A French silvered bronze and cut glass centrepiece

BY CHRISTOFLE & CIE., SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY

Details

A French silvered bronze and cut glass centrepiece
By Christofle & Cie., Second half 19th Century
The oval fluted bowl engraved with a band of laurel, supported by four kneeling putti draped with vines and with a central support, the shaped naturalistic base cast with vine-encrusted ruins, impressed CHRISTOFLE
22½ in. (57 cm.) wide; 7 in. (17.8 cm.) high; 13 1/8 in. (33.2 cm.) deep

Lot Essay

Charles Christofle established the firm in 1830. First producing jewellery and silver, in 1848 he began to manufacture electro-plated silverwares, drawing on the artistic talents of his jewellers to create pieces of the best design and highest quality (see Henri Bouilhet Christofle, Silversmith since 1830, Paris 1981).
The inspiration for this centrepiece may well have been derived from a design for a sauce-boat for 'The Borghese Service', by Luigi Valadier (d. 1785), see Valadier, Exhibition Catalogue, London 1991, p. 100-101, 134.

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