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Lot 1155* - A194 Furniture, Porcelain & Decoration - Thursday, 24. September 2020, 10.00 AM

TWO SIMILAR DECORATIVE BOWLS

Napoleon III, 19th century. Paris ca. 1860/70. Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810–1892).
Algerian onyx and gilt bronze. Round flat bowls on a trumpet-shaped foot in gilt bronze, with "Grubenschmelz" enamel frieze and stepped rectangular base on scrolled feet. Curved handles designed as satyr heads and snakes. The walls of the bowls, decorated with tendril- and flower frieze, likewise in enamel.
32 × 22 × H 26.5 and 28 cm.

Edges of the base with small chips. Small losses in the enamel.

Enamel works experienced a great revival during the Second Empire in France. The technique was predestined for the extremely popular polychrome decorations of that time. The Barbedienne company began experimenting with the enamel technique around 1858. Barbedienne exhibited objects with enamel decoration at the 1862 Universal Exhibition in London, including vases of this type. (J. B. Waring, Masterpieces of Industrial Art and Sculpture, London, 1862, plate 139.)
The technique used comes close to the old method of enamel champelevé, but the recesses for the enamel melt were not cut into the bronze or copper base as was the case in the past, but were integrated into the bronze as early as the casting of the bronze. This allowed for even finer work.
Ferdinand Barbedienne founded the famous bronze foundry in 1838 together with Achille Collas (1795-1859), the inventor of a process for making miniature copies of statues. He subsequently produced miniature reproductions of famous statues from European museums, which were very popular in interior decoration.
The great quality of his work in terms of casting and patination made the company famous and led to collaboration with the most important artists of his time.


CHF 6 000 / 8 000 | (€ 6 190 / 8 250)