A NAPOLEON III GILT-BRONZE AND CHAMPLEVE ENAMEL-MOUNTED, MARBLE TAZZE

CIRCA 1870, ATTRIBUTED TO LOUIS CONSTANT SEVIN AND FERDINAND BARBEDIENNE

Details

With shallow Belgium Black marble bowl enriched with Champlevé enamel band of fruiting vines, the handles cast as scrolling vines surmounted by facing leopards, the bowl raised on a vine cast spreading column flanked by hipped legs terminating in hoof-feet, the whole on a shaped red marble plinth and circular cast feet
15 in. (38 cm.) high; 24 in. (60 cm.) wide; 14 in. (35 cm.) deep
Lot Essay

The present lot is exemplary of the luxurious and distinctive taste of the Second Empire, characteristic of a renewed interest in classical motifs, naturalism and both Roman and Etruscan embellishment.
The Second Empire also ushered in an emphasis on ornamentation and opulence in addition to innovation. The present lot is no exception and represents a unique collaboration between the great bronzier Ferdinand Barbedienne, designer Louis-Constant Sévin (d. 1892) and enameller Claudius Popelin (1825-1892). The trio were recorded as working together in 1867, coinciding with that year’s Exposition Universelle in Paris. This tazze is characteristic of Sevin’s designs for Barbedienne during the 1860s, where he was head of design, the centerpiece delicately balancing the light and dainty floral motifs of the enamel decoration against the opulence of the brass-mount handles.