A French Neo-Grec ormolu-mounted onyx three-piece garniture

THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Details

A French Neo-Grec ormolu-mounted onyx three-piece garniture
Third quarter 19th Century
Comprising a jardinière and pair of covered urns, each of baluster form, with palmette-cast rim and lion-mask handles, on a spreading socle and square base
The jardinière: 13½ in. (34.3 cm.) high; The urns: 12¾ in. (32.5 cm.) high (3)

Lot Essay

This garniture is reminiscent of work produced by the Compagnie des Marbres Onyx d'Algérie. Established in 1858, the firm owned marble and onyx mines in Algeria, and set up a factory in Paris at 29, rue Popincourt. Onyx, known since Antiquity and used by both the ancient Egyptians and Roman civilisations, was shown to great acclaim at the 1862 International Exhibition in London, having only been re-discovered in 1849 in Oran, Algeria.

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