A large French gilt-bronze presentation centrepiece
A large French gilt-bronze presentation centrepiece

MODELLED BY PAUL JEAN BAPTISTE GASQ FOR CHRISTOFLE & CIE., PARIS, CIRCA 1913

Details
A large French gilt-bronze presentation centrepiece
Modelled by Paul Jean Baptiste Gasq for Christofle & Cie., Paris, Circa 1913
Depicting agrarian figures within sheaves of wheat, the figures signed P. Gasq, one side inscribed MINISTèRE/DE L'AGRICULTURE/CONCOURS DE PRIME D'HONNEUR/DE L'INDRE 1913, the reverse with PRIME D'HONNEUR/LéON CHARPENTIER/à VILLERS and CHRISTOFLE & CIE
21 in. (53.3 cm.) high; 41 in. (104.1 cm.) wide; 20 in. (50.8 cm.) deep
Literature
H. Bouilhet, Christofle Silversmiths Since 1830, Paris, 1981

Lot Essay

The present centrepiece is a fine example of the collaboration between Christofle and a leading contemporary artist for an agricultural award. Annual agriculture shows were held for almost half a century, only ceasing with the onset of World War I. Every agricultural activity and sector was included in these events, as evidenced by the various names given to Christofle's productions, including: Grooming the Pig, The Scyther, Watering, Agricultural Science, and The Butcher. Three Christofle pieces designed by Mallet and Calton for the Competition of 1898 included a planter with rams, a vase with ewes, and a vase with oxen (see Bouilhet, pp. 180-1). Christofle also collaborated with the sculptor Delaplanche in producing a figure group titled Science and Agriculture, a prize for an agriculture show circa 1900 (see Bouilhet, p. 200).

Paul Gasq (d. 1944) specialised in figures and bas-reliefs of classical and allegorical subjects. He studied at the Dijon School of Fine arts and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Jouffroy and Hiolle, and exhibited at the Salon beginning in 1880. Gasq won the Prix de Rome in 1890, and a Grand Prix at the Exposition Universelle of 1900, becoming a member of the Institut in 1935.

See lot 67 for a note on Christofle.

More from 19th Century Furniture, Sculpture, Works of Art and Ceramics

View All
View All