BY CHRISTOFLE & CIE., DESIGNED BY ALBERT-ERNEST CARRIER-BELLEUSE, PARIS, CIRCA 1878

This impressive exhibition garniture populated with graceful maidens is representative of Carrier-Belleuse’s later style and likely modeled after a design entitled Le Printemps: vase et support illustrated in L’Application de la figure humaine à la décoration et à l’ornementation industrielles. Records in the Archives Christofle for the stamped numbering on the present lot correspond with a 'Surtout Louis XVI, figure patinee or, socle doré, une pièce de milieu à cornet, deux candélabres, trois femmes porte lumière, modèle de M. Carrier-Belleuse' shown at the 1878 Exposition Universelle. The importance of the design is highlighted by its repeated adaptation, such as Joseph Chéret’s similar jardinière exhibited in the 1889 Paris exhibition.