MAKER'S MARK OF CHRISTOFLE & CIE., PARIS, CIRCA 1875

Details

A FRENCH SILVER-PLATED FIGURE OF CERES
MAKER'S MARK OF CHRISTOFLE & CIE., PARIS, CIRCA 1875
Formed as Ceres Victorious holding a bunch of wheat and vegetables with one arm and a laurel wreath with the other arm extended, on a circular red griotte and brêche marble base set with a gilt-bronze band applied on each side with a bull's head with a laurel wreath, marked 'CHRISTOFLE & CIE', and numbered '1047955', previously with a further mount to the plinth
Overall height - 24 in. (62.5 cm.)

Provenance

Anonymous sale, Christie's New York, 21 April 1998, lot 105.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium

Lot Essay

This figure is one of the numerous awards executed by Christofle & Cie. for agricultural competitions from 1870 up to World War I. These fairs, instituted by Napoleon III in the 1860s to promote and support the most important sector of the economy, were held every five years and became extremely popular during the second empire. The model for Ceres victorieuse was designed by the successful sculptor Charles Gumery (1827-1871), Grand Prix de Rome in 1850, who provided many designs for important commissions executed by Christofle & Cie. Several examples of Ceres victorieuse were produced and awarded to the best regional farmers of the first category. One piece was displayed by Christofle & Cie. at the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition.
We are grateful to Anne Gros, Archives du Musée Bouilhet-Christofle, for her help in cataloguing this entry.

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