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.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.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.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.14304
Trumeau with flower garland decoration in the Louis XVI style

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.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.