Ref.2350
Very beautiful antique Louis XVI style paneled room coming from the Hotel de Crillon, Paris

An exceptional paneled room coming from the Crillon Hotel in Paris. It was made out of wood and stucco around 1900. Following the Louis XVI style , the decor is highly elegant: floral wreaths, antique vases and laurel wreaths.

Ref.10491
Important Louis XVI style gilt bronze clock with solar mask, Napoleon 3 period

This very beautiful Louis XVI style clock was made around 1880. Its ornamentation of gilt bronze is very rich, from the pedestal to the Medicis Vase which crowns the whole. The dial, enamelled with hours in Roman numerals and seconds in arabic numerals, is framed by small rosettes. The pendulum in the form of a solar mask, referring to the god Apollo and to the time defined by the sun's rush, is chiseled with finesse and framed by two pilasters. Finally, the whole composition is decorated with garlands and acanthus leaves describing beautiful scrolls.

Ref.14832
Impressionist decor, large earthenware vase by Louis Auguste LEPÈRE for Faïencerie LAURIN

Designed between 1875 and 1878, this large ovoid vase is a technical feat due to its size and decoration. In earthenware, the polychrome decoration is made with slip, following a process developed by Ernest Chaplet at the Laurin earthenware factory in Bourg-la-Reine in 1871. The technique of slip painting was favored for making impressionist ceramics, in particular by Auguste Lepère. This painter, close to Félix Bracquemond, is the author of the landscape decoration which adorns our vase. It represents a Norman maritime landscape, between Dieppe and Etretat, with characteristic cliffs. The decor develops like a panoramic canvas, magnifying the beauty of the sky and illustrating the activities of the fishermen. The touch, vibrant and free, evokes the style of Eugène Boudin. The body of our vase is decorated with two lion heads modeled in relief. It rests on a sculpted and stained walnut base simulating a swamp populated with frogs.

Ref.15058
Neo-Renaissance cabinet, circa 1870

This neo-Renaissance cabinet in carved solid walnut was made around 1870. Its four enameled plaques, of large size and high quality of execution, make it an exceptional piece of furniture. The 19th century was fond of resuming and reinterpreting the art of the past, such as works from the Renaissance here. The lower part of the piece of furniture, open on three sides, is surmounted by a belt housing an enameled plaque on copper, decorated with foliage and a mask recalling the renaissance fashion for grotesques. Its upper part is organized around two doors decorated with elaborately shaped enameled plaques representing Mars, the god of war, and Diana, the goddess of the hunt. Enamel painting and grisaille appeared during the Renaissance. The enameler was also inspired by Renaissance enameled plaques representing Mars and Justice painted by Pierre Courteys in 1559, today in the National Renaissance Museum. On either side, the composite fluted pilasters are reminiscent of the renewed interest of Renaissance artists in classical art. Doors open onto olive-wood veneered shelves and drawers. The inside of the right door bears the stamp of the Parisian art locksmith Huby Fils. The latter participated in the Exhibition of Applied Fine Arts of 1865, where he received a gold medal, and in the Universal Exhibition of 1867. The crowning of the cabinet is composed of two facing volutes, decorated with foliage and a shell, as well as a rounded cartouche surrounded by flowers. Our cabinet is part of the suite of furniture decorated with enameled plaques designed by Hippolyte Sauvrezy in collaboration with the enameler Claudius Popelin, like the one which, presented at the Universal Exhibition of 1867, is today kept at the Musée d'Orsay .

Ref.13601
ESCALIER DE CRISTAL, Porcelain Serving Dish Decorated with a Crayfish, circa 1880

This porcelain serving dish adorned with a crayfish was made for L’Escalier de Cristal around 1880. Founded around 1808 by the widow Désarnaud, the prestigious L’Escalier de Cristal house was taken over by Pierre Isidore Lahoche and then by his associate, Émile Pannier, in 1863. In 1872, the store moved to the newly developed district around the Paris Opéra, under the supervision of Baron Haussmann. Émile Pannier’s two sons, Georges and Henry, succeeded him in 1885. The store closed its doors in 1923. This piece is a porcelain serving dish. It is a small stand where cakes, for instance, could be placed. The use of this item follows the tradition of the 18th century, when “silent servants” replaced domestic servants for more privacy. The shapes of this serving dish are reminiscent of some clichés of Rococo art: two different shell motifs with scalloped, yet regular and symmetrical, edges face each other; the whole piece is topped with a crayfish, a motif present in some masterpieces of Rococo art, such as the tureens from the centerpiece designed by Juste Aurèle Meissonnier for the Duke of Kingston in 1735. Émile Pannier and then his sons sought to follow the trends of their time while maintaining the high quality that made the store’s reputation. They embraced the fascination with East Asian arts that arose in the second half of the 19th century following Japan’s participation in the 1867 Universal Exhibition, a phenomenon known as “Japonism”. This trend caused a true revolution in Western art, strongly influencing many European artists across all fields. This piece is a testament to that influence: the ornamentation of butterflies and birds on flowering branches against a white background mimics the deliberate lack of depth characteristic of Japanese prints, while the crayfish resembles certain prints by Hiroshige depicting crustaceans. The L’Escalier de Cristal stamp under the base allows us to date the piece between 1872, when the store moved to the listed addresses, and 1885, when the brand was taken over by Émile’s sons under the name “Pannier frères”. The fusion of Rococo and Japanese art influences results in a truly unique object of great delicacy, worthy of being counted among the prestigious creations of L’Escalier de Cristal.

Ref.14967
Jean-Charles CHABRIÉ, Vendetta, Salon of 1888

This marble bas-relief entitled “Vendetta” was created by Jean-Charles Chabrié before 1888. The painter and sculptor Jean-Charles Chabrié (1842-1897) was a student of François Jouffroy for sculpture (which he practiced as his primary art form) and Vincent Chevilliard for painting. He exhibited regularly at the Salon between 1868 and 1888 and was awarded a prize in 1870 for his plaster work Rêverie d’Enfant (1874, marble at the Museum of Picardie in Amiens), which reflects his fondness for childlike themes. Vendetta is a bas-relief framed within an integrated structure. At its center, a putto is suspended from a hook by a ribbon that passes under its arms and ties at the front, unfolding in an elegant movement. Its wrists are also bound by cords attached to nails. The putto holds a rose in its right hand. On the ground lie a discarded bow and arrows; the quiver is secured with a ribbon that unfurls to display the letters of the title. The work is signed at the bottom right. Chabrié plays here with the contrast between the chosen theme and the way it is depicted. A vendetta typically refers to a personal revenge that often ends in violence or even murder, yet here it is an innocent and dejected-looking putto being punished. It might symbolize Love, defeated by an unhappy lover, as suggested by the bow and arrows on the ground and the rose in its hand. The use of tied ribbons adds a sense of softness and charm, further emphasized by the presence of a flower and a dragonfly in low relief in the background. This low-relief was exhibited at the Salon of 1888 under entry number 3896.

Ref.15730
Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century

This beautiful dish with a gold background and flower decoration signed “Milet Sèvres” was made by Félix Optat Milet in polychrome enamelled ceramic and gold background. It is treated in the manner of a cloisonné. This technique was also used by his son Paul. Félix Optat MILET (ceramist) RICHARD (decorator), Large circular decorative dish with polychrome enamelled flowers on a gold background, ©Osenat. All rights reserved. Paul MILET, Polychrome enamelled ceramic ovoid vase decorated with violets on a gold leaf background, c. 1900, ©Art-K-Typ. All rights reserved. The two plates respectively feature a group of white lilies contrasting with the coloured irises at their feet (red, mauve, blue and pink) on the one hand, and a dragonfly close to a fuchsia plant on the other hand. Félix Optat Milet (1838-1911) descended from a line of potters from the village of Bully. In 1862, he joined the Manufacture de Sèvres as a modeller, joining his brother Ambroise, director of kilns and pastes. Optat then became a decorator. In 1866, after applying to the Sèvres Town Hall, he built a kiln very close to the Manufacture. This independent business enabled him to fire his own earthenware and stoneware, which was sold in the shop attached to the factory, and to employ turners, decorators and sales staff. Paul Milet took over from his father at the head of the company in 1890, followed by his grandson Henri Milet in 1931. The company closed in 1971. At the 1889 Universal Exhibition, Milet won a gold medal for a very large pair of vases (1.3 metres high). It was also in the 1880s that Félix Optat Milet and Clément Massier founded the Delvaux boutique (18, rue royale, Paris), which continued until the 1970s. Throughout his career, Félix Optat Milet benefited from his collaborations with the artists of his time and from his own creativity.