers

This small antique fireback made ​​in the 20th century represents Infantry officers of the Napoleonic Army. On the battlefield, they are in combat, pressing the barrel. In the background you can see the steeple of a church.

Ref.10252
Beautiful antique 18th century fireback with France and Navarre coat of arms

Ref.3181
Antique Regency period fireplace in Grey Sainte Anne marble, 18th c.

Rare antique 18th century Regence period fireplace made out of Grey Sainte Anne marble. Both jabs are fluted. The frieze is slightly curved.

Ref.10411
Beautiful Louis XV Style gilt bronze fire fender with children and foliages

This Louis XV style fire fender was realized during the 19th century in gilt bronze . It displays children sitting in a foliage environment.

Ref.10570
Antique 18th-century fireback with the coat of arms of the Fontaine de Biré family

Rare antique fireback made during the 18th century and bearing the coat of arms of the Fontaine de Bire family : Azure to chevron with two clovers and a sheaf the whole of gold. The Fontaine de Bire family is originating from Anjou, France. One of his most famous representatives, Marie-Sébastien-Charles-François Fontaine de Biré, asked for his bust in marble by Jean-Antoine Houdon in 1785, which can quite correspond to the date of realization of our fireback. This bust is now preserved at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, USA.

Ref.3438
Antique Napoleon III style fireplace in Belgian Black marble with Fior di Pesco marble inlays

This antique Napoleon III style fireplace was made in the 19th century in a beautiful Belgium black marble , also called "Fine Black of Belgium", and decorated with inlays in Fleur de Pêcher marble (Fior du Pesco). The tapered legs are fluted while the rudentures are madeout of Fleur de Pêcher marble. The frieze is composed of three molded panels also inlaid with Fleur de Pêcher marble.

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.2566
Antique Napoleon III style fireplace with lion's paws in Carrara marble

This antique Napoleon III style fireplace was made in the 19th century in subtly veined Carrara marble. Jambs with lions’s paws, typical of the Napoleon III style, are adorned with large leaves which drop down. They support a frieze decorated at its ends with naturalistic rosettes inspired by the Louis XVI style. This fireplace, imposing and elegant, has important dimensions.

Ref.10456
Two hearts burning on an altar, antique small Louis XVI period fireback

This antique Louis XVI style fireback was made in the 18th century. While two hearts are burning on an altar decorated with laurel branches, a putti flying in the sky holds in one of his hands a crown of leaves and in the other hand an arrow pointing to the altar.

Ref.10984
Antique cast iron fireback with the Joly family coat of arms, 18th century

This antique cast iron fireback was made in the 18th century. It is decorated with the arms of the Joly family, lords of La Grange, of La Borde,of Fleury and of Blaisy en Bourgogne.

Ref.15287
Andre-Fernand THESMAR (1845 - 1912) and Ferdinand BARBEDIENNE, Ornamental Japanese plate

Gilded bronze and cloisonne enamel. On a blue background a naturalistic scene takes place: three birds, with different attitudes, are perched on a thin branch of a tree. Around them unfolds a vegetation made of small flowers and, in the lower part, thicker leaves. In the middle of this scene twirls a butterfly. The theme and the composition are very similar to Japanese enamels, at a time when Europe was fully experiencing the popularity of Japanism. The cloisonne and the carving of the landscape by the birds and the flowered trees are in the naturalistic Japanese style, but the technique and the style are European and modern, which completely characterizes the work of Fernand Thesmar. This is indeed the blue of the Chinese and Japanese enamels that form the bottom of these works. The partitioning replaces the strokes of the drawing, and immersion in color, does not only serve as separation for the polychrome enamel, but also to highlight the shapes.     Following the example of the enamel workshops of the factory of Sevres, Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810 - 1892) introduced enamel in its making of art works: “byzantine” champlevé enamels   from the end of the 1850s, then neo-Renaissance painted enamels and cloissone enamels with Far-Eastern influence. No other company managed to integrate with such success the use of enamel in an industrial production. After some attempts with independent enamelers, , Barbedienne ensured the exclusive collaboration of remarkable practitioners: Alfred Serre for the painted enamel (before 1872) and Fernand Thesmar for clossoine enamel (after 1872). This plate is a beautiful example of the important production that Barbedienne developed in the years 1870 - 1880, at a time when luxury enamel on precious metals was experience a real craze. The motifs of flowers, birds and insects is again found in a series of similar pieces, combining classic shapes and designs of oriental taste, including a glass kept at the Orsay Museum in Paris and another kept at the Walters Art Gallery, in BaltimoreAndre-Fernand Thesmar, born March 4 1843 in Chalon-sur-Saone, 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 (workshop of industrial drawing and studio decoration for Cambon’s theater.) 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 and Floral Bouquets from greenhouse where they admired his talent as a painter of flowers. At the exposition in 1875, Thesmar exhibited two large enamel compositions on leather, one of which displayed a wader with water lilies and bright yellow iris, completely in the style of our plate and showing the style of the return to nature.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.

Ref.10920
Pair of Neo-Renaissance style earthenware cones vases with brown patina bronze griffins

Ref.11321
Gabriel VIARDOT (1830-1906) - Large Japanese cabinet with Foo dog

This exceptional Foo dog cabinet is signed by Gabriel Viardot. Its asymmetrical construction is characteristic of the creations of the Parisian cabinetmaker. The composition alternates solid elements and empty spaces. The central door is decorated with a panel inlaid with ivory, tinted bone and wood composing a bouquet of flowers. This panel probably came from a Japanese furniture piece and was reused, a common practice by Gabriel Viardot, to make this piece. This was also the case for the element adorning the left panel. A frightening character, of a rare plastic quality, is produced in ivory and mother of pearl. The decorative element the most exceptional of this cabinet is a Fu dog crowning the piece. To the right of the piece, supported by a shelf, a crane resting on the back of a tortoise is also made in polished varnished bronze just like the sinuous dragon located in the lower part of the piece. One also finds small elements of latticed polished varnished bronze decorated in their center with a pinecone in this piece. These are, like the scrolled feet, elements frequently present on the pieces of Gabriel Viardot. Gabriel Viardot was a famous Parisian cabinetmaker specialized in the production of “Chinese-Japanese style” furniture in the last third of the 19th century. He started his wood-sculpting career in 1849, when he sent some furniture pieces in natural décor to the horticultural exhibition. He then became the head of a small team of sculptors when he was just 19 years old. In 1853, he had a factory and a store of furniture located at 36 and 38 Rambuteau Road. During this time, he worked with his brother, Louis Gustave, under the name “Viardot Brothers and Company.” In 1860, he created his own workshop, “G. Viardot” at 5 Grand-Chantier road, and became head of the family business that he kept until 1872. He decided to devote himself to “Chinese-Japanese style furniture,” which he was able to observe mainly at the 1867 World Exposition. At this same exposition, he was awarded four medals. It’s with this production that he was awarded at the 1878 World Exposition with a silver medal. Following that, he practiced consecutively at 15 Chaume road, 3 Archives road in 1878 and 36 Amelot road near the end of the century. His furniture was produced thanks to lacquered and carved panels sent directly from China or Japan and decorated with mother of pearl inlays from Tonkin. He enlivened his furniture with bronze decorations, of which he made all the designs by hand. Over the course of the years, the success only continued to grow, particularly at the expositions of Nice and the 8th exposition of the Central Union of Decorative Arts in 1884. In 1885, he participated in the World Exposition of Antwerp where he obtained a gold medal. At this time, the shop employed 90 – 100 workers, sculptors or cabinetmakers, a lot of who were educated directly by Gabriel Viardot. Following this exposition, he was promoted to the rank of Knight in the Legion of Honor (December 29 1885). In 1889, he was at the World Exposition that took place in Paris and awarded a gold medal. He obtained the same award at the 1900 World Exposition.

Ref.12039
Etienne Maurice FALCONET (from) - Venus removing Cupid's quiver, in Carrara marble

Sculpture in white Carrara marble representing Venus removing Cupid's quiver, from Etienne Maurice Falconet, signature of the founder F. BARBEDIENNE editor.

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.4146
Antique Regence style mantel richly sculpted in Escalettes marble

This antique Regence style mantel was made in the second half of the 19th century in Escalette marble. The slightly curved console jambs are adorned with large acanthus leaves and scrolls, they support a curved entablature underlined by a large molding. The center of the entablature is carved with a shell from which pearled acanthus leaves escape.

Ref.12925
Lot of 1.4 m² of antique hexagonal terracotta tiles, 19th century

Antique 19th century period floor composed of hexagonal terracotta tiles. About 80 tiles of which the six sides are 3"9/32 inch for 6"1/2 inch width and 1 inch thick. The whole surface area is about 1.4 m².

Ref.12841
Jules LOEBNITZ (1836 – 1895), Ceramic panel “Child with a flower”

This rectangular panel made of enameled ceramic made by Jules Loebnitz in the second half of the 19th century depicting a child holding a bow in one hand and a flower in the other one from a painting by Emile Lévy (1826 – 1890). The Pichenot-Loebnitz factory was founded by Mr Pichenot, grand parent of Jules Loebnitz, in 1833. From 1841, Mr Pichenot had started the fabrication of uncrackable earthenware panels for mantel's interiors, showed with success during the Exhibition of 1844. Breaking with the traditional fabrication of white heating system, the Pichenot-Loebnitz factory, was one of the first to start the production of architectural earthenware decorations. In 1857, Jules Loebnitz, artist as much as an industrial, succeeded to his grand father and became director of the factory. He helped renovating the old mantels tiles during the restoration of the Castle of Blois before collaborating with the most important architects of his time Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Laval, Charles Garnier, Just Lisch et Paul Sédille. Between the architect Paul Sédille and Jules Loebnitz, a true friendship was born that leads them to collaborate very closely from 1867. The architectural polychromy theoretician had met the man that has brought important progresses to French ceramic, allowing the making of important uncrackable earthenware panels. Thus, during the Great Exhibition of 1878, Paul Sédille realized the door of the Palais des Beaux-arts, while Jules Loebnitz was in charge of the ceramic decoration of the facade, in order to advocate the renewed of architectural polychromy. For this purpose, he made a series of three panels taking as a model the paintings of Emile Lévy, kept today in the Musée de la céramique architecturale of Auneuil, depicting the Painting, the Sculpture and the Architecture, transposed to enamel by Lazar Meyer, a student of the painter. The Painting depicts a scene on which we can see a man painting three naked women in the characteristic position of the Three Graces. Cupid, asking for a flower held by one of the woman, has most likely been used too as a model for the one we can see on our panel, as they have the exact same body position. Indeed, the naked child with his red hair is standing by its profile on both panels, the left leg is out straight, the other is bend. He's holding in his left hand a bow and straight out his other hand to the sky, toward where he is looking. The difference is visible with the representation of the flower that the child is holding in our panel. On the contrary of the original painting, the background is abstract, the only décor is the flower behind the child. We also find on one of the plate from La brique et la terre cuite by Pierre Chabt – book that has contributed to the success of the manufactory after it was published in the 1880’s – a panel depicting the same subject with a different background. This model is today kept in the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris.

Ref.12476
Lot of 23 m² of Chassagne pink stone square tiles

This set is composed Chassagne pink stone square tiles. Each side be 11"3/4. Total surface about 23 m².

Ref.13030
Beautiful antique fireback with Albert de Luynes's coat of arms, 17th century

This beautiful antique fireback was made in the 17th century. It shows the coat of arms of the Albert de Luynes family hold by two savage men with a ducal crown, a peer coat and the king's orders. Born on December,25th 1620 in the Louvre and dead on the 10th of Octobre 1690 in Paris, Louis-Charles d'Albert de Luynes second duke of Luynes and peer of France, was a translator and moralist. He was the first one to translate in French the work of René Descartes. We also owe him many moral and devotion books. Son of Charles d'Albert, duke of Luynes, Louis XIII's favorite, and of Marie de Rohan-Montbazon, Louis-Charles d'Albert de Luynes was received to the parliament as a peer on November, 24th 1639 and as knight to the king's order on December, 31th 1661. He lived for a long time with the Solitaires of Port-Royal, building a castle in Vaumurier, very close to the Port-Royal-des-Champs Abbey where he received Blaise Pascal and the young Jean Racine. He was also distinguished on the head of his regiment attacked by the Spannish in Arras on August, 2nd 1640 and for many other occasions. After his death, his body was brought to the church of the hospital de Luynes that he founded and exhumed there. An identical fireback is kept on the hôtel Bouthillier de Chavigny, 7 rue de Sévigné à Paris, and illustrated on Philippe Palasi's book "Heraldic firebacks"

Ref.13171
CRISTALLERIE DE BACCARAT, Neo-Greek, krater-shaped vase, made out of coated crystal, and etched through hydrofluoric acid, 1867 World’s Fair

This krater-shaped vase made out of coated crystal is a work from the Baccarat crystal-glass making factory, between 1862 and 1867, year when similar models were displayed at the Parisian World’s Fair. It is the Baccarat manufacture’s second entry, the first being at the first Parisian World’s Fair of 1855. Baccarat does win a gold medal, in particular for two vases made out of ruby red crystal, and a crystal fountain of seven meters high. Created under Louis XV’s reign, the crystal-glass making factory got its international fame through its participations, all along the 19th century, and until 1937, to the World’s Fairs.he works of the manufacture are scarcely signed between 1764 and 1860, year where the first labels did appear punctually. Fifteen years later, a seal with the name of the firm is placed on some blowing models and gilded bronze pieces. It is not until 1936 that the « BACCARAT » brand, with a carafe and two glasses, started appearing systematically on every production. During the 1867 World’s Fair, Baccarat inspired itself from the Bacchus cult for most of its production. We can see in our vase the influence of ancient ceramics through the shape of a krater – a piece of ceramics used by Greeks to dilute wine with water – as well as in the composition and the decoration’s subject. The latest is engraved thanks to hydrofluoric acid, a technical mastered by the German chemist Louis Kessler in 1855, who did improve the chemical formula of the bath to make it less aggressive and thus, less dangerous. Baccarat bought the patent in 1864, allowing the manufacture to diverse its production and to reach a new level of virtuosity. Detaching themselves from an opaque, white background, pink colored figures are represented in the spirit of ancient decorations on ceramics. We can see on one face a maenad wearing a spinning drapery, holding a drinking cup in one hand and a thyrsus in the other – a stick similar to a scepter and crowned with a pine cone, Dionysus’s attribute. On the other side, two figures are placed face to face, a masculine and a feminine one. They might represent the divine couple of Dionysus and Ariadne : she is sat on an ancient seat, richly dressed, and addressing the half-naked young man that is also carrying a thyrsus. In order for this decoration to be perfect, the two figurative scenes are framed with different patterns : palm motif, interlacing, Greek key frieze and laurel leaves.The handles have been realized after : they were shaped in clear crystal, and then adorned with gold painting applied with a brush. Even if, until today, our vase is the only one known showing this krater shape and the color rose, other similar models, with similar decorations, does exist – in particular in blue and yellow. Moreover, this bacchanal scene on an opaque white background have been applied on other pieces produced by the firm, that can be seen in museums’ collections, such as the Corning Museum of Glass, the Chrysler Museum of Norfolk, the Musée d’Orsay or at the Petit Palais.

Ref.4773
An antique Louis XV style fireplace, Pompadour model, in Lunel marble

Ref.4942
Antique Louis XVI style mantel in Carrara marble

Simple Louis XVI style mantel executed at the end of the 19th century in Carrara marble. The entablature is panelled with two little squares on each side. The fluted pilasters jambs are resting on square bases.

Ref.5111
Louis XV style Carrara marble mantel with carved floral décor

This Louis XV style mantelpiece was carved in Carrara marble in the 19th century. At the centre of the lintel, a cartouche with carved curves and counter curves features a fish fin ending in a shell pattern. On either side are delicately carved flowers, all different, and acanthus leaves. The gently curving jambs are also adorned with floral cartouches, and end in scrolls at each end. The sides are moulded. The cast iron interior follows the same curves as the mantelpiece, with interlacing and plant patterns.

Ref.5146
Louis XVI style molded Arabescato marble mantel

Ref.15013
BACCARAT, Crystal Vase with Neo-Greek Decoration, circa 1867

This vase was executed by the Baccarat manufacture, which presented several pieces with similar decoration at the 1867 World’s Fair; it can therefore be dated to this period. Founded under Louis XV, the French crystal manufacture Baccarat demonstrated its excellence and creativity at the World Fairs throughout the 19th century. This double-layered crystal vase, etched with acid, adopts the shape of a crater, a vessel in which wine and water were mixed before meals in ancient Greece. Its decoration, blue on a white background, is also inspired by ancient Greece: the body is adorned with a figure of a young ephebe playing cymbals and a woman, probably a bacchante, dancing. Below the handles, there is a stylized decoration of scrolls and palmettes, while the base and neck are adorned with regular friezes. These elements are highlighted with gold. The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk (USA) and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris both have a Neo-Greek vase in the shape of an amphora executed by Baccarat around 1867, whose blue and white double crystal decorations are very similar to ours.

Ref.5527
Louis XV style Pompadour mantel in Lunel marble

Ref.5592
Cheminée de style Louis XVI en marbre de Carrare ornée d'un tournesol

Ref.5563
Cheminée de style Napoléon III en marbre noir moucheté

Ref.5617
Louis XV style mantel in Carrara marble

Ref.3569
Small Louis XV mantel in Carrara marble

Ref.3637
Louis XVI style mantel with sunflower blossom in Carrara marble

Ref.5986
Louis XVI style fireplace with molded decoration, in yellow marble

Ref.6008
Louis XVI period fireplace, sculpted in Rouge Royal, decorated with a vitruvian frieze

Ref.6023
Louis XV style fireplace, Pompadour model, in light blue turquoise marble

Ref.6038
Louis XV style fireplace, Pompadour model, in blue flowered marble

Ref.6035
Louis XVI style fireplace with a central sunflower, in Carrara marble

Ref.6083
Louis XVI style fireplace in blue turquoise marble

Ref.6071
Louis XVI style fireplace in Carrara marble, decorated with a sunflower

Ref.6131
Louis XVI period fireplace in red northern marble, slightly curved

Ref.6105
Two-tone Art Deco style fireplace in Carrara marble and dark Turquin

Ref.6126
Louis XVI style fireplace in Arabescato marble