Adrian Alan Ltd - Catalogue VIII by Adrian Alan Ltd

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Tel: + 44 (0)207 495 2324 Fax: + 44 (0)207 495 0204 Email: enquiries@adrianalan.com Website: www.adrianalan.com

Catalogue VIII

ADRIAN ALAN LIMITED 66-67 South Audley Street London England W1K 2QX

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

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Established 1964

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FRONT COVER:

BACK COVER: ENDPAPERS:

Detail from An Exceptional and Very Rare Scottish Eight-Day, Three-Train, Fusee Wound Quarter-Chiming and Musical Exhibition Skeleton Clock by J. Baxter Crawford, pages 122-123 An Extremely Important and Rare Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Centre Table by Maison Millet, pages 120-121 ‘La Nature Se Dévoilant Devant La Science.’ A Very Fine Patinated Bronze Figure With Gilt Highlights and Green Tinted Scarab Beetle by Louis Ernest Barrias

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LATEST ACQUISITIONS Catalogue VIII

N AL RIA A

50 YEARS

9 6 4

1 4 2 0

66-67 South Audley Street London England W1K 2QX Tel: + 44 (0)207 495 2324 Fax: + 44 (0)207 495 0204 Email: enquiries@adrianalan.com Website: www.adrianalan.com All items in this catalogue are for sale subject to availability and to our standard Terms & Conditions of Sale

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Adrian Alan

CATALOGUE VIII

I am delighted to present the latest special edition of our catalogue to coincide with our 50th Anniversary. It would have been unimaginable 50 years ago when I opened my first Antique shop in Brighton the journey that I was embarking on. Now, having completed a half century, I can look back on an amazing and very privileged career. Fifty years of some of the finest examples of decorative arts passing through my hands, and on to an incredibly diverse group of clients, from every corner of the world. It was not planned or expected that this would turn out to be my choice of career when I left school in 1964. As so often in life, small and seemingly unrelated events would shape my future path. It all started when I was out with my Mother and she spotted a decorative gilt jardinière in a small antique shop in Brighton. It was amongst a group of four of them, of all different shapes and sizes. The owner of the shop was less than helpful and refused to sell us the one on its own, insisting they had to be sold together. We gathered our resources and made the purchase for the remarkable sum of £12 and I was left with the mission to resell the surplus three jardinières. In those days Brighton was full of antique shops, perhaps a hundred or so at its peak. I walked into the first shop I found in the Lanes (Brighton's famous Antique area) with one of the jardinières and to my amazement was offered £15 for it on its own. This quick sale followed by the other two at slightly higher prices ensured the start of my new career ....... a business was born. I left school in May 1964 and opened my first Antiques shop just three weeks later in June. I had already accepted a place at Kings College, London to read Physics and so worked part time in the business for the first three years whilst I concluded my studies and obtained my degree. Muriel, my mother, who was enormously supportive of me, looked after the shop in those early days. In fact she carried on doing so for the next twenty five years with great success and flair and laid the groundwork for our business today. I did the buying in the early days, in between lectures, and she worked on running the shop and building relationships with our growing number of clients. It was so much fun and I never doubted which way my career would go, so once I had graduated I happily turned my back on an academic path and became a full time Antique Dealer. I never realised or appreciated then how good the timing was. It was the beginning of the boom in the antique business. The world was opening up and people were beginning to travel to more places. Jet travel had cut journey times dramatically and there was a worldwide appetite for antiques to satisfy. We were perfectly placed to be involved in this rapidly expanding market. In those days it was a continual process of buying and selling, often in what now seem unimaginably large quantities, on very small margins. In 1969 I married Rosalind who was the daughter of a well-known dealer in antique silver and she has supported and assisted me all these years. The arrival of my daughters meant that I had no time to slack. I literally covered the country driving more than 1000 miles some weeks in my search for stock for my clients.

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Adrian Alan

I recall very well one of my early clients who came from Stockholm once a month and only ever bought grandfather clocks. His name was Bo Ericsson and he travelled in a converted bus with the windows painted black. Bo would take the movements out of the clocks he had bought, put them in boxes in the bus and then load up the cases. When he ran out of space he would load the remaining cases on the roof, irrespective of the weather and drive back to Sweden. I often wondered what he did with them. Sweden had such a small population that I had a mental picture of every home having at least ten clocks stacked together in a corner. One day he bought one hundred clocks, there were so many that I could not fit them in my shop and had stored them everywhere I could. But Bo wanted to see them properly, so we lined them up down the road, covering the front of my neighbour’s shops ...... the fish shop owner never got over it! I can still remember the price, they were only £8 each, but an £800 sale was a major sale in those days. I think Bo stopped coming to visit me when the price reached £10 and he was priced out of the market! Years later, in the early 1980s I travelled extensively within Scandinavia, buying amongst other items grandfather clocks. I wonder how many of these were the same clocks that I had sold to Bo all those years earlier? In those days the trade was full of eccentric and highly colourful characters, who were happy to impart some of their experience to a young lad like me. With their help, my knowledge in all sorts of areas grew exponentially. My business expanded to new, larger premises in Brighton, close to the shop in the Lanes where it had all started and where I had made my first sale. In those days we sold exclusively to the trade and had no retail clients, but we still set very high standards in quality. We bought the best items available and sold them very quickly, often within just days of owning them. Looking back, I can now see that I was developing a business model that has evolved, but not really changed over all these years. It is a simple rule that has stood me in such good stead, ‘only buy the best’. Mediocre pieces will always be mediocre, but the best just gets better and better. After several moves in Brighton to bigger and better galleries, we took the decision in the early 1990s to relocate to a large Gallery in Mayfair, London. It was a brave and perhaps foolhardy decision, as the UK was gripped by recession and we were surrounded by empty premises and failed businesses. We survived and prospered and the Gallery became established as the leading location in London to visit for fine nineteenth century pieces. Our reputation has just grown and grown. This has been helped enormously by my daughters, Hayley and Louisa, who both joined the company and brought their own skills and talents on board. Hayley with her profession as a Chartered Accountant has brought fiscal control and her expertise has enabled us to run our company efficiently and with stability. Louisa with her background in marketing passes her keen eye over everything we do and has pushed our business forward with our regular brochures and ever evolving website, whilst ensuring that we stay true to our identity.

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Adrian Alan

Both of my daughters share my passion for what we sell and our approach to clients, and I believe they will be more than capable of continuing the company when I eventually retire. Our gallery is run by fellow director James, who has been with us for more than 10 years and also helps enormously with our research and web presence. He is ably assisted by Paul and Diane with the administration and the day to day running of our business. For over 40 years we have also run our own in house restoration facility, with many members of the team staying with me from young boys to grown men, with families of their own. This consistency has been an integral part of our success, as I believe the work they produce is second to none and our ability to control the finished result speaks for itself. The team based in Sussex comprises (in order of the time they have been with us) Steven, Keith, John Paul and Lee, all of whom are invaluable members of Adrian Alan Limited. The last few years have seen so much change in the Antique business and no doubt the future will throw up challenges that we can not even imagine, but I know we will deal with them all as we have done with those in the past and adapt to the new order and thrive. We have a simple recipe and it will not change, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the very best pieces, combined with the very best service, at the most competitive pricesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Needless to say none of this would have been possible without you, my clients, and I thank you for your loyalty and friendship over the past 50 years. I hope you find something that you like amongst the pieces showcased here, but of course this is only a small selection of what we have to offer in our extensive stock, so please do visit us in the Gallery soon, or check our constantly updated website.

Yours sincerely,

Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

ZWIENER JANSEN SUCCESSEUR

A Highly Important Pair of Marquetry Pedestals with Exceptional Gilt-Bronze Mounts by Zwiener Jansen Successeur

Height 132 cm / 52 in.

The bronze mounts stamped to the reverse ‘ZJ’ for Zwiener Jansen Successeur.

Width 48 cm / 19 in. Depth 47 cm / 19 in. Ref: B70800

French, Circa 1900. This exceptional pair of pedestals are finely inlaid with foliate marquetry and mounted with exuberant gilt-bronze mounts of lions heads and paws, drawing their inspiration from the famous Bureau de Roi created by Jean-François Oeben and Jean Henri-Riesener for Louis XV at Versailles. For more background on the Bureau de Roi see pages 76-81. For a biography of Zwiener Jansen Successeur see the Appendix.

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Adrian Alan

FRANÇOIS LINKE / LÉON MESSAGÉ

An Important Louis XV Style Exhibition Kingwood and Gilt-Bronze Bombe Vitrine by François Linke & Léon Messagé

Height 194 cm / 76 in.

Linke Index No. 905. Signed ‘F. Linke’ to the upper right hand mount. Stamped ‘FL’ to the bronze mounts.

Width 130 cm / 51 in. Depth 54 cm / 21 in. Ref: B69860

French, Circa 1890. Examples of this vitrine can be seen on Linkes much praised stand at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, and also in a view of the main drawing room of the Meyer residence in Grosvenor Square, London, illustrated by

Christopher Payne. This model of vitrine with the very complex bronze mount extending over the glazed area was a speciality of Linke, the best known example being his astounding critically acclaimed vitrine at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Of this model of vitrine, this example is the rarest with the central bronze mask above the door. Literature: Christopher Payne, François Linke, 1855-1946, The Belle Époque of French Furniture, 2003, pps. 121 (pl. 136), 122 (pl. 137), 151, 153 (pl. 161).

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

KPM

A Fine and Extremely Large Gilt-Bronze Figural Putti Fifteen-Light Chandelier

‘The Bridegrooms Health - The Betrothal’ A Rare and Large KPM Plaque after the Painting by Otto Erdmann in a Finely Carved Gilt Wood Frame

Height 133cm / 52 in.

French, Circa 1890.

Plaque:

With impressed ‘KPM’ mark beneath a sceptre and with the registered mark of the Munich porcelain painter Thomas Koenig, in the form of an armorial crest with a putti supporting a banner inscribed ‘Munchen’, an artist’s palette and a shield bearing the initials ‘TK’.

Diameter 90 cm / 35 in. Ref: B70240

Height 32 cm / 13 in. Width 39 cm / 15 in. Including frame: Height 44 cm / 17 in. Width 53 cm / 21 in. Ref: B70194

German, Circa 1890. For a biography of KPM see the Appendix.

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Adrian Alan

BEFORT JEUNE

An Impressive Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze and Pietre Dure Mounted Ebonised Petit Bureau Plat after a Model by Charles Cressent by Befort Jeune

Height 77 cm / 30 in.

Stamped ‘BEFORT JEUNE’.

Width 137 cm / 54 in. Depth 75 cm / 30 in.

The pietre dure panels, Florence, Circa 1860. The bureau plat, French, Circa 1860. An almost identical bureau plat also by the celebrated ébéniste Mathieu Befort, (dit Befort

Jeune), can be found in the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London; Illustrated as item 34 in Hardstones: The Gilbert Collection, by Anna Maria Massinelli. For a biography of Mathieu Befort (Befort Jeune) see the Appendix. Literature: Massinelli, Anna Maria, Hardstones: The Gilbert Collection, London 2000, pg.106, Item No. 34.

Ref: B70081

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Adrian Alan

PARIS PORCELAIN

6 Dimensions of Fitted Case: Height 27 cm / 11 in. Width 64 cm / 25 in. Depth 53 cm / 21 in. Ref: B51102

An Extremely Rare and Fine Empire Period Paris Porcelain Coffee Service Painted with Harbour Scenes in its Original Fitted Mahogany Case French, Circa 1815. The service comprises of: A Coffee Pot and Cover, A Hot Water Jug and Cover, A Cream Jug, A Sucrier and Cover, A Footed Bowl & Twelve Coffee Cups with Twelve Saucers. The porcelain is finely painted with harbour scenes within burnished gilt bands. The service is presented in its original fitted mahogany case with tooled leather lining and brass fittings.

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

A Fine Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany, Rosewood and Parquetry Bibliothèque After the Model by Charles Cressent

A Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Marquetry Commode with a Marble Top, After the Model by Reisner

Height 243 cm / 96 in.

French, Circa 1880.

Height 93 cm / 37 in.

The bronzes stamped to the reverse ‘MK’.

Width 142 cm / 56 in.

French, Circa 1890.

Width 180 cm / 71 in. Depth 52 cm / 20 in. Ref: B68202

The bronze mounts on this bibliothèque are of the finest quality, suggesting it was made by one of the leading Parisienne ebenistes of the time. Of particular note are the giltbronze figural mounts with their feathered headdresses, in the manner of Charles Cressent.

Depth 57 cm / 22 in. Ref: B70333

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Adrian Alan

JOSEPH-EMMANUEL ZWIENER / STEINWAY & SONS

A Magnificent and Highly Important Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Marquetry Grand Piano. The Case by Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener. The Movement by Steinway & Sons

Height 106 cm / 42 in.

The movement stamped with the Steinway serial number ‘104199’. The fall board bearing the inscription ‘Steinway & Sons, Patent Grand, New York & Hamburg’. The sounding board cast with patent marks for ‘Steinway & Sons Pat May 26, 1872 New York’.

Width 155 cm / 61 in. Width including Candelabra 185 cm / 73 in. Length 225 cm / 89 in. Ref: B66920

French, Circa 1900.

The piano is modelled in the distinctive fin de siècle style of the master ébéniste Joseph Emmanuel Zwiener. A comparable art case piano by Zwiener, with an Erard movement (serial number 80560), was shown at the Paris 1900 Exposition Universelle. For biograpies of Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener and Steinway & Sons see the Appendix. Literature: Ratcliffe, Ronald V., Steinway, San Francisco, 2002, p. 175 for other variations on this model.

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

AUBUSSON

A Rare Small Pair of Louis XV Style Giltwood CanapÃ©s Upholstered In Aubusson Tapestry

Height 105 cm / 41 in.

French, Circa 1890.

Width 155 cm / 61 in. Depth 75 cm / 30 in. Ref: B71226

For a biography of Aubusson see the Appendix.

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

LA COMPAGNIE DES CRISTALLERIES DE BACCARAT

A Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Cut Glass Thirty-Two-Light Chandelier by La Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat

An Extremely Rare Empire Style GiltBronze Mounted Green Granite Fireplace with Original Cast Iron Inset

Height 125 cm / 49 in.

Stamped ‘BACCARAT’.

Height 110 cm / 43 in.

French, Circa 1850.

Diameter 95 cm / 37 in. Ref: B67393

French, Circa 1890. The design for this chandelier relates to the chandelier listed as ‘Serie E.452’ and illustrated in Baccarat’s ‘Tarif des Articles d’Eclairage’. For a biography of La Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat see the Appendix.

Width 160 cm / 63 in. Depth 41 cm / 16 in. Ref: B65670

Literature: Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat: Tarif des Articles d’Eclairage, Paris, Edition 1903-4. ‘Serie E.452’, p.41.

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

PAUL SORMANI

AUBUSSON

A Rare Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Four-Door Mahogany Drawing Room Cabinet by Sormani

A Fine Pair of Napoléon III Style Giltwood Fauteuils with Aubusson Tapestry

Height 164 cm / 65 in.

Signed to the lockplate ‘P. SORMANI, 10 rue Charlot à Paris’.

Height 106 cm / 42 in.

French, Circa 1860.

Width 109 cm / 43 in.

French, Circa 1870.

Width 75 cm / 30 in.

Depth 40 cm / 16 in. Ref: B70250

For a biography of Paul Sormani see the Appendix.

For a biography of Aubusson see the Appendix.

Depth 76 cm / 30 in. Ref: B71023

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

GEORGES ALPHONSEBONIFACIO MONBRO

An Exceptional Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze and Pietre Dure-Inlaid Ebonized Gueridon by Georges Alphonse-Bonifacio Monbro

Height 75 cm / 30 in.

The bronze stamped to the reverse ‘MONBRO’

Diameter 80 cm / 31 in.

Paris, Circa 1860. For a biography of Monbro see the Appendix.

Ref: B70130

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

PIETRO BAZZANTI E FIGLIO

A Finely Carved and Gilded Florentine Table With a Spectacular Marble, Fluorspar and Lapis Lazuli Top by Pietro Bazzanti e Figlio

Height 88 cm / 31 in.

The table top is signed â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pietro Bazzanti e Figlio, 30 Giugno 1886, Firenzeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Width 198 cm / 78 in.

Italian, Dated 1886.

Depth 99 cm / 39 in.

For a biography of Pietro Bazzanti see the Appendix.

Ref: B71461

Provenance: The Lew Whiteman Collection. Lew Whiteman was a wealthy Australian art collector. He never left Australia, but had a buyer who travelled throughout Europe buying for his collection.

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Adrian Alan

FERDINAND BARBEDIENNE

A Fine and Important Pair of Patinated Bronze Figural Six-Light Candelabra with Rouge Marble Columns, Probably Cast by Barbedienne

Height 260 cm / 102 in.

French, Circa 1850.

Width 70 cm / 28 in. Depth 57 cm / 22 in. Ref: B43573

For a biography of Ferdinand Barbedienne see the Appendix.

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Adrian Alan

FRANÇOIS LINKE

An Important Pair of Louis XV Style GiltBronze Mounted Kingwood Marble Top Commodes by François Linke

Height 96 cm / 38 in.

Linke Title: Commode Louis XV à trois tiroirs avec marquetery violette. Linke Index Number: 245. Signed ‘Linke’. Stamped ‘FL’ to the mounts.

Width 133 cm / 52 in. Depth 59 cm / 23 in. Ref: B66538

French, Circa 1891. These important commodes formed part of the furnishings of Linke’s private apartment at the Quai Henri IV in Paris. The original design for this model commode was an early example of the collaboration between Linke and Léon Messagé, inspired by a

smaller commode of similar spirit as shown in Messagé’s personal sketchbook (illus. C.Payne, pl. 63). Linke produced the commode in two sizes and in several variations - this parquetry version, a bulrush marquetry model and a plain veneered model. The bulrush version is illustrated in: Adrian Alan, Vol V, p.60-61. For a biography of François Linke see the Appendix. Provenance: François Linke and by descent his Daughter, Quai Henri IV, Paris. Literature: Payne, Christopher: François Linke, 1855 - 1946, The Belle Époque of French Furniture, 2003, pp. 68-9, pl. 63-5.

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

SÈVRES

19 Height 121 cm / 48 in. Width 34 cm / 13 in. Depth 34 cm / 13 in. Ref: B70122

A Very Fine Pair of Gilt-Bronze Mounted Sèvres Porcelain and Onyx Pedestals ` One painted panel signed ‘Ch. Labarre/Sèvres’.

A Fine and Large Pair of Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Turquoise Ground Sèvres Style Jardinières

Height 49 cm / 19 in.

French, Circa 1870.

French, Circa 1890.

Width 48 cm / 19 in.

For a biography of Charles Labarre see the Appendix.

Depth 29 cm / 11 in. Ref: B71025

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

JOSEPH-EMMANUEL ZWIENER

An Important Pair of Louis XVI Style GiltBronze Mounted Kingwood Vitrines with Wedgwood Jasperware Plaques by JosephEmmanuel Zwiener

Height 165 cm / 65 in.

Stamped ‘NZ’, ‘NZ.309’ and ‘ZJ’ to the reverse of the bronze mounts. Signed to the lockplates ‘Mon THEAU THIEFFINE Succ./SERRURIER PARIS’.

Width 99 cm / 39 in. Depth 38 cm / 15 in. Ref: B70390

French, Circa 1880. This rare pair of kingwood vitrines feature distinctive figures, finely cast as female caryatids with ringlets in their hair and supporting baskets of fruit upon their heads. This is a recognisable and celebrated model unique to Zwiener. Many of Zwieners bronzes are executed in the Louis XV style, with flowers and scrolling acanthus leaves and an emphasis on asymmetry, typical of the work of his bronze sculptor Léon Messagé. However the mounts employed on this rare pair of vitrines show Zwiener creating his own up-to-date reinterpretation of the Louis XVI style, drawing inspiration from established Louis XVI models such as those designed by Weisweiller for Marie-Antoinette’s Dressing table. For a biography of Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener see the Appendix.

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Adrian Alan

HENRI VIAN

22 Height 127 cm / 50 in. Diameter 57 cm / 22 in. Ref: B71027

An Exceptional and Large Gilt-Bronze Hall Lantern after the Model Made for the Palace of Versailles. The Bronze Cast by Henri Vian

HENRY DASSON

A Fine Pair of Gilt-Bronze ThreeLight Wall Appliqués by Henry Dasson

Height 58 cm / 23 in.

Stamped to the bronze ‘HD’ in an oval medallion.

Width 40 cm / 16 in.

French, Circa 1880.

French, Circa 1890. For a biography of Henri Vian see the Appendix.

Depth 26 cm / 10 in.

The reverse of the cresting mounts stamped ‘VIAN’.

For a biography of Henry Dasson see the Appendix.

Ref: B71028

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Adrian Alan

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Adrian Alan

A Finely Carved Louis XIV/Régence Style Giltwood Centre Table With A Rare Patricia Green Italian Marble Top French, Circa 1880.

Height 81 cm / 32 in. Width 156 cm / 61 in. Depth 92 cm / 36 in. Ref: B70124

This impressive centre table is based on the celebrated table made for the Château de Bercy now in the Louvre, Paris (Louvre Accession No. OA 5049). The design for the Château de Bercy table proved popular throughout the nineteenth century, following its admission to the Louvre and examples were made by some of the most important makers of the day, including François Linke, who supplied a model to the Grosvenor Square home of Elias Meyer.

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Adrian Alan

BOIN TABURET

An Exceptional Louis XVI Style Silver-Gilt and Cut-Glass Travel Nécessaire by Boin Taburet

Height 19 cm / 7 in.

The lock engraved ‘BOIN TABURET 3, rue Pasquier Paris’. Each piece is engraved with the initials ‘NM’ beneath a Marquis Crown.

Width 61 cm / 24 in. Depth 71 cm / 28 in. Ref: B69880

French, Circa 1880.

This very fine nécessaire has an oak case with its original blue silk lining fitted with a table mirror, a pair of three-light candlesticks, three pairs of cut-glass perfume bottles, a pair of hairbrushes, a smaller hairbrush, a pin box and a pair of rectangular clothes brushes. For a biography of Boin Taburet see the Appendix.

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FRANÇOIS LINKE

A Rare Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Folio Document Cabinet by François Linke, with a unique Locking System by Clément Linke

Height 162 cm / 64 in.

Linke Index No: 2561. Signed ‘F. Linke’ to front right side of the gallery. Stamped to the lockplate ‘CT.LINKE / SERRURERIE / PARIS / 2561’.

Width 102 cm / 40 in. Depth 36 cm / 14 in. Ref: B69850

French, Circa 1900. This rare folio document cabinet by Linke features leather on the drawer fronts, which

would have been exceptionally expensive at the time of making, not only due to the fine gilt tooling, but because of the complicated begarée finish to the leather using an acid wash. The cabinet also employs a highly sophisticated locking system designed and made by Clément Linke, enabling the cupboard doors and the folio drawers to be secured with the turn of a single key. For a biography of François Linke see the Appendix.

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A Fine Pair of Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Petites Commodes Incorporating Exceptional Eighteenth Century Chinese Lacquer Panels

Height 100 cm / 39 in.

Stamped on the lock ‘Duvivier, Paris, 77 F St Antoine’.

Width 108 cm / 43 in.

The Commodes, French, Circa 1870. The Lacquer Panels, Chinese, Circa 1760.

Depth 31 cm / 12 in.

Duvivier is known to have made fine locks for a number of the leading ébénistes of the late nineteenth century, including Maison Millet, Antoine Krieger and François Linke.

Ref: B70879

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Adrian Alan

An Important English Neo-Classical Style Statuary Carrera Marble Chimneypiece

A Large and Important Pair of NeoClassical Style Carved Alabaster Urns With Mask Handles

Height 165 cm / 65 in.

English, Circa 1800.

Height 92 cm / 36 in.

Italian, Circa 1840.

Width 230 cm / 91 in.

Diameter 47 cm / 19 in.

Depth 37 cm / 15 in.

Ref: B70773

Ref: B67570

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An Impressive and Highly Decorative Set of Four Large Allegorical Paintings Depicting The Arts and The Pursuit of Love, in Finely Carved Gilded Wood Frames

Height 219 cm / 86 in.

Oil on Canvas.

Width 107 cm / 42 in. Ref: B69950

French, Circa 1870.

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31 Armoire: Height 251 cm / 99 in. Width 231 cm / 91 in. Depth 63 cm / 25 in. Bed: Height 167 cm / 66 in. Width 183 cm / 72 in. Length 213 cm / 84 in. Side cabinets: Height 82 cm / 33 in. Width 41 cm / 16 in. Depth 41 cm / 16 in. Ref: B58760

A Remarkable and Highly Important Napoléon III Chambre À Coucher Comprising of a Gilt-Bronze and Paris Porcelain Mounted Kingwood Armoire, a Bed and Two Bedside Cabinets with Marble Tops. All with the highest quality bronze mounts and painted porcelain French, Circa 1850. The fashion for porcelain, mounted onto exquisite furniture pieces, was brought to the novelty seeking Parisian connoisseurs by ébénistes working for the principal marchandmerciers around 1760. The original pioneer was Simon-Philippe Poirier, the celebrated marchandmercier, working chiefly with the ébéniste

Martin Carlin, and who ordered his first plaques in 1758. These items were rare and sought after even at the time of their production, and most examples now reside in museum collections. The Nineteenth Century saw a revival for this fashion for porcelain-mounted furniture, especially amongst the English aristocracy (typifying their fascination with ancien regime opulence). Eighteenth Century plaques were often available to buy in the Nineteenth Century and many dealers would buy them and either alter existing pieces or make new ones to receive the plaques. The best known of these dealers were Edward Holmes Baldock, Nicolas Morel and Tatham in England, and in France, A.L. Bellanger, Vaché and Jules Piret.

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Vienna Porcelain Manufactory

32 Total Height: 245 cm / 96 in. Vases: Height 145 cm / 57 in. Width 57 cm / 22 in. Giltwood Bases: Height 100 cm / 39 in. Width 58 cm / 23 in. Ref: B70580

An Important and Extremely Large Pair of Magenta Ground Vienna Porcelain Exhibition Vases Standing on Carved Giltwood Stands

Vases: Austrian, Circa 1900. Stands: Italian, Circa 1900.

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Vienna Porcelain Manufactory

32 Total Height: 245 cm / 96 in. Vases: Height 145 cm / 57 in. Width 57 cm / 22 in. Giltwood Bases: Height 100 cm / 39 in. Width 58 cm / 23 in. Ref: B70580

An Important and Extremely Large Pair of Magenta Ground Vienna Porcelain Exhibition Vases Standing on Carved Giltwood Stands

Vases: Austrian, Circa 1900. Stands: Italian, Circa 1900.

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An Important and Large Venetian Clear-Glass and Gilt Decorated Twenty-Four-Light Chandelier

A Large and Impressive Set of Four Venetian Clear-Glass and Gilt Decorated Twelve-Light Chandeliers

Height 178 cm / 70 in.

Italian, Circa 1910.

Height 188 cm / 74 in.

Italian, Circa 1910.

Diameter 157 cm / 62 in.

Provenance: The CafĂŠ Royal, London.

Diameter 127 cm / 50 in.

Provenance: The CafĂŠ Royal, London.

Ref: B68088

Ref: B68070

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A Rare Set of Six Venetian Clear-Glass and Gilt Decorated Eight-Light Chandeliers

Height 143 cm / 56 in.

Italian, Circa 1910.

Diameter 107 cm / 42 in. Ref: B68082

Provenance: The Café Royal, London. Founded in 1865 by Daniel Nicols, a Parisian wine merchant, the Café Royal became one of the most fashionable landmarks in London, entertaining royalty, politicians, artists and aristocrats for nearly 150 years including amongst others King Edward VIII, and his brother King George VI, Princess Diana, Sir Mick Jagger and Baroness Thatcher The original building was demolished and rebuilt in 1922 to conform with other buildings in Regent Street. No money was spared in the decoration of the new interiors, and the Café Royal became particularly noted for its sumptuous and luxurious rooms. The main focal point of each of these gracious interiors were these spectacular Venetian Chandeliers.

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AÎNÉ JEAN-EUGÈNE LECLAIRE

A Fine Napoléon III Gilt-Bronze Mounted Sycamore, Amaranth and Mahogany Secrétaire à Abattant with Sèvres Style Porcelain Plaques by Aîné Jean-Eugène Leclaire

Wallace Collection, London (Wallace Collection No. F305). For a biography of Aîné Jean-Eugène Leclaire see the Appendix.

Height 151 cm / 59 in.

Stamped to the carcass ‘A. LECLAIRE/PARIS’.

Literature: Peter Hughes, The Wallace Collection: Catalogue of Furniture, London, 1996, pp. 966-69, pl. 195, for the original model by A. Schumann. Savill, R., The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain, London: The Trustees of the Wallace Collection, II, 1988.

Width 79 cm / 31 in. Depth 44 cm / 17 in.

Paris, Circa 1860. This exceptional Secrétaire is based upon an important eighteenth century model in the

Ref: B70127

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‘Les Grands Fauns’ A Large and Very Finely Cast Pair of Gilt and Patinated Bronze Figural Candelabra on Green Granite Marble Bases After a Model by François Rémond

A Rare and Important Venetian Polychrome and Ebonised Blackamoor Gueridon

Height 118 cm / 46 in.

French, Circa 1880.

Height 92 cm / 36 in.

Italian, Circa 1870.

Diameter 48 cm / 19 in. Ref: B71420

Although traditionally attributed to Clodion, it is more likely that the original model for this pair of candelabra, which now reside in the Louvre, was designed by François Rémond. Examples of nineteenth century versions of this pair of candelabra can be found in the Ostankino palace in Moscow, the Royal Palace in Madrid, Waddesdon Manor and Buckingham Palace in England.

Diameter 89 cm / 35 in. Ref: B70881

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KPM

39 Diameter of Plates 24 cm / 9 in. Length of Platter 54 cm / 21 in. Ref: B70790

An Exceptionally Fine KPM Service of Reticulated Design Painted with Scenes From La Fête Galante in the Manner of François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Comprising twelve plates and one large platter Each plate with sceptre mark for ‘KPM’. The decoration signed ‘Chourles’. German, Circa 1870. For a biography of KPM see the Appendix.

FRANÇOIS LINKE

A Rare Gilt-Bronze Mounted Parquetry Gueridon by François Linke

Height 76 cm / 30 in.

Linke Index No. 1143. Signed ‘F. Linke’.

Diameter 53 cm / 21 in.

French, Circa 1900.

Ref: B69920

The unusual gilt-bronze mounts to the tops of the legs are of coral, seaweed and shells. For a biography of François Linke see the Appendix.

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HENRI PICARD / SOCIÉTÉ DES MARBRES ONYX D’ALGÉRIE

A Highly Important and Magnificent Quality Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Commode with a Rare Algerian Onyx Top by the Société des Marbres Onyx d’Algérie, the Bronze Mounts by Henri Picard

Height 97 cm / 38 in.

Stamped to the reverse of the bronze mounts ‘HPR’ for Henri Picard.

Width 185 cm / 73 in.

French, Circa 1880.

Depth 55 cm / 22 in. Ref: B70330

This exceptional commode has painted panels depicting ladies with putti in attendance, in the manner of Boucher. The bronzes by Picard are of superb quality with their original mercury gilding. The richly coloured onyx top is very unusual, and probably made as a special commission by the Paris based Société des Marbres Onyx d’Algérie. It would have added enormously to the cost at the time it was made. The design and form of the commode is an adaption of the famous commode by Adam Weisweiler supplied in 1788 for the Cabinet Intérieur of Louis XVI at the Château de SaintCloud and now residing at the Château de Compiègne. For biographies of Henri Picard and the Société des Marbres Onyx d’Algérie see the Appendix.

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An Extremely Rare and Unusual Gilt Bronze and Polychrome Mounted Black-Lacquered Satinwood and Thuyawood SecrĂŠtaire Screen

Height 160 cm / 63 in.

Probably Austrian, Circa 1890.

Width 136 cm / 54 in. Depth 15 cm / 6 in. Depth Open 29 cm / 11 in. Ref: B70960

This rare and unusual three-fold screen has a mirrored fall front enclosing a leather writing surface and a fitted interior. The exceptional fitted interior incorporates a hinged letter rack, above an arrangement of pigeonholes and drawers fitted with divisions, containing ink bottles, a hinged penholder and a groove for scissors.

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FRANÇOIS LINKE

43 Height 148 cm / 58 in. Width 190 cm / 75 in. Depth 105 cm / 41 in. Ref: B67121

‘LE BUREAU DU ROI’ A Magnificent Secrétaire à Cylindre by François Linke, after the model supplied to Louis XV by Jean-François Oeben and Jean-Henri Riesener Linke Title: Bureau du Roi Louis XV Musée du Louvre. Linke Index No. 710. The carcass stamped ‘F. Linke’. Undertaken by François Linke, circa 1922 and left unfinished at his death, recently completed through an ambitious restoration program with the assistance of the Linke Archive. The Bureau du Roi or Kings Desk is perhaps the most famous piece of furniture ever produced and one of the most luxurious creations of the eighteenth century. The desk was ordered by Louis XV in 1760 from the Royal cabinet maker Jean-François Oeben and took nine years to complete, being delivered by Oeben’s successor Jean Henri Riesener in 1769. Originally located in Louis XV’s study at Versailles, it was moved to the Palais des Tuileries by Napoleon, before being transferred to Saint-Cloud by Empress Eugénie in 1855. In 1870 it is recorded

as being at the Musée du Louvre before being finally returned to Versailles in 1957. Adorned with lavish gilt-bronze mounts and remarkable symbolic marquetry, this magnificent cylinder bureau became an icon of Royal absolutism. The breath-taking ambition of the design, combined with its regal history, guaranteed its fame and made its recreation the zenith of nineteenth century ébénistes ambitions. Leading to the finest cabinet makers of the nineteenth century vying to recreate this spectacular tour de force, for patrons that included Ludwig II of Bavaria and the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. The first known copy of this celebrated bureau was made in Paris in 1853 by Carl Dreschler, for the 4th Marquess of Hertford, and is now in the Wallace Collection, London. Interestingly, Christopher Payne illustrates in his book a bronze master model in the Linke Archive of the figure of Calliope from the Bureau du Roi, indicating that it corresponds exactly to the bronze master pattern used for the mounts on this first nineteenth century copy, made by Dreschler, for Lord Hertford. It is possible, that when Henry Dasson took over Dreschler’s workshop in 1867, that he may

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Adrian Alan also have acquired the bronze master patterns for the bureau and that they were subsequently acquired by Linke. François Linke made three examples of the desk, noted in his green register as being completed in 1902, 1910, and 1922 respectively. The register also notes a fourth unfinished desk, which would have been started at the same time as the example supplied to the King of Egypt in 1922, and restarted after the liberation of Paris on December 31, 1944. Interestingly Linke notes this desk in his Daybook, with no costs indicated for casting, mounting or chasing of the bronzes, confirming it as the present example. Of the three completed bureau’s, the desk supplied to the King of Egypt remains today in the Abdeen Palace, Egypt, on display in the King of the Belgian’s suite. One other is noted as having been in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, England in 1934; and the other, in 1967 was in the possession of Madame Devisme, Paris, and subsequently sold in 1976. Both of these desks now reside in important private collections. As was his practice, Linke created two bureau carcasses simultaneously; the carcass and body of the present desk would have been created at the same time as the desk completed and supplied to the King of Egypt for the Abdeen Palace. The body of the desk was completed and the marquetry panels inlaid in 1922, but the costly mounting of the desk with gilt-bronze would have been postponed until a suitable client was found. Interrupted by the great depression of the 1930’s and then the war, the desk, although fully assembled in 1944, was left ultimately unfinished at Linke’s death. Given unprecedented access to Linke’s original master bronze patterns held in the Linke Archive, the magnificent gilt-bronze mounts on the present desk have been cast and finished though an ambitious restoration programme painstakingly undertaken over the last six years to complete this last great work by Linke. The moulds for the mounts were destroyed following the casting, making this a unique and exceptional undertaking that can never be repeated. This bureau, finely restored and completed to Linke’s exacting standards, therefore affords buyers a unique opportunity to own an exceptional example of one of the greatest pieces of furniture ever conceived, made by the finest cabinet maker of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For a biography of François Linke see the Appendix.

Literature: Payne, Christopher, François Linke, 1855 - 1946, The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, 2003, pps. 218-226; pl. 239, for the drawing of the Bureau du Roi in the Blue Daybook; p. 187, pl. 203, showing the bureau at the 1905 Paris Salon du Mobilier; p. 465, pl. 553, for a photograph of Linke’s showroom in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine showing the Bureau du Roi; and p. 497, for a black and white cliché. Meyer, D., Versailles Furniture of the Royal Palace: 17th and 18th Centuries, Vol. I, p. 122-131. Startmann-Döhler, JeanFrançois Oeben, p. 76, for illustrations and discussions on the 18th century model circa 1760-1769, by Jean-François Oeben and Jean-Henri Riesener. Camille Mestdagh, L’Ameublement d’Art Français: 1850-1900, Éditions de l’Amateur, 2010, p.76-78.

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An Important Pair of Monumental Thirty-One Light Giltwood Torchères after the Model by Jacques Gondoin for the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles

Height 305 cm / 120 in.

French, Circa 1870.

Width 75 cm / 30 in. Depth 80 cm / 31 in. Ref: B70080

The torchères are carved after the celebrated models designed by Jacques Gondoin (17371818) architect and designer at the GardeMeuble, for the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in 1769. The original models were turned by Derny and carved by Foliot Toussaint. They were commissioned by Louis XV for a masked ball held in May 1770 to celebrate the marriage of the Dauphin, the future Louis XVI,

to Marie-Antoinette. Half of the torchères were designed as the present model with three dancing putti figures, while the others were designed as female figures holding cornucopia. After Louis XVI was moved to Paris, under the supervision of the National Guard in 1789, a pair of the putti torchères were installed in his bedroom at the Tuileries. When Louis- Phillipe refurbished Louis XVI’s bed chamber at Versailles, the torchères were included in the decorative scheme. Literature: Daniel Meyer, Versailles - Furniture of the Royal Palace, 17th & 18th Centuries, Vol. 1, Editions Faton, 2002; p.48-9.

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An Important Pair of Monumental Thirty-One Light Giltwood Torchères after the Model by Jacques Gondoin for the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles

Height 305 cm / 120 in.

French, Circa 1870.

Width 75 cm / 30 in. Depth 80 cm / 31 in. Ref: B70080

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PIETRO BAZZANTI

‘The Finding of Moses’ An Important Florentine White Marble Figural Group by Pietro Bazzanti on a Carved Marmo Rosso Pedestal

Total Height 230 cm / 91 in.

Incised to the base ‘P. Bazzanti, Firenze’.

Height of Figure 150 cm / 59 in. Height of Pedestal 80 cm / 32 in. Max Width of Pedestal 66 cm / 26 in. Ref: B70640

Italian, Circa 1870. For a biography of Pietro Bazzanti see the Appendix.

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SORMANI

A Fine Louis XV Style Coromandel Lacquer Commode with a Rouge de Rance Marble Top by Sormani

Height 95 cm / 37 in.

Engraved to the lock plate â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;SORMANI 134 bd Haussmann Parisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Width 155 cm / 61 in.

French, Circa 1880.

Depth 59 cm / 23 in. Ref: B67521

This exceptional commode is decorated with panels of Chinese Coromandel lacquer depicting a courtly scene of stylised gardens, palaces and courtiers, set within fine gilt-bronze frames. For a biography of Sormani see the Appendix.

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A Very Fine Pair of Sèvres Style Vases and Covers of Unusual Colour and Design

Height 75 cm / 30 in.

The decoration signed ‘G. Poitevin’.

Width 36 cm / 14 in.

Literature: W. Neuwirth, PorzellanmalerLexikon, 1840-1914, Band II, p.163-4 for a listing of three painters with the surname Poitevin, all noted as working in Paris studios in the late nineteenth century. These entries are accompanied by illustrations of vases painted in a similar manner.

Depth 30 cm / 12 in. Ref: B70620

French, Circa 1900.

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A Large and Well Carved Pair of Venetian Walnut Figural TorchĂ¨res

A Fine and Unusual Pair of Baroque Style Venetian Console Tables with Carved Blackamoor Supports

Height 166 cm / 65 in.

Italian, Circa 1870.

Height 86 cm / 34 in.

Italian, Circa 1870.

Width 68 cm / 27 in. Depth 56 cm / 22 in. Ref: B70020

Each torchĂ¨re modelled as a putto holding aloft a shell, standing on a triform pedestal applied with satyrs masks.

Width 83 cm / 33 in. Depth 45 cm / 18 in.

Each table has a shaped Turquin de Caunes marble top supported by a finely carved blackamoor figure with feathered headdress and loin cloth.

Ref: B70882

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HERMAN BOEHM

FRANÇOIS LINKE

A Very Fine Viennese Enamel Coupe Modelled as a Cornucopia by Herman Boehm

A Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Marble Top Console Table by François Linke

Height 42 cm / 17 in.

The silver mount stamped ‘HB’ for Herman Boehm. The foot with a paper label with the number ‘482’.

Height 91 cm / 36 in.

The mounts stamped ‘FL’.

Width 24 cm / 9 in. Depth 16 cm / 6 in. Ref: B69890

Vienna, Circa 1880.

Width 150 cm / 59 in.

For a biography of Herman Boehm see the Appendix.

Depth 51 cm / 20 in. Ref: B70283

French, Circa 1900. A comparative console table, is illustrated by Christopher Payne in his book, François Linke, 1855 - 1946, p. 55, pl. 45. For a biography of François Linke see the Appendix.

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An Important Baroque Style Silvered and Gilt-Bronze Cherub Mirror.

A Very Fine Companion Pair of Gilt Bronze Mounted Chairs

Height 69 cm / 27 in.

Italian, Circa 1780.

Height 105 cm / 41 in.

Russian, Circa 1870.

Width 53 cm / 21 in. Ref: B70470

The frame of the mirror with an enamel armorial Coat of Arms surmounted by a Marquis Coronet and Crest.

Width 72 cm / 28 in. Depth 63 cm / 25 in. Ref: B71465

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FRANÇOIS LINKE

A Magnificient Régence Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Kingwood and Satiné Trellis Parquetry Bureau Plat by François Linke

Height 79 cm / 31 in.

Linke Index No: 795. Signed ‘F. Linke’. Stamped to the lock ‘CT LINKE SERRURERIE PARIS’ and ‘795’.

Width 170 cm / 67 in. Depth 96 cm / 38 in. Ref: B71203

French, Circa 1890. The original model for this sophisticated bureau plat was made by the leading eighteenth century ébéniste Charles Cressent. The model is distinguished by lively sculptural female espagnolettes to the corners with feathered head-dresses. The asymmetrical composition of the figures, with their turned heads and suggestion of movement, reflects Cressent’s shift stylistically from the more static forms of the Baroque, to a more whimsical and lively Rococo style. For a biography of François Linke see the Appendix.

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EUGÈNE FARCOT / ALBERTERNEST CARRIER-BELLEUSE

A Monumental Exhibition Gilt and Patinated Bronzed Figural Conical Pendulum ‘Mystery’ Clock by Eugène Farcot. The Sculpture by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse

Height 280 cm / 110 in.

The movement signed ‘EF’ for Eugène Farcot with the inscription: ‘Calibre 1, n.23’.

Width 82 cm / 32 in.

French, Circa 1860.

Depth 60 cm / 24 in. Ref: B71090

This imposing sculptural mystery clock portraying the figure of the Muse Urania by Albert Carrier Belleuse, is of monumental scale at over nine feet (280 cm) high. The clock dial is integrated into the marble base and has an eight day semiskeletal movement with a sophisticated conical pendulum by Eugène Farcot. The ‘mystery movement’ which turns the orb and pendulum held by the figure, also rotates the mechanism controlling the motion of the inner wheels. The distinctive feature of the conical pendulum is that it is in constant motion as opposed to the conventional pendulum which is continuously stopping and starting. A pioneering engineer in many fields, Farcot was the most renowned nineteenth century maker of conical pendulum and ‘ingenious mystery’ clocks, taking out successive patents throughout his long career. Farcot exhibited an example of this magnificent clock at the London Exhibition of 1862, the Paris Exposition of 1867 and 1878 and at the 1876 Philidelphia Exhibition. For biographies of Farcot and CarrierBelleuse see the Appendix. Literature: Roberts, D, Mystery, Novelty and Fantasy Clocks, Schiffer, 1999; p.123-130. The Illustrated Catalogue of the Universal Exhibition 1867, published with the Art Journal, London, 1867-1868, pp. 179-180, fig. pp. 64, 112, 157 et 309. Waring, J.B, Masterpieces of Industrial Art and Sculpture 1862, London, 1863; ppl. 108, 111, 139, 145 et 164.

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HENRY DASSON

A Magnificent and Highly Important Pair of Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Lacquer and Ebony Veneered Commodes by Henry Dasson

Height 98 cm / 39 in.

The gilt bronze mounts stamped ‘HD’, for Henry Dasson. Stamped ‘HENRY DASSON’.

Width 165 cm / 65 in. Depth 48 cm / 19 in. Ref: B70850

100

French, Circa 1870. The design inspiration for these important commodes was the famous Commode à l’Anglaise, supplied between 1775 and 1780 together with a pair of matching lacquer consoles, by the famous ébéniste Martin Carlin, for the Marquise de Brunoy. Seized at the time of the Revolution, the commode was separated from the consoles in 1802, when it was moved to the grand salon of the Premier Consul’s apartment at the Palais de St. Cloud. It remained at St. Cloud until 1870, when it was transferred from the Mobilier National to the Louvre, where it remains (Inv.OA5472). The pair of consoles are today in the Petit Trianon. Although closely related to Carlin’s commode, Dasson made a number of structural and aesthetic adaption’s to the original design, arguably creating a form more balanced in its proportions. Carlin’s commode similarly had two doors, but featured a large central lacquer panel flanked by two smaller panels, one door being double to incorporate the central panel and one of the smaller ones. Dasson faithfully recreates Carlin’s drapery festoons, in the mounts to the frieze of these

commodes, but subtly alters the mounts to the shelves and to the apron. The drapery to the edge of the shelves is expanded to a distinctly nineteenth century styled lambrequin decoration. The horizontal mounts to the apron of Carlin’s commode are also discarded in favour of an intricate continuous running pattern border. What Dasson achieves in this important pair of commodes is a subtle adaptation of Carlins commode, firmly rooted in the new perspective of the nineteenth century. What makes these commodes so unique is that it would appear Dasson worked from the original model belonging to Carlin. This may have been purchased by Dasson or inherited when he took over the business of CharlesGuillaume Winckelsen. Camille Mestdagh, in her book L’Ameublement d’art français : 1850-1900, illustrates one commode from this pair. She further refers to the sale of models by Henry Dasson et Cie, held in October 1894, at 106 rue Vieille du Temple, and notes that Beurdeley acquired two models from the Dasson sale, including one described as an ‘important cabinet Louis XVI, with lateral shelves. Louvre Museum’. Which designates most likely the Commode à l’Anglaise described above by Martin Carlin. For a biography of Henry Dasson see the Appendix. Provenance: The collection of Pierre Lecoules. Literature: C. Mestdagh, L’ Ameublement d’art français: 1850 – 1900, Paris, 2010, p. 55, fig. 52.

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MAISON ALPHONSE GIROUX

57 Height 44 cm / 18 in. Width 30 cm / 12 in. Width with mirrors open 60 cm / 24 in. Ref: B70150

104

An Important Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze and Ivory-Ground Marquetry Dressing Mirror by Duvinage & Maison Giroux

decorate artistic furniture in general. It has an ivory foundation appliquéd by a collage or by a panel or a wooden base or other material; the pieces of ivory are separated by bands or metallic grooves, and the Signed ‘FD Bté and Alph. Giroux Paris’. decorative subjects are birds, flowers, etc, produced by French, Circa 1880. inlays or mother of pearl appliques or other materials of various nuances. One obtains through this triple This highly decorative technique of ivory-ground combination of ivory, mother-of-pearl and decorative marquetry was probably first shown by Maison metal and partitioning, more attractive effects". Giroux at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle, This extremely costly production only lasted for a exhibited by Duvinage’s widow. Luxurious artworks few years, which allows relatively accurate dating of this and small items of furniture were produced, piece. Patented in 1877, this technique was only used incorporating traditional French forms and gilded until 1885, when the Maison Alphonse Giroux closed. mounts with the stylised aesthetics of Japonism. One of Duvinage’s major works is a cabinet now in In 1877 she had filed a ‘Brevet d’Invention the Musée d’Orsay, illustrated in Ledoux-Lebard ‘Les [patent] ... pour une mosaique combinée avec Ebenistes du XIX Siecle’. cloisonnements métallique, pour objets artistiques et For biographies of Maison Giroux and Ferdinand d’ameublement ...". The patent deed included a Duvinage his successor see the Appendix. descriptive memoir … "The new kind of mosaic which is the object of Literature: Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ebenistes du XIX this request by Brevet is intended to enhance and Siecle, Les Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris) 1984, p.186.

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MAISON ALPHONSE GIROUX

57 Height 44 cm / 18 in. Width 30 cm / 12 in. Width with mirrors open 60 cm / 24 in. Ref: B70150

104

An Important Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze and Ivory-Ground Marquetry Dressing Mirror by Duvinage & Maison Giroux

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EUGÈNE FARCOT / SOCIÉTÉ DE MARBRES ONYX D’ALGÉRIE

58 Height 125 cm / 49 in. Width 48 cm / 19 in. Depth 30 cm / 12 in. Ref: B71400

An Impressive Gilt and Patinated Bronze Figural Conical Pendulum Clock by Eugène Farcot, retailed by Eugène Cornu and the Société de Marbres Onyx D’Algérie, Paris The dial signed ‘Sociétés Maitres Aux d’Algérie, 24 Bd. Des Italiens, Paris’. The movement stamped with a monogramed ‘F’ for Farcot and ‘Calibre 3, no. 7’. French, Circa 1870. The Société de Marbres Onyx D’Algérie, under the directorship of Eugène Cornu, mined and fashioned luxurious Algerian marble and were celebrated for the quality of their production and design. They exhibited, and received great acclaim at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle with a display that included a monumental conical pendulum clock by Farcot. For a biography of Farcot see the Appendix.

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HENRI PICARD

59 A Large and Important Napoléon III Gilt-Bronze Figural Clock Garniture by Henri Picard Stamped to the candelabra ‘H. PICARD’. Stamped to each figure ‘GOUJON’. French, Circa 1870. The eight-day movement on the clock striking the hours and half hours on a bell. The casting, gilding and chasing of the gilt-bronze is of the very highest quality, a result of the work of two of the period’s most renowned craftsmen, the bronzier Henri Picard and the chaser Goujon. For biographies of Henri Picard and Goujon see the Appendix.

The Clock: Height 65 cm / 26 in. Width 74 cm / 29 in. Depth 27 cm / 11 in. The Candelabra: Height 92 cm / 36 in. Width 59 cm / 23 in. Depth 34 cm / 13 in. Ref: B70414

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GEORGES-ALPHONSEBONIFACIO MONBRO

An Important Pair of Napoléon III Gilt-Bronze Mounted Ebonised and Pietre Dure Inlaid Side Cabinets by Georges-AlphonseBonifacio Monbro

Height 113 cm / 44 in.

Each cabinet stamped ‘MONBRO AINE’ for Georges-AlphonseBonifacio Monbro.

Width 112 cm / 44 in. Depth 48 cm / 19 in. Ref: B70760

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French, Circa 1850. Each of these exceptional cabinets features a central black Belgian marble panel inlaid with semiprecious hard stones and agates depicting baskets issuing flowers. For a biography of GeorgesAlphonse-Bonifacio Monbro see the Appendix.

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MAISON KRIEGER

61 Height 196 cm / 77 in. Width 109 cm / 43 in. Depth 41 cm / 16 in. Ref: B71310

An Important and Extremely Rare Louis XV Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Tulipwood Bombe Vitrine by Maison Krieger Stamped to the front of the lockplate ‘MON KRIEGER AMEUBLEMENT PARIS’ and to the reverse ‘BAYLE & PIERRE / 58 R. TROUSSEAU / PARIS’. French, Circa 1880. For a biography of Maison Krieger see the Appendix.

PILLIVUYT ET CIE

An Important 63-Piece Armorial Dinner Service by Pillivuyt et Cie. Presented by La Préfecture du Berry to Amélie, Princess of Orléans, on Her Marriage to The Future King Carlos of Portugal.

Diameter 24 cm / 9 in.

Signed on each plate ‘Pillivuyt et Cie. à Mehun (Cher) Maison à Paris 46 Rue Paradis’.

Ref: B71350

French, Circa 1886. This important dinner service comprises of sixty armorial plates and three compote dishes with feet. Each plate has a gilt armorial crest depicting the union of the arms of Braganza and Orleans beneath a crown with the inscription “hommage du Berry 1886”. Amélie of Orléans (1865 – 1951) was the last Queen consort of Portugal. The daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, and his wife Princess Marie Isabelle d’Orléans, she was a Princess of Orléans by birth. On 22 May 1886, Amélie married Carlos, Prince Royal of Portugal. He was the eldest son of King Luís I of Portugal and Maria Pia of Savoy and ascended the Portuguese throne as Carlos I in 1889. Carlos was assassinated in Lisbon in 1908. For a biography of Pillivuyt et Cie see the Appendix.

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JEAN-CHRISTOPHE FISCHER

‘The King Louis-Philippe Console’ A Highly Important Restoration Period Maple and Amaranth Veneered Console Table with Patinated Bronze Female Term Supports, by Jean-Christophe Fischer, made for the French Royal Family.

Height 94 cm / 37 in.

The table is stamped ‘Fischer à Paris’ and with ‘LPN’ beneath a crown for Louis-Philippe Neuilly, and the number ‘13687’.

Width 110 cm / 43 in. Depth 41 cm / 16 in. Ref: B70880

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French, Circa 1830. For a biography of Fischer see the Appendix. Provenance: Louis-Philippe, for the Château de Neuilly. Louis-Philippe, Duc d’Orléans, was born October 6, 1773 in Paris, the eldest son of Louis-PhilippeJoseph, Duc de Chartres. The Château de Neuilly was built for Marc-Pierre de Voyer d’Argenson. It was purchased in 1818 by Louis-Philippe, who was then proclaimed King of France on April 9, 1830. The château was looted and destroyed during the 1848 revolution after his abdication.

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An Exceptional Austrian Exhibition Quality NeoBaroque Carved Mahogany Bed. The Foot and Headboard Finely Carved With Figural Crests and Inset with Bronze Relief Panels Depicting the Five Ages of Man and the Birth of Venus Austrian, Circa 1890.

Height 262 cm / 103 in. Width 249 cm / 98 in. Length 232 cm / 91 in. Ref: B71466

This large and impressive bed epitomises the grandeur and sophistication of the Austrian neo-baroque, with an emphasis on the rich ornamentation and classical motifs that become a central feature of Imperial style in the late nineteenth century, inspired by Italian Baroque and classical Greek sources. The bronze plaques and intricately carved female figures to the footboard hint at the forthcoming modernist aesthetic of Art Nouveau. The finely cast bronze panels are an unusual addition to furniture of this type, their scale and quality emphasising the importance and ambition of the bed and almost certainly confirming it as a unique exhibition piece. While the expressive carving draws direct comparison with Italian baroque carving, its relaxed style is distinctly Austrian in approach. Vienna from the 1850â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s onwards saw an architectural transformation with the construction of an Imperial city dominated by Neo-Baroque and Greek Renaissance style buildings, most notably the public buildings and palaces along the Ringstrasse. The most important architect of this period was Theophilus Hansen responsible for, amongst other buildings, the Parliament and the Wiener Musikverein. Hansen also created a number of important Palaces and Castles, including a Palace for Archduke Wilhelm and the Palace of Herrenstein, for Archduke Leopold. At Herrenstein, as with many of his buildings, Hansen collaborated with artists and craftsmen to create a unified aesthetic, designing much of the furniture and fitments. The bed he created for Archduke Leopold draws many similarities with the present example. Decorated in the earlier Neo-Grec style, the overall form of Leopoldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bed is closely related, embellished with sumptuous carving and dominated by high, round armorial crestings. Given the lavish decoration and extraordinary quality of this bed, is likely that it was created as an exhibition piece or specifically commissioned to furnish one the newly completed palaces on the Ringstrasse.

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MAISON MILLET

An Extremely Important and Rare Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Mounted Mahogany Centre Table by Maison Millet

Height 79 cm / 31 in.

Stamped to the lock-plate ‘Millet à Paris’. Various mounts stamped to the reverse ‘MB’.

Diameter 78 cm / 31 in.

French, Circa 1880.

Ref: B71040

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This rare table has a circular radiating pattern amethyst quartz veneered top, above a panelled frieze, mounted to four sides with trophies emblematic of the four seasons.

The exceptional quality gilt-bronze mounts to this table epitomize the style arabesque developed by the celebrated Louis XVI maître Adam Weisweiler and his Marchand-Mercier Dominique Daguerre. The caryatids heading the legs are copied from a table, now in the Louvre Museum, supplied in 1784 by Daguerre to the Queen Marie-Antoinette. Daguerre’s bills record that the mounts were designed especially for the Queen. For a biography of Maison Millet see the Appendix.

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J BAXTER CRAWFORD

An Exceptional and Very Rare Scottish Eight-Day, Three-Train, Fusee Wound Quarter-Chiming and Musical Exhibition Skeleton Clock by J. Baxter Crawford

Height 80 cm / 31 in.

Engraved to the front plate ‘J. BAXTER CRAWFORD, GLASGOW, MAKER’.

Width 53 cm / 21 in.

Scottish, Dated 1868.

Depth 30 cm / 12 in. Ref: B70270

This large and very rare musical skeleton clock has a 14-inch foliate chapter ring inset with glass numerals and champlevé enamel hands. The six pillar, three train fusee and chain movement, is set within massive scroll plates finely engraved with foliate scroll arabesque. The clock includes a four tune music box. The exceptionally high quality movement is of an eight-day duration with a dead beat escapement. The clock chimes the quarters on a nest of eight bells mounted on top of the clock, with the hours struck on a further larger bell. Once the hours are struck, a set of levers activates a cylinder comb musical movement mounted in the giltwood base. The musical movement has a duo-grouped tooth comb in forty-two clusters, with a brass bar number stamped for each, reading right to left. It is extremely rare to find the combination of a musical movement together with a skeleton form clock. An example of a very similar large musical skeleton clock, also by Crawford, can be found in the collection of the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. It is highly likely given the quality and ambition of the present example, that it may have been made specifically for, or exhibited at, one of the great exhibitions of the second half of the nineteenth century.

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ELI JOHNSON

LA COMPAGNIE DES CRISTALLERIES DE BACCARAT

‘The Queen of Sheba’ A Large and Important White Carrera Marble Figure Sculpted by Eli Johnson

An Extremely Rare Pair of Cameo Glass Vases by La Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat

Height 119 cm / 47 in.

Signed ‘ELI JOHNSON fecit 1879’.

Height 25 cm / 10 in.

French, Circa 1867.

Width 40 cm / 16 in.

English, Dated 1879. For a biography of Eli Johnson see the Appendix.

Width 31 cm / 12 in.

Depth 35 cm / 14 in.

Depth 24 cm / 9 in.

Ref: B70661

Ref: B53630

For the 1867 Exposition Universelle Baccarat prepared a series of vases based on the cult of Bacchus, using neo-classical figurative motifs inspired by antique bas-reliefs and the Borghesi vase in the Louvre. The vases were made from opaline glass cased in cobalt blue or amber, a process whereby two layers of differently coloured crystal were overlaid then etched to reveal the design. The blocked out background of the motifs, the half-tone effects and the satin finish represent the most refined and elaborate of etching techniques. Included in this series was a related pair of cameo vases with amber etchings, illustrated by Jean-Louis Curtis, in his book Baccarat, p.246. For a biography of Baccarat see the Appendix.

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A Rare and Highly Important Russian Imperial Period Gilt-Bronze Mounted and Marquetry Inlaid, Triple Turn-Over Games Table

Height 78 cm / 31 in.

St. Petersburg, Circa 1820.

Width 91 cm / 36 in. Depth 41 cm / 18 in.

Dimensions of Top when open: Width 91 cm / 36 in. Depth 91 cm / 36 in. Ref: B70877

This rare and elegant marquetry games table, is representative of the golden age of Russian craftsmanship of the early nineteenth century. The table, in keeping with courtly pursuits of the day, has a triple turn-over top, opening successively to reveal a chess board and a leather playing surface for cards. The upper surface is veneered in kingwood and amaranth, with exceptional marquetry inlay in stained sycamore, holly, boxwood, and exotic Russian native timbers. It is centred by an oval roundel with a decorative and highly unusual stilllife tableau of playing cards and dice. The distinctive form of the decorative marquetry inlay and the use of rich indigenous timbers confirm the Russian origin of this table. The flowering tendrils are a distinctive feature of the work of a small group of St Petersburg cabinet makers such as Nikifor Vasilyev and Matvei Veretennikov. Both of these master cabinet makers were serfs, Veretennikov belonging to Count Alexander Vasilievich Soltikov and Vassilyev belonging to the Sheremetev estate. It is interesting to note, that of the small number of known masterpieces by these makers, two of them are elaborately inlaid gaming tables, confirming its importance as a furniture type amongst the upper classes of the period. A late eighteenth century marquetry gaming table by Veretennikov now resides at the Moscow Museum of Russian History. A similar marquetry inlaid games table, of related form to the present example, by Nikifor Vasilyev, can be found in the Standard Room of the Peterhof Palace. Literature: I. K. Bott, Tsarskoselskaya Furniture and Crowned Owners, Avora, Moscow, 2009. U. V. Fomin, The Art of Marquetry in Eighteenth Century Russia, Moscow, 1989. Antoine Cheneviere, Russian Furniture: The Golden Age 1780 - 1840, Antique Collectors Club, Woodbridge, 2001.

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JOSEPH EMMANUEL ZWIENER

A Fine Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze Kingwood and Parquetry Inlaid Writing Table With Wedgwood Jasperware Plaques by Joseph Emmanuel Zwiener

A Large and Finely Carved Louis XVI Style Marginal Frame Giltwood Mirror

Height 76 cm / 30 in.

Stamped to the bronze mounts ‘ZN’.

Height 230 cm / 91 in.

French, Circa 1880.

Width 115 cm / 45 in. Depth 65 cm / 26 in. Ref: B71321

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French, Circa 1880. This writing table is inspired by the bureau plat supplied by Jean-Henri Riesener in 1784 for the Cabinet Intérieur du Roi at Fontainebleau. Zwiener modifies the form of Riesener’s design and in keeping with the style of the late nineteenth century, incorporates fine neoclassical Wedgwood Jasperware plaques. For biographies of Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener and Wedgwood see the Appendix.

Width 148 cm / 58 in. Depth 26 cm / 10 in. Ref: B71051

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LA COMPAGNIE DES CRISTALLERIES DE BACCARAT

A Very Rare and Large Set of Sixteen Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze and Cut-Glass Five Branch Wall Lights by La Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat

Height 70 cm / 28 in.

Stamped ‘BACCARAT’.

Width 35 cm / 14 in. Depth 26 cm / 10 in. Ref: B67790

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French, Circa 1880. For a biography of La Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat see the Appendix.

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A Large and Finely Cast Louis XVI Style Gilt and Patinated Bronze Cercles Tournants EightDay Movement Clock Depicting the Three Graces, After the Eighteenth Century Model by Franรงois Vion, Now in the Louvre, Paris

Height 82 cm / 32 in.

French, Circa 1880.

Ref: B71320

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A Fine of Pair of Adam Style GiltBronze Nine-Light Floor Standing Candelabra with Glass Shades

Height 212 cm / 83 in.

English, Circa 1880.

Diameter 63 cm / 25 in. Ref: B70731

Provenance: Thomas Taylour, 3rd Marquess of Headfort (d. 1894), Headfort House, Ireland. Thence by descent at Headfort. Headfort House is a mid-Georgian mansion built by Sir Thomas Taylor, the first Lord Headfort. Work began on the house in the 1760’s and was completed sometime in the early 1770’s. In 1771, Lord Headfort commissioned Robert Adam to create a decorative scheme for the state rooms of the house. Designed in the Adam style to complement the Adam style decoration of the house, the candelabra remained in the house for over one hundred years until the contents were sold towards the end of the twentieth century. The candelabra can be seen illustrated in a Country Life article on the house published on the 28th March 1936. Literature: C. Hussey, ‘Headfort, Co. Meath, The Seat of the Marquess of Headfort’, Country Life, 28 March 1936, part II, p. 327, fig. 3, showing the candelabra in situ in the Eating Parlour.

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FERDINAND BARBEDIENNE

75 Height 89 cm / 35 in. Width 46 cm / 18 in.

A Fine Pair of Napoléon III GiltBronze and Patinated Bronze Athéniennes Modelled in the Classical Antique Style, Attributed to Barbedienne

Depth 41 cm / 17 in.

The bronze impressed with the number ‘R 2571’ and ‘R 2572’.

Ref: B70030

French, Circa 1870.

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The exceptional quality of the bronzes on this pair of Athéniennes would suggest the work of one of the most eminent fondeurs of the period. For a biography of Ferdinand Barbedienne see the Appendix.

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Appendix. Biographies Aubusson The small town of Aubusson, on the River Creuse in France, has a long history of producing elaborate and costly tapestries, famous throughout the world. Its origins were born with the arrival of weavers from Flanders, who took refuge in Aubusson around 1580. Aubusson tapestries are known for their elegance and delicate colouring, often depicting romantic pastoral scenes derived from artists such as Boucher; historic scenes inspired by classical mythology; or more formalized architectural vistas. Aubusson was particularly noted for its finely balanced compositions of garlands and bouquets which became famous and sought after throughout Europe. Louis XIV was instrumental in the development of the French tapestry industry, He recognized that by taking over the leadership of tapestry art from the Flemish, France could project its power and its culture worldwide, as well as increase its wealth. In 1662 the tapestry workshop of the Gobelins was proclaimed a Manufacture Royale, followed by Beauvais and Savonnerie. Originally these factories wove to furnish the royal palace at Versailles exclusively. The weavers of Aubusson were granted this title of Manufacture Royale a couple of years later in 1665, recognising their place alongside these other leading tapestry makers. At a time when the other Royal French tapestry producers could not supply outdside the Royal Court, Aubusson flourished amongst the aristocracy and upper classes of Europe. Their output has always been considered to be the finest in the world. Louis the XV, Louis the XVI and Napoléon I later all commissioned work from Aubusson. The latter two ordering in the greatest quantites. A 1786 inventory lists more than one hundred Aubusson carpets at the palace of Versailles and a 1789 inventory of all royal palaces describes a great many more. A downturn in fortunes came after the French revolution and the arrival of wallpaper. However, tapestry made something of a comeback during the 1930s, with artists such as Cocteau, Dufy, Dali, Braque, Calder and Picasso being invited to Aubusson to express themselves through the medium of wool.

Baccarat Baccarat is the world’s leading manufacturer of crystal ware. Founded in 1764 under the patronage of Louis XV as Renault et Compagnie, the firm became known as the Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat during the nineteenth century. The company began to flourish at the beginning of the nineteenth century as the effects of the Napoleonic Wars abated, and its reputation was consolidated by official approval from various sovereigns and heads of state. At the 1823 Exposition Nationale in Paris, it was Baccarat’s crystal ware that Louis XVIII was said to have particularly admired, appreciating its ‘beautiful workmanship’. It was Charles X’s visit to the crystal works in

1828, however, that had the most significant repercussions for the company. Baccarat presented the monarch with a gift of two magnificent Medici vases, a large crystal ewer, a fifteen-piece tea service and a five-piece water set. The king then ordered a dinner service for the Tuileries, while the Duchess d’Angoulême personally chose a set of eighteen glasses, described by her as ‘...sturdy, balanced, perfect’. Later Louis-Philippe and Napoléon II also visited the crystal works and were followed by a succession of French presidents and foreign heads of state. François-Eugène de Fontenay (who joined the company in 1841) discovered that by the addition of nickel oxide in the manufacturing process, a perfectly clear product ‘crystal glass’, free of discolouration and imitating precious rock crystal was produced. This is just one of many technical innovations and improvements discovered by Baccarat that made the company as successful as it is today. The Baccarat company was awarded a gold medal at the French Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie in 1855 and has continued to carry off the top prizes ever since. In 1867 Baccarat exhibited a gigantic fountain 24 feet tall, with a basin 10 feet in diameter, which it was said, ‘simply took visitors’ breath away’. With the continuing improvement in their manufacturing standards, the quality of Baccarat’s ‘crystal glass’ improved and reached the highest level by the end of the century, competing successfully with the Bohemian glass industry. Baccarat crystal glass is highly regarded, not only for its unusual clarity, but also for its great solidity and weight. Bibliography Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat, Tarif des Articles d’Eclairage, (Paris), Edition 1903–4. Curtis, Jean-Louis, Baccarat, Thames and Hudson (London), 1992. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p. 263.

Barbedienne Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810–1892) was the inspiration and driving force behind one of the most important French art foundries. The Barbedienne foundry handled the casting of numerous national monuments and architectural schemes. Ferdinand Barbedienne also took an active part in the promotion of contemporary sculpture and became one of the founders for David d’Angers’ medallions and much of François Rude’s sculpture. In 1850 Barbedienne was commissioned to furnish the Paris Town Hall for which he was awarded with the Médaille d’Honneur at the 1855 Paris Exposition Universelle. Bibliography Barbedienne, Ferdinand, Catalogue des Bronzes d’art 1886 (Paris), 1886. Fonderie d’art Francaise: Val D’Osne, Fonderie de Tusey, Antoine-Louis Barye, Fonderie Rudier, Charles Crozatier, Ferdinand Barbedienne, Livres Groupe, 2010. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900,

Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 23, 120, 155, 161 and 179. Kjellberg, Pierre, Les Bronzes du XIX siècle: dictionnaire des sculpteurs, Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris), 2005. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006.

Barbetti Angiolo Barbetti (1805–1873) was a skilled carver, designer and decorator, with a flourishing atelier in Florence during the nineteenth century. After working in his father Massimiliano’s atelier in Siena, he took up an apprenticeship with Giovacchino Guidi, considered one of Siena’s finest ebenisti. By 1826–7, he had established a workshop on the Piazza San Giovanni, Siena and in 1830 exhibited his first works at the Istituto delle Belle Arti. In November 1842 Barbetti moved his workshop to Florence, establishing himself near the Ponte alle Grazie. Commissions from this period included carvings for the interiors of the Villa San Donato for Prince Anatole Demidoff. Barbetti took part in many of the international exhibitions of the second half of the nineteenth century, including the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, where he was awarded a medal for a suite of carved walnut furniture. Following the exhibition the suite of furniture was purchased by the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it remains today. Joined in the business by his four sons Rafaello, Egisto, Ottavio and Rinaldo by the beginning of 1860, the firm of Barbetti continued to find international success exhibiting successfully at the 1861 Florence Exhibition, the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle and the Vienna Exhibition of 1873. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p. 41. Simone Chiarugi, ‘La bottega di Angiolo Barbetti a Siena e Firenze’, in C. Paolini, A. Ponte and O. Selvafolta, Il bello ‘ritrovato’, Novara, De Agostini, 1990, pp. 220–223. Simone Chiarugi, ‘La fortuna degli intagliatori senesi’, in Siena tra Purismo e Liberty, exhibition catalogue, A. Mondadori and De Luca (Milan and Rome), 1988. Pietro Bazzanti Pietro Bazzanti was one of the leading marble sculptors working in Italy in the nineteenth century. He specialised in allegorical subjects as well as pieces inspired by Antique and Renaissance sculpture. His gallery in Florence, Pietro Bazzanti e Figlio, originally Bazzanti’s studio, was established in 1822 as a showroom for his work. Bazzanti exhibited with success at many of the great international exhibitions of the period, including the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876 and the Boston exhibition of 1883.

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Adrian Alan Regarded as one of the most talented sculptors of his day, his studio became a centre for other important sculptors such as Ferdinando Vichi, Cesare Lapini and Guglielmo Pugi. Such was the high regard in which he was held, that many of these sculptor’s works are inscribed ‘Galleria Bazzanti’. In addition to sculpture the Bazzanti workshop was also known for the production of spectacular specimen marble table tops for the grand tour.

Mathieu Befort Mathieu Befort (Befort Jeune) (1813-1880) is recorded as having worked in Paris from 1836 until 1880. He was descended from a family of renowned ébénistes and was the son of the renowned cabinetmaker Jean-Baptiste Befort, known as Befort Père, who was of Belgian origin and renowned for having supplied furniture for the apartments of the Duc d’Orléans. Father and son are noted for their interpretations of furniture by André-Charles Boulle and the creation of vernis matin and porcelain mounted furniture, often in the manner of Riesener. The firm received a medal at the 1844 Exposition de l’Industrie Française, and Befort built a reputation for the high quality of his work. As a result he became a supplier to Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. Bilbliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise Les Ébénistes du XIX Siècle, Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris) 1984, pps. 48-50.

Beurdeley The Beurdeley family were a flourishing dynasty of three generations of fine quality cabinetmakers working from 1818 to 1895. The firm was particularly well known for its exceptional metalwork, most commonly basing their designs on important eighteenth-century examples. Their mercurial gilding and hand chasing are often of such a high standard that it is difficult to distinguish it from eighteenthcentury work. The founder of the dynasty Jean Beurdeley (1772–1853) was a Burgundian craftsman conscripted into the Napoleonic army. After hostilities ended in 1815 Beurdeley settled in Paris, opening a shop for curiosités and working as a latter day marchand-mercier. Initially based on the rue Saint-Honoré, in 1840 Beurdeley moved to the famous Hanover Pavilion, situated on the corner of Rue Louis-le-Grand and boulevard des Italiens, where the business was run by his only surviving son, LouisAuguste-Alfred (1808–1882). The success of the business – which had numerous official commissions, including in 1853 the marriage coffer for the Empress Eugénie – was continued by Louis’ son, Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis (1847–1919). The business continued in its traditional style with very few variations until 1895. Alfred, along with the most famous artists of the period, took part in the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle, where he won the gold medal. Following on from this glory, he went on to

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open a shop in New York. His participation in the 1883 Amsterdam Universal Exhibition drew even further attention to his work, and possibly as a result, he was awarded the Ordre National de la Légion d’honneur, France’s highest official mark of recognition. The incredible quality of each generation’s work ranked the firm of Beurdeley as preeminent amongst Parisian makers of meubles de luxe. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 75–82. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de L’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 262–76. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 175, 247, 269, 270, 290, 298.

Herman Boehm The celebrated goldsmith and enameller Herman Boehm worked from circa 1866 until 1922. He was known for creating magnificent enamelled objects of the highest quality in the Renaissance revival style. He is widely recognised as one of the foremost Austrian practicioners of Revivalist goldsmith’s work. Using the local talents in painted enamels and hardstone work he created new Renaissance objects of splendour for an international clientele. At the 1873 Vienna Exhibition, Boehm received an award for merit for his exhibits which included a " Tournament Shield and Weapons in antique style", various "galantries", and "jewelry pieces in Limoges enamel".

Boin-Taburet Boin-Taburet was established in 1873 by the antique dealer George Boin and the jeweller Emile Taburet. The firm was credited for the revival of interest in Louis XV style silver-work in Paris in the late 1880’s, and awarded a gold medal at the Paris 1889 Exposition Universelle. As well as producing exceptional silver and metal work the company retailed small items of furniture and decorative objects of the very highest order, made by the leading ébénistes of the day. Emile Taburet and Georges Boin worked together until 1900 when Georges Boin associated with the silversmith Henry and created ‘Boin and Henry’ silversmiths.

Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824–1887) was an important Parisian sculptor . He trained under the sculptor Fauconnier before entering the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1840, where he studied under David d’Angers. He later abandoned this formal training in order to develop his interest in a more decorative, romantic style – showing a healthy independence.

Carrier-Belleuse made his debut at the Salon in 1851 before moving to England where he worked in the design studio, at Minton’s ceramic porcelain works in Staffordshire until 1854. Here he trained under Léon Arnoux. Upon his return to Paris in 1855 he embarked on a series of important commissions that included work at the Louvre, the Hôtel de Païva, the Opéra, the Hôtel de Ville and the Théâtre Français. As one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the nineteenth century, he made his reputation with the group Salve Regina, which was shown at the 1861 Paris Salon. His later works Bacchante (1863) and The Messiah (1867) won him medals and the Légion d’ honneur – the ultimate recognition. In the last years of the Second Empire he executed many public commissions and was highly regarded by Napoléon III, who referred to him as ‘our Clodion’. Carrier-Belleuse worked in every medium, both traditional and modern, even experimenting with galvanoplasty and electroplating. His combination of materials, such as porcelain, for the features of his bronze statuettes, anticipated the chryselephantine figures of the turn of the century. In 1875 he was appointed Director of Works at the Sèvres porcelain factory. He employed a galaxy of rising young sculptors as assistants, who at one time or another included Rodin and Mathurin Moreau, though his own work showed little sympathy with the modern movement which Rodin was instrumental in developing. His bronzes include many busts of historic and contemporary celebrities, classical and allegorical figures, figures in period costume, nude statuettes, bas-reliefs and even sculptural staircases and interior decoration. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p. 194. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 61, 150. Segard, Achille, A. Carrier-Belleuse, H. Champion (Paris), 1928. Lami, Stanislas, Dictionnaire des sculpteurs de l’école française, H. Champion, (Paris), 1914.

Christofle Charles Christofle, who took over the business of his brother-in-law Joseph-Albert Bouilhet, established Christofle as silversmiths in Paris in 1830. From the beginning, in addition to his own design studio, Christofle sought out leading artists, sculptors and ornamentalists, as well as accomplished designers, to create extraordinary pieces and collections. In the 1840’s the firm introduced to France the revolutionary technique of silverplating metal by electrolysis. The statues crowning the roof of the Garnier Opera House in Paris are among the most impressive examples of this pioneering technique. Prestigious commissions from royalty and heads of state, including King Louis-Philippe and Napoleon III bear witness to Christofle’s success and reputation. Amongst other

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Adrian Alan commissions Christofle made castings for a lady’s writing desk displayed at the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle and also for a child’s cradle purchased by Napoleon III. Bibliography Blair, Claude, The History of Silver, Ballantine Publishing Group (New York), 1987. Dorsan, Sibel, ‘Christofle: A Legend Revisited’, Diplomat Monthly Magazine, June 2006. Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, p. 128. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Rosenberg, David, Christofle, Assouline (London), 2006. Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier (1827–1905) studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris and also under François Rude. He exhibited for the first time at the Paris Salon of 1847, and shortly after became fascinated with North Africa and its people, in particular France’s newly acquired colony Algeria. This choice of subject was based on a combination of childhood fantasies of voyages to far-away places and the socio-political, cultural and artistic climate of the time. France, having recently conquered Algeria, had launched herself into a period of colonisation. This Orientalism and a preoccupation with the exoticism of distant continents was not something new. It was Cordier, however, who gave three-dimensional life to this trend through his sculpture. His first major success was at the 1848 Salon where he exhibited a bust entitled Saïd Abdallah de la tribu du Darfour. The bust was received with great acclaim and a copy ordered in bronze by the French government. This success was followed at the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851, where alongside the bust of Saïd Abdallah he exhibited the enchanting and beautiful bust Vénus Africaine, both of which were purchased by Queen Victoria. Confirming that interest in this type of subject matter was not exclusively French (de Margerie and Papet, p. 205, cats. 480–1) In 1851 Cordier was appointed ethnographic sculptor to the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, a post he held for fifteen years. His interest in ethnography, combined with his passion for the use of polychrome in sculpture, led him to create exceptional bronze and marble sculptures, using luxurious materials and surface treatments such as ‘galvanoplasty’; a process of silver-plating pioneered by the Parisian silversmith Christofle. He rejected the repetitive monochrome sculpture of the Romantic movement and in 1856 funded by the École des Beaux-Arts, he set off for Algeria to explore the multi-coloured marbles and onyx of its recently re-opened quarries,

and to observe its people first-hand. At the height of his artistic maturity in the 1860s, Cordier developed a more opulent approach in his choice of materials and a greater ambition in the scale of his works. Following his travels in Tunisia in 1861, he returned to Paris to create a series of exceptional grand torchères. These included his initial 1862 Femme Arabe, purchased by the Empress Eugénie for Fontainbleau, a pair of torchères exhibited at the 1862 London Exhibition, and the remarkable Femme Arabe purchased by the Duc de Morny in Cordier’s studio sale of 1865, featured on pages 136137. This series of life-size grand torchères created in the 1860s, marked the culmination of Cordier’s experimentation with the use of polychrome in sculpture and an academic approach to ethnographic subjects. Opulent and dramatic, they are considered a tour de force amongst his later works. Cordier undertook many important commissions during the Second Empire, including works for the Paris Opéra, the Louvre, the Paris Hôtel de Ville, and monuments to Ibrahim Pasha in Cairo and to Christopher Columbus in Mexico. Private commissions included works for Baron de Rothschild at the Château de Ferrières amongst others. In the last quarter of the century he continued to exhibit with success at many of the international exhibitions, his last works being exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1904. He died in Algiers in 1905 at the age of 78. Bibliography De Margerie, L and E. Papet, Facing the Other: Charles Cordier 1827–1905, Ethnographic Sculptor, exhibition catalogue, Dahesh Museum of Art (New York), 2004. Durand-Revillon, J, ‘Un promoteur de la sculpture polychrome sous le second empire’, in Bulletin de la Société de l’histoire de l’art français, 1984, pp. 181–98. Meyer, Jonathan, (2006), Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, p 135, pl. D46, p. 236. Trapadoux, M, L’Oeuvre de M. Cordier, galerie anthropologique et ethnographique pour servir à l’histoire des races (Paris), 1860. Henry Dasson Henry Dasson (1825 – 1896) was one of the finest makers of gilt-bronze mounted furniture in the nineteenth century. With a workshop established in Paris at 106 rue Vieille-du-Temple, he specialised predominantly in the production of Louis XIV, XV and XVI style furniture using the very finest quality gilt-bronze mounts. In 1871, he purchased the flourishing business and remaining stock of CharlesGuillaume Winckelsen, who had established a reputation for furniture of the highest quality. Dasson almost certainly inherited the craft of ciseleur from Winckelsen. At the 1878 and 1889 Paris Expositions Universelles Dasson exhibited a number of pieces in the Louis XV and XVI styles, as well

as pieces of his own modified eighteenthcentury design. The exhibits in 1878 included a table entirely in gilt-bronze, purchased by Lord Dudley. His copy of the celebrated Bureau du Roi sold at the same exhibition to Lady Ashburton. Jonathan Meyer illustrates a number of exceptional items exhibited by Dasson in 1889 in his book on the Great Exhibitions. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 269–70. Mestdagh Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010. Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 146–51.

Duvinage et Harinckouk (House of Giroux, 1867-1885) Ferdinand Duvinage and Mr Harinkouck, took over the celebrated Maison Giroux in 1867, although Harinckouk is no longer mentioned within the business after 1870. Under Duvinage, the business reached new levels of success, exhibiting at the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle, where it received a silver medal and at Vienna in 1873, where it was awarded two medals of merit. Ferdinand Duvinage died between 1874 and 1877 leaving the management of the business to his wife, Rosalie. Maison Giroux continued with great success until closing in 1885. One of Duvinage’s major works is a cabinet now in the Musée d’Orsay illustrated in Ledoux-Lebard ‘Les Ébénistes du XIX Siècle’. Museum Collections Musée d’Orsay, Paris Ajada National Palace, Lisbon Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, USA Art Institute of Chicago, USA Detroit Institute of Art, USA Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIX Siècle, Les Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris) 1984, p.185. D. Kisluk - Grosheide, Maison Giroux and its ‘Oriental’ Marquetry Technique, The journal of the furniture history society, vol. XXXV, 1999, p. 147-172. Bill Pallot, Marqueteries en cloisonné de la veuve Duvinage, L’Estampille-L’Objet d’art, September, 2007.

Henry Eugène Adrien Farcot Henry Eugène Adrien Farcot (1830-1896) was an established Parisian clock-maker working from 1858 - 1890. It is recorded that he exhibited at Paris in 1861, 1867 and 1878, London in 1862 and Philadelphia in 1876. A pioneering engineer in many fields, Farcot was the most renowned nineteenth century maker of conical pendulum and ‘ingenious mystery’ clocks, taking out successive patents throughout his long career. Farcot exhibited

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Adrian Alan examples of this magnificent clock on his stands at the London Exhibition of 1862, the Paris Exposition of 1867 and 1878 and at the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. The distinctive feature of the conical pendulum is that it is in constant motion as opposed to the conventional pendulum which is continuously stopping and starting. Often described as ‘mystery clocks’, they were not only novel in design but some of the most accurate time keepers of their period. The first record of such a clock with a conical (rotating) pendulum is a turret clock by Jost Bodeker in 1587. Renewed interest in the nineteenth century saw a number of clockmakers designing small conical pendulum clocks; however it was Eugène Farcot who really developed the technology. Notable examples of Farcots conical clocks are to be found in the collections of the National Watch and Clock Museum, Pennsylvania, USA, The Cliffe Castle Museum, Yorkshire, England and as the stunning centrepieces of the lobbies of the Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New Orleans, USA, and the Dolder Grand Hotel, Zurich, Switzerland. Although best known for his work on the conical pendulum, Farcot was a brilliant engineer in many other fields. Amongst other things he was a member of the Aerostatic and Meteorological Society of France, publishing important works on the construction of airships for both scientific research and for pleasure.

Grohé Frères’ Guillaume and Jean-Michel Grohé, worked together from 1829 until Jean Michel retired in 1861, the younger brother Guillaume continuing until 1884. They exhibited at the French Industrial Exhibition in 1834, and in 1847 became known as Grohé Frères with Guillaume the principal partner. Guillaume supplied many royal houses, including Queen Victoria, from 1862 onwards. He was also said to have made a great impression on, and supplied furniture to King Louis Philippe, Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie. Guillaume favoured the Louis XVI style but made pieces in differing styles, exhibiting almost continually from 1834 to 1878. Guillaume was awarded the Légion d’honneur in 1849. The work of Grohé was praised in the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle as ‘supérieurs à ceux de Riesener et Gouthière’ (‘superior to those of Riesener and Gouthière’). Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 237–44. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 97, 98, 100, 230. Jean-Christophe Fischer Jean-Christophe Fischer (1779-1854) was an important French ébéniste and bronzier,

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specialising in making furniture, mirrors and chairs. He had an established business in Paris from 1820 until his death in 1854. During this short time he produced furniture for the King Louis-Philippe, for his Château de Neuilly residency, amongst other important commissions. From 1820 to 1827 he was collaborating with Geoffrey Kopp under the name of Fisher and Kopp, he was then joined in 1839 by his son, who took over the company in 1848. In 1837 he participated in the Exposition de l’Industrie Francaise, where he exhibited a cylinder bureau, a table and a pair of consoles, winning a silver medal for his work. According to the Exhibition’s report: “ses meubles se distinguaient autant par la perfection du travail que par l’élégance des formes; ils étaient en palissandre relevée seulement par des baguettes dorées ou en bois blanc. Un bureau à cylindre, une table de travail et deux consoles, nous ont paru les plus remarquables de l’Exposition.” In 1844, he also participated in the Exposition de l’Industrie Francaise where he received a gold medal for his work with ebony and bronze. Exhibitions Museum of Decorative Arts, Masterpieces of the great cabinetmakers, n.51 a desk with filing cabinet and chair, circa 1835. Bibliography Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Les ébénistes du XIXème siècle 1795-1889, Editions de l’Amateur, France. p.198.

Maison Giroux Maison Giroux was founded by François-SimonAlphonse Giroux in 1799, at 7 rue du CoqSaint-Honoré, Paris. The store, specialising in small luxury goods and curiosities, expanded rapidly in the first half of the nineteenth century, François oversaw the manufacture and design of small items of furniture until his death in 1848. He won the Prix de Rome in 1825, and a silver medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1834. Under the direction of Giroux’s sons, Alphonse-Gustave and André, the company became by the late 1860’s one of the most preeminent Parisian Maison de Haute Luxe (luxury stores). In 1867, Ferdinand Duvinage, a cousin of Alphonse-Gustave and André, took over the management of the business alongside a Mr Harinkouck. Bibliography Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Les Ébénistes du XIX Siècle, Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris) 1984, pps. 223-30. D. Kisluk - Grosheide, Maison Giroux and its ‘Oriental’ Marquetry Technique, The journal of the furniture history society, vol. XXXV, 1999, p. 147-172.

Goujon Goujon was one of the finest Parisian chasers working at the end of the nineteenth century.

As a testament to the high esteem in which he was held, he chased the bronze mounts on many of Francois Linke’s most important works including the 1906 second version of the Commode ‘Commode Coquille: Coquetterie et Modestie’, archive number 559, and Linke’s famous Astronomical Clock, Index No. 1459.

Hancock & Co. Hancock, Shepherd and Rixon is listed as having premises at No.1 Cockspur Street, Charing Cross, London. It was an important and very successful chandelier manufacturer during the last part of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, with special appointments to the Emperor of Russia and King George III of England. In 1819, the firm supplied a large chandelier to the Marquess of Westminster for his dining room at Eaton Hall, Cheshire. In the 1830s, when the firm were known as Hancock and Rixon, it supplied ‘One 4-light gold coloured antique lamp’ for St. James’s Palace on 29 June 1833, and on 31 December 1835 was recorded in the Windsor account books as having supplied four large chandeliers for the grand reception rooms at Windsor for William IV. Bibliography Mortimer, Martin, The English Glass Chandelier, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2000. Holland & Sons Holland & Sons was recorded as early as 1815 as Taprell and Holland and by 1851 rivalled Gillows as one of England’s greatest furniture producers. Its success and reputation were due not only to its sphere of clients but to the wide range of services it offered. Having formed an alliance with Thomas Dowbiggin of 23 Mount Street, London (the maker of the state throne for Victoria’s coronation), the company became cabinetmakers and upholsterers to Queen Victoria. Holland & Sons first commission was for Osborne House in 1845 for which it supplied furniture in the Queens favourite Louis XVI style. The company continued to supply furniture for Osborne House until 1869, and also gained further royal commissions for Windsor Castle, Sandringham, Buckingham Palace and Marlborough House. Other private commissions included items supplied to Arundel Castle, Harewood House and Ickworth. Holland & Sons were responsible for the interiors of London’s principal gentlemen’s clubs including the Athenaeum, Reform, Army and Navy, Oxford and Cambridge and Carlton Clubs. The company worked for many leading English national institutions including the British Museum, the Great Western Railway and the Royal Academy. Along with Gillows it shared the commission for furnishing the new Palace of Westminster and other government buildings. As would be expected, Holland & Sons also participated in many of the leading international exhibitions including London in 1862, Vienna

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Adrian Alan in 1873 and Paris in 1867 and 1872. The company’s labelled Daybooks are now housed in the National Archive of Art and Design where they present a virtual ‘who’s who’ of nineteenth-century society. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Roberts, H, For the King’s Pleasure, The Royal Collection (London), 2001, pls. 279 and 339. Symonds, R and B. Whineray, Victorian Furniture, Country Life (London) 1962. Eli Johnson Eli Johnson exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, three times, each time with a portrait bust. He also exhibited at the Royal Manchester Institution, the Yorkshire Fine Art Society, the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Manchester Art Gallery. His work can be found in important public collections including, a bust of Prince Albert in the Northampton Museum & Art Gallery.

KPM Founded in Berlin in 1750 KPM or Koenigliche Porzellan-Manufaktur acquired its name and Royal patronage when the Prussian king, Frederick the Great, purchased the manufactory in 1760. Its distinguished trademark from then on became the royal blue sceptre, which is stamped (painted prior to 1837) on every piece. All painted pieces produced by KPM are also signed by the painter. The complicated and exacting process of painting on porcelain became very popular in the mid to late nineteenth century. Drawing inspiration from old master portraits and genre scenes, artists were able to achieve incredible images embued with a luminous beauty through the translucent quality of the porcelain. KPM porcelain represented the height of technical and artistic achievement during this period and large plaques, particularly signed examples have become rare and highly sought after.

Krieger Antoine Krieger together with his brother Nicolas launched Maison Krieger in 1826 at 17 rue Saint-Nicolas, Paris, producing and retailing fine quality furniture. In 1850 the firm was re-formed as Antoine Krieger et Cie. When Antoine Krieger died in 1856, his son-in-law began running the company and decided to change the name to Cosse-Racault et Cie. Finally, in 1880 the name was changed again to Krieger, Damon et Cie when the firm merged with Damon et Colin, and was then located at 74 rue du FaubourgSaint-Antoine. Maison Krieger exhibited at the 1849 Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie in Paris and at the Universal Exhibitions of 1851 in London and 1855, again in Paris. At the 1851 Great Exhibition in London Kreiger were awarded a

medal for an exhibition oak sideboard made for a client from the Ottoman Empire. Maison Krieger created numerous furniture styles, and the firm exhibited at all the major exhibitions of the nineteenth century up to, and including, the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Maison Krieger is recorded as being a very active client of François Linke and occasionally the firm’s label can be found on Linke pieces. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 396. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010.

Charles Labarre Charles Labarre was a celebrated French porcelain painter active in the 1890’s. He has been recorded as working at Sèvres and at Doulton’s Burslem Factory in England. He notably was the painter of the ‘Columbus Vase’ shown by Doulton & Co. at the World Exhibition in Chicago in 1893.

Lalique The name Lalique is synonymous with French Art Nouveau. René Jules Lalique (b. 1860) began working as an apprentice to the jeweller and goldsmith Louis Aucoc in 1876. He combined his apprenticeship with evening classes at the École des Arts Décoratifs, before moving to London in 1878 to continue his studies. Returning to Paris in 1880, Lalique took up the position as a jewellery designer with M. Vuilleret, on rue de Santonage, Paris. By 1882 he was designing for Boucheron, Cartier and Jacta amongst other important Maisons. He took over Jules Destapes’ jewellery workshop in 1885 allowing him to concentrate on more innovative designs incorporating semi-precious materials such as glass. Lalique pursued innovative experimentation in glass during the 1880s and 1890s, his works were moulded using the ‘lost wax’ technique. Lalique glass was made in this manner until approximately 1905 when he opened a glassworks at Combs-laVille By the 1930s Lalique was renowned worldwide as the most important art-nouveau designer of his time. Favoured motifs during the Art Nouveau period included dancing nymphs, fish, dragonflies and foliage, often with acid-etched relief. Later items were made in a variety of colours and were occasionally accented with enamelling, but it was his use of pressed or moulded opalescent glass with its ethereal translucent colour for which he is most renowned. Bibliography Mortimer, Tony L, Lalique, Chartwell Books (Secaucus, NJ), 1989. Warmus, William, The Essential René Lalique, Harry N. Abrams (New York), 2003.

Aîné Jean-Eugène Leclaire Aîné Jean-Eugène Leclaire was the eldest of the Leclaire brothers of cabinet makers. He owned a furniture and upholstery shop located in Paris at 33 rue Saint-Nicolas SaintAntoine in 1853 and at number 20 in 1856. Amongst other furniture, he is recorded as making buffets, dining tables, secrétaires, cylinder desks and pianos. Leclaire is also likely to have retailed furniture made by some of the other leading ébénistes of the day.

François Linke François Linke was the most important Parisian cabinetmaker of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and possibly the most sought after cabinetmaker of his period. He was born in 1855 in the small village of Pankraz, in what is now the Czech Republic. Records show that Linke served an apprenticeship with the master cabinetmaker Neumann, then in 1875 at the age of 20 he arrived in Paris where he lived until he died in 1946. It is known that the fledgling Linke workshops were active in the Faubourg SaintAntoine as early as 1881, and during this time he supplied furniture for other more established makers such as Jansen and Krieger. The quality of Linke’s craftsmanship was unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries and reached its peak with his spectacular stand at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, where his Grand Bureau (see Adrian Alan Catalogue VII) took a gold medal. Determined to outshine the competition at the exhibition, Linke had set about creating the most ambitious pieces he could envisage, furniture more extravagant than had ever been displayed before. The items he exhibited marked a transition from the historicist interpretation of Louis XV and Louis XVI styles (an interpretation that was the mainstay of his nearest rivals), to something startlingly new and vital in its immediacy. Together with Léon Messagé he developed a new style for the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, one that paid homage to the Louis XV rococo in the fluidity of its approach, but an approach fused with the lively flowing lines of the contemporary and progressive art nouveau. The Art Journal reported in 1900 on Linke’s stand: The work of M. Linke ... was an example of what can be done by seeking inspiration amongst the classic examples of Louis XV and XVI without in any great sense copying these great works. M. Linke’s work was original in the true sense of the word, and as such commended itself to the intelligent seeker after the really artistic things of the Exhibition. Wonderful talent was employed in producing the magnificent pieces of furniture displayed.... Linke’s stand would have appeared refreshingly new to contemporary onlookers, the traditional designs of the eighteenth century melting seamlessly into an exuberant naturalism. The Revue described Linke’s style as ‘entièrement nouveau’ and noted:

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Adrian Alan ‘this opinion is universally accepted. Linke’s stand is the biggest show in the history of art furniture in the year 1900.’ The most extraordinary and remarkable aspect of Linke’s personal history is that he produced such expensive and luxurious furniture of exquisite quality for the 1900 exhibition without any commission or any potential buyer in mind. At a time when other more established furniture businesses such as those of Beurdeley and Dasson were closing down, he made a huge investment in his stand and the furniture he supplied for it. Linke recognised that to move his business forward he needed to appeal to a more international clientele and the new emerging rich who were at this time amassing fortunes on an unprecedented scale. For this reason he gambled everything he had on his display for the 1900 exhibition. Had this not succeeded he would almost certainly have succumbed to bankruptcy. In this sense he was the greatest furniture entrepreneur of the belle époque and perhaps of any time. Linke’s notebook records visitors to his 1900 stand from England, Europe, the Americas, Egypt and Japan. These included the King of Sweden, three visits from the King of Belgium, Prince Radziwill, the Prince d’Arenberg, the Comte Alberic du Chastel, Miss Anna May Gould (the American heiress), distinguished furniture makers and the president of France, Emile Loubert. This risky endeavour was a resounding success, and with his reputation established La Maison Linke became the pre-eminent furniture house until the outset of the Second World War. His showrooms expanded into prestigious premises in Paris, in the Place Vendôme as well as the Faubourg St. Antoine where his workshop had been established. He embarked on many important commissions in the years up to the outbreak of the First World War, making and designing furniture for leading international industrialists and bankers. He is reputed to have also supplied furniture to the Kaiser. After the 1914–1918 World War, Linke undertook the extraordinary commission to furnish the Ras al-Tin Palace in Alexandria for King Fuad of Egypt, possibly the largest single furniture commission ever conceived, eclipsing even Versailles. Linke flourished and remained active until the middle years of the 1930s and died in 1946. Today Linke is best known for the exceptionally high quality of his work and his individualism and inventiveness. All of his work has the finest, most lavish mounts, very often applied to comparatively simple carcasses of quarter-veneered kingwood or tulipwood. The technical brilliance of his work and the artistic change that it represented were never to be repeated. Bibliography Croal Thomson, D (ed), ‘The Paris Exhibition 1900’, The Art Journal, 1901, p. 341. Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 439–3. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006, pp. 298–300.

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Payne, Christopher, François Linke, (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003. Revue Artistique & Industrielle, (Paris), July–August 1900.

Léon Messagé Little is known about the life of the sculptural genius Léon Messagé (d.1901), and his brilliant, but short-lived career. He is best known for his incredible sculptural collaboration with François Linke for the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. A gifted sculptor, Messagé was also responsible for much of the design and creative work for Roux et Brunet and Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener. Messagé enjoyed great success as a designer/sculptor before his collaboration with Linke. Indeed he was mentioned as a gold medal winner at the 1889 International Exhibition and was especially praised for his work on a cabinet by Zwiener. He came in to contact with Linke in 1885 and it appears that from then on Linke employed him on a regular basis. Messagé was primarily influenced by rococo ornament but he strove to re-interpret it. He did not produce slavish copies, and his original approach can be appreciated in Linke’s celebrated Grande Bibliothèque and Grand Bureau (See Adrian Alan Catalogue VII), exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. A number of drawings by Messagé are recorded and after his success at the exhibition of 1889 he was encouraged to publish his designs. Cahier de dessins & croquis, style Louis XV: bronzes, orfèvrérie, decoration, meubles was first published by the sculptor himself, from his Paris address of 40, rue Sedaine. There were five sections with an elaborate title page surmounted by the sculptor’s cipher or talisman of a wing, a pun on his own name as the messenger to the Gods, a motif he used many times on the handles of furniture designed for Linke. As a sculptor Messagé was trained to produce a wax maquette or model prior to working on a piece. It is especially interesting that his maquettes were of the piece of furniture in its entirety, a rare and exacting task only occasionally seen for eighteenth-century French royal commissions. For Messagé it was not just a matter of producing decorative mounts; the piece was conceived as one – the sculpture, bronze, timber and marquetry as a combined piece. Many of his most important maquettes are preserved today in the Linke archive, including the one for the Grand Bureau. Messagé died the year after the 1900 exhibition – making the Grand Bureau his last great work. Bibliography Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 173–6. Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Époque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003, pp. 71–95.

Maison Millet T. Millet founded the House of Millet in 1853 at 11 rue Jacques-Coeur, Paris. Millet produced fine quality meubles de luxe, specialising in meubles et bronzes d’art, genre ancien et modern. The firm’s work covered a wide range of furniture during its long period of establishment, including authorised copies of eighteenth-century styles. The House of Millet won many medals, including the gold medal at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle, a grand prize in 1900, as well as three Diplômes d’honneur and four more gold medals. In 1902, Millet was authorised by the curator of the Palace of Versailles to replicate Queen Marie-Antoinette’s celebrated Grand cabinet à bijoux. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 484–6. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK) 2006, pp. 276, 317, 320.

Monbro The famous Paris firm of Monbro was founded around 1801 by Georges-Alphonse-Bonifacio Monbro (d.1884), the eldest son of ébéniste Georges-Marie-Paul-Vital-Bonifacio (d. 1841). Monbro supplied furniture to LouisPhilippe, the Duchesses d’Aumale and the Palais de Saint-Cloud. They exhibited at the Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie in 1844 and the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1855, displaying exceptional items incorporating Florentine ‘pietre dure’ inlay. The firm also maintained a shop in London in the 1860’s at Frith Street, Soho, showing its importance at the time. The Musée D’Orsay includes in its collections examples of Monbro’s work.

Perry & Co. William Perry is first recorded in partnership with William Collins at 227 The Strand, London, then from 1803 he joined William Parker as Parker and Perry. William Parker was the leading chandelier maker of the late eighteenth century, supplying fashionable households and royalty as far afield as the emperor of China. Between 1783 and 1786 alone, Parker had supplied chandeliers costing over £2,500 to the Prince of Wales for his London residence, Carlton House. Parker and Perry were commissioned for a fifty-six light chandelier for the Crimson Drawing Room in Carlton House at a cost of over £1,000. It was completed in 1808 and was 14 feet high and 6 feet 6 inches in diameter. William Pyne, whose great work on the royal palaces was published in 1819, considered this chandelier to be one of the finest in Europe. Many of Parker and Perry’s chandeliers were removed at the dismantling of Carlton House, and placed in Buckingham Palace where they remain today.

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Adrian Alan In 1817 William Perry went on to establish himself independently at 72 New Bond Street as ‘Glass Manufacturer to the Prince Regent’ (possibly wresting the appointment from Parker), and was joined in 1822 by his nephew. The company became Perry & Co in 1833. It was to become one of the most prolific manufacturers of its time. Perry & Co. supplied the nine ‘inverted parasol’ chandeliers in the Music Room of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, for the Prince Regent, at a cost of £4,290.12s. On the sale of the Royal Pavilion to the commissioners of Brighton in 1850, the chandeliers were removed and taken to London. All but four, which remain in Buckingham Palace, were returned to the Pavilion in 1864. Perry & Co produced a range of light fittings all using the highest quality English cut-glass drops. The Victoria and Albert Museum holds a book of sketches of ‘classic’ Perry chandeliers from the 1860s and 1870s, which are frequently annotated with the date of the order, and the names of those who had ordered them. Bibliography Mortimer, Martin, The English Glass Chandelier, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2000, p. 19. Parrott Bacot, H, Nineteenth-Century Lighting, Schiffer Publishing (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), 1987. Henri Picard The important fondeur and doreur Henri Picard was based in Paris at 6, rue Jarente from 1831 to 1839, before moving to 10, rue de la Perle. The firm was active until around 1890. Celebrated for the high quality of his production, Henri Picard supplied many important patrons, including garnitures and table pieces for the petits appartements of Emperor Napoléon III at the Louvre. An important pair of twelve-light candelabra by Picard remain in the Musée du Louvre today. Bibliography Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, p 32.

Pillivuyt et Cie Pillivuyt et Cie is one of the oldest and most prestigious French porcelain brands. Pillivuyt porcelain production was founded by Jean-Louis-Richard Pillivuyt in Foëcy in 1818, an area chosen for its proximity to Limoges where kaolin deposits had just been discovered. By 1823 he already been awarded his first exhibition medal in New York as a sign of his success. Building on this by 1847 the first Pillivuyt retail premises was established 46 rue du Paradis in Paris. Between 1855 to 1867 Charles Pillivuyt led the company to its peak. His success was rapid and Pillivuyt was honoured with numerous and successive gold medals during the universal expositions, right up to and including 1889. The international reputation of Pillivuyt was incontestable and in 1860, a quarter of their production was already sent all over the world.

Sèvres The Sèvres Porcelain manufactory was founded to the east of Paris in the disused royal château of Vincennes, late in 1739–40. It was not until 1756 that it moved to the village of Sèvres, west of Paris, strategically placed en route to King Louis XV’s palace at Versailles. Here it was also adjacent to Louis’ mistress Madame de Pompadour’s own château at Bellevue. A great lover of Sèvres porcelain, she was delighted with the factory’s new location, as she knew she could entice Louis to take a greater interest in it when it was so near to their own residences. Indeed, the king became such a keen patron of the factory that when it ran into financial difficulties, he bought out the shareholders and became the sole proprietor. The factory remained a royal enterprise until the French Revolution, when it was nationalised. Important designers and influential artistic directors have always been at the forefront of Sèvres’s innovation. Famous artists who designed for the factory include Louis-Simon Boizot, Théophile Fragonard, Hector Guimard, Serge Poliakoff, Auguste Rodin and Louise Bourgeois. One of the most influential artists was Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse who became artistic director in 1876 and was famed for his designs. Bibliography Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Paredes, Liana, Sèvres Then and Now: Tradition and Innovation in Porcelain, 1750–2000, D Giles Ltd (London), 2009. Savill, Rosalind, The Wallace Collection: Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain, 3 Volumes, Paul Holberton (London), 1988.

Société de Marbres Onyx D’Algérie Société de Marbres Onyx D’Algérie, under the directorship of Eugène Cornu, mined and fashioned luxurious Algerian marble and were celebrated for the quality of their production and design. They exhibited, and received great acclaim at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle displaying a large selection of clocks and other wares, including a monumental conical pendulum clock by Farcot nearly 10 feet in height.

Sormani Born in Venice in 1817, Paul Sormani was a Paris-based maker of fine meubles de luxe, whose work was described in the 1867 Exposition Universelle catalogue as: ‘toute sa production révèle une qualité d’exécution de tout premier ordre’ (‘all of his production reveals a quality of execution all of the first order’). Sormani exhibited at the International Exhibitions in Paris in 1849, 1855, 1867, 1878 and 1900, and in London in 1862, winning numerous medals. In 1867 he set up his workshop at 10 rue de Charlot, Paris. After Sormani’s death in 1877 his son Paul-Charles took over the business that later moved to 134

boulevard Haussmann. The Sormani stamp is usually an engraved signature on the lock plate, incorporating the address. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 583–8. Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur, 2010. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006.

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons was founded in the USA in 1853 by German immigrant Henry Engelhard Steinway. Henry was a master cabinet maker who built his first piano, Model no. 1, in the kitchen of his German home in 1836. This piano was at the time amongst the largest Grand pianos ever built. By the time Henry established Steinway & Sons, he had built 482 pianos. The first piano produced by the company, number 483, was sold to a New York family for $500, and is now displayed at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Over the next forty years, Henry and his sons developed the modern piano. Almost half of the company’s 114 patents for constructive innovations were developed during this period, including the cross stringing technique developed by Henry in 1859. Many of these late nineteenth-century inventions were based on emerging scientific research, including the acoustical theories of the renowned physicist Hermann von Helmholtz, and all helped determine the shape and construction of todays classic grand piano. Steinway’s revolutionary designs and superior workmanship began receiving national recognition almost immediately. From 1855 onwards, Steinway pianos received gold medals at several U.S. and European exhibitions. The company gained international recognition in 1867 at the Paris Exposition Universelle when it was awarded the prestigious Médaille d’or grande d’honneur for excellence in manufacturing and engineering. It was the first time an American company had received this award. Steinway pianos quickly became the piano of choice for many members of royalty and won the respect and admiration of the world’s great pianists. They were recognised for their quality, building their pianos one at a time, applying skills that were handed down from master to apprentice, generation after generation. In 1871, Henry Sr. died, and his sons C.F. Theodore and William took over operations. An accomplished pianist, C.F. Theodore was responsible for the technical aspects of piano making and personally earned the company 41 patents, including one in 1875 for the modern concert grand piano. Bibliography Ratcliffe, Ronald V., Steinway, San Francisco, 2002.

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Adrian Alan Theodore Steinway, People and Pianos: A Pictorial History of Steinway & Sons, Amadeus, 2005. Richard K. Lieberman, Steinway and Sons, Yale University Press, 1997. Crombie, David, Piano: Evolution Design and Performance, Baflon, London 1995.

Henri Vian Henri Vian (1860-1905) was a celebrated Parisian bronzier specializing in the production of bronzes in the eighteenth century style and interior ornamentations of great quality. His output was concerned principally with the production of light-fittings but also included other bronze items. Such was the quality of his work that his casting and gilding can often be mistaken for earlier eighteenth century works of art. He participated in the Great Exhibitions of 1878, 1889 and 1900, receiving a Gold Medal in 1889. As a member of the jury with a status, hors concours, a measure of excellence, he was prohibited from competing in 1900. His wife and son ran the business after his death in 1905 until 1944, when the city of Paris took over the premises for the l’Ecole des Métiers d’Art. Bibliography Piere Verlet, Les bronzes dorés français du XVIIIe siècle, Picard, Paris, 1987 (p.342-4). Yves Devaux, Ed., L’Univers des bronzes, Pygmalion, Paris, 1978.

Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood established Wedgwood in 1759 at the Ivy House in Burslem and in 1765 he created the new earthenware form he became so famous for. This porcelain so impressed the then British Queen consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz that she gave him permission to call it "Queen's Ware". This new form sold extremely well across Europe. The following year Wedgwood bought Etruria, a large Staffordshire estate, as both a home and production site. This expansion pushed him to develop a number of further industrial innovations, notably a way of measuring kiln temperatures accurately and the new ware types Black Basalt and Jasper Ware. Jasperware was to become Wedgwood's most famous ware. It was created to look like ancient cameo glass, inspired by the Portland Vase. The first jasperware colour was Portland Blue, an innovation that required experiments with more than 3,000 samples, highlighting the complexity of these innovations at the time. Josiah Wedgwood was elected a member of the Royal Society in 1783. The main Wedgwood motifs in Jasperware, as well as in other wares like Basaltware, Queensware and Caneware, were decorative designs that were highly influenced by the ancient cultures being studied and rediscovered at that time, as Great Britain was expanding her Empire. Many motifs were taken from ancient mythologies: Roman, Greek or Egyptian. At a time when archaeological fever had caught the imagination of many artists, nothing could have been more suitable to satisfy this huge business demand than to

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produce replicas of ancient artefacts. Many representations of royalty, nobles and statesmen in silhouette were created, as well as political symbols. These were often set in jewellery, as well as in architectural features like fireplace mantels, mouldings and furniture. The fashion for furniture mounted with pale Jasperware plaques proved popular across Europe and in particular in France. Wedgwood jasperware was quickly imitated by the French Royal porcelain factory at Sèvres and continued to be popular throughout the nineteenth century as part of the Louis XVI revival. It is interesting to note that Wedgwood exhibited at nearly all of the international exhibitions held in France in the nineteenth century, displaying plaques designed specifically for furniture mounts. Wedgewood continued to be run by descendants of Josiah right up until 1968.

Charles-Guillaume Winckelsen Charles-Guillaume Winckelsen (1812–1871) was established at 23 Val-Sainte-Catherine, Paris from 1854 until his death in 1871. As a result of his comparatively short career very little of his work is available today. All recorded items by this maker are of the very highest quality, especially the impressive bronze work. Jean-Louis-Benjamin Gros was his main furniture maker and Joseph-Nicolas Langlois his ciseleur. Although he worked for only a few short years, he was responsible for a number of remarkable copies of eighteenthcentury royal pieces which he produced for favoured clients, including Prince Radziwill and the Marquis de Lillers. Henry Dasson took over the Winckelsen workshops in July 1871. Bibliography Ledoux-Lebard, Denise, Les Ébénistes du XIXe siècle, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 1984, pp. 635–8. Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener was an important Paris cabinetmaker of German extraction who was born in Silesia around 1848. He produced the very finest furniture, often inspired by public collections in France. He employed as his sculptor Leon Messagé, the genius Parisian sculptor. Zwiener’s pieces were acquired by many of the leading collectors of the nineteenth century. In particular he supplied his interpretation of the famous Bureau de Roi to Ludwig II at Herrenchiemsee, which was placed in the king’s study in 1884. Zwiener exhibited at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle, where he was awarded a gold medal, for a stand that included an exceptional cabinet designed by Messagé. In 1898, Zwiener received an extensive royal commission from the King of Prussia, and was recalled to Berlin because the king would not order furniture from overseas makers when furnishing his palaces, preferring to order work only from native Germans. The Berlin sculptor Otto Rohloff, whose bronze work is very similar to that of Messagé, may well have been hired by Zwiener for this royal commission.

In 1895 his Paris workshop was taken over by the important émigré and ébéniste François Linke. Christopher Payne, in his book on Linke, speculates that Linke may have worked for Zwiener when he first arrived in Paris in 1875. Linke is known to have also taken on Zwiener’s sculptor Leon Messagé. For this reason, many of Zwiener’s pieces have often been mistakenly attributed to Linke. In order to differentiate between Messagés commissions, the gilt-bronze mounts were often marked to the reverse with the maker’s initials. Several of Zwiener’s mounts have been found to have a ‘Z’, ‘Zw’, an ‘IZ’, ‘NZ’, ‘ZN’ or ‘ZJ’ on the reverse. This was primarily for the purpose of differentiation, rather than an artist’s signature. Some of Zwiener’s work was stamped but not exclusively, and only a few pieces have been found with a full signature and /or date. It can be speculated that Zwiener continued to work in Germany after giving up his Paris workshop in 1895, as in 1900 he participated in the German section of the Paris Exhibition, where he exhibited the famous bedroom suite made for the Kaiser. Bibliography Mestdagh, Camille and Pierre Lécoules, L’Ameublement d’art français: 1850–1900, Editions de l’Amateur (Paris), 2010, pp. 301–9. Meyer, Jonathan, Great Exhibitions: London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, 1851–1900, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2006. Payne, Christopher, François Linke (1855–1946): The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club (Woodbridge, UK), 2003.

Zwiener Jansen Successeur Zwiener Jansen Successeur was part of the celebrated firm of Maison Jansen. Founded in Paris in 1880 by Jean-Henri Jansen (1854-1929) Maison Jansen was the first truly global interior design house. Around 1895-1900 Jansen bought some of the master models of the celebrated furniture maker Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener, who had left Paris to return to Germany, and renamed the business ‘Zwiener Jansen Successeur’. Jansen continued to faithfully produce Zwiener’s creations, using the original models and lavishing the utmost care on these meubles de luxe. Bibliography Mestdagh, Camille & Lécoules, Peter (2010), L’Ameublement d’Art Français, 1850-1900, Editions de L’Amateur, Paris; pp. 301-309.

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Catalogue VIII

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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS