AN EMPIRE REVIVAL AGATE DESK WEIGHT 
UNMARKED, PROBABLY FRENCH, CIRCA 1880-1900 
The rectangular agate weight applied with a shell cameo of the Three Graces by Alphonse Remy, signed A. Remy, in a green enamel mount, beneath a red enamel Couronne de Comte (Count's Coronet) within laurel fronds, supported below by a French Imperial Eagle seated on a bundle of crossed thunderbolts 
15cm long 

Alphonse Remy was a distinguished master gem carver who worked in Paris at the end of the 19th century. He was a regular exhibitor at the Salon des Artistes Français. He appears to have died in his 80s in Versailles in 1910.

Condition Report:

The cameo has a crack right across the top and a smaller crack at 9 o'clock. The cameo has a lot of surface rubbing and has lost some definition. No apparent damage or losses to the enamel. No cracks to the agate, although there is a natural surface reaching inclusion to the back. One small chip to the bottom left hand corner, and nicks to the other corners.

Condition Report Disclaimer