Ref.1676
Antique walnut mantel with ceramic from the 19th century

Beautiful walnut fireplace made during the nineteenth century. The overmantel is decorated with a porcelain lakeside scene: two ducks are shown flying over a pond. Two pillars carved in wood frame the panel. Two columns with rings rise up the jambs and support a large entablature with a decor alternating between modillions and rosettes.

Ref.15019
Large oak double door

Ref.15160
Claude MICHEL, known as CLODION (after), Bacchante, late 19th Century

This marble sculpture of a bacchante was executed in the 19th century after a model attributed to Clodion. The sculptor Claude Michel, known as Clodion (1738-1814), was descended on his mother’s side from the Adam dynasty, a family of renowned sculptors throughout the 18th century. He learned sculpture at the model school of the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture; in 1759, upon the death of his uncle Lambert Sigisbert Adam, who probably contributed to his training, he became a student of Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. He was a resident of the Royal School of Protected Students and stayed at the French Academy in Rome. He enjoyed his Roman stay so much that he extended it for several years before returning in 1773-1774. Highly appreciated under the reign of Louis XVI, Clodion had a particular fondness for mythological subjects. Our sculpture represents a young woman walking, holding bunches of grapes in her hand. Her whole body, in a twist, forms an arc: her head is raised to her right while the top of her torso, led by her right arm, turns to her left; finally, her left leg faces the viewer, while her right leg, slightly bent, seems to hold her back on that side. She can be likened to a figure of a maenad or bacchante. Indeed, her exalted expression, flowing hair, dancing gait, and nudity just barely covered by a drape held by a strap bring her closer to this image. Furthermore, she carries bunches of grapes, a quintessential Bacchic symbol, while others have fallen at her feet; an overturned amphora perhaps symbolizes the intemperance characteristic of the Dionysian world. The sculptor paid great attention to the expression of her face, with its fine features, and to detail: the young woman notably wears bracelets on each arm that echo her strap; the amphora at her feet is adorned with a frieze of posts in low relief. In ancient mythology, bacchantes were the priestesses of Bacchus who celebrated Dionysian mysteries and festivals, or the companions of the god, who marched with his retinue. Bacchantes were considered sensual and having an unrestrained sexuality; our sculpture, with its sensuality and dancing character, echoes this reputation. This figure of a bacchante is attributed to Clodion. In fact, the sculptor executed several terracottas on this subject, including one titled Bacchante Running with Fruits in Her Tunic (circa 1780-1785, terracotta, private collection), and another Bacchante Running (between 1803 and 1804, terracotta, 38 × 15 × 18.5 cm, Paris, Cognacq-Jay Museum). Several bronze castings of this statue are known. This material particularly highlights the sensuality of the woman and all the details of the sculpture.

Ref.15502
DUCEL Foundry after Pierre LOISON, Young Girl with a Conch, middle of the 19th century

This statue, titled Young Girl with a Conch, was cast by the Ducel Foundry after a work by Pierre Loison in the mid-19th century. The sculptor Pierre Loison (or Loyson) (1816-1886) began his career as an apprentice to a clog maker. Noticed for his talent, he was able to study sculpture in the studio of David d’Angers and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He received numerous official commissions and exhibited in nearly every Salon from 1845 until 1886, the year of his death, as well as at the 1855 Universal Exhibition. The Ducel Foundry was founded in 1800 in Touraine. It was successively managed by three generations of the Ducel family: Jacques, Jean-Jacques, and Jacques-Gustave. The company had a store in Paris and gained recognition by participating in various international exhibitions held in the second half of the 19th century. It was purchased by the Val d’Osne Foundry in 1878. This sculpture depicts a young girl seated on a rock by the water’s edge. She may represent a naiad, a deity associated with rivers and springs. Her posture conveys movement, as if she is about to enter the water: her face and torso lean forward, she holds onto the rock with her left hand, and in her right hand, she grasps a conch shell, which could emit a jet of water. A drapery covers her waist, and both legs extend toward the water. The statue bears an inscription on the base indicating its origin: “JJ DUCEL / [illegible, probably Me Forges] PARIS”. Thus, the sculpture was cast in the mid-19th century under the direction of Jean-Jacques Ducel (1810-1878). The acquisition of the foundry by the Val d’Osne company ensured the continued distribution of Ducel’s models. As a result, after being featured in Ducel’s catalog around 1856, The Young Girl with a Conch was also included in the Val d’Osne catalog published in 1882. The longevity and continued success of this model are also evident in the number of copies produced and found in both private and public spaces. For instance, a statue of this model can be admired in Montbéliard, at Francisco Ferrer Square, since 1862; at the Apollo, Oregon House, in the United States; and at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden.