Oil lamps or moderator lamps
Dear visitors, a brief explanation about oil lamps and some visible characteristics of their internal mechanism. As you may have noticed, when these lamps are electrified, they are generally powered from the top, and this is not the result of a mistake by the craftsman, but, on the contrary…
The Dagobert armchair
The "Dagobert Chair" is a type of traditional French chair created from the image and design of the legendary bronze throne of King Dagobert I, who reigned in the 7th century. For many centuries, the kings of France have sat on this throne during special ceremonies…
The symbolism of the thistle
In French art and crafts, the image of a thistle is one of the oldest and most frequently depicted motifs. In Russia, the thistle is merely a prickly weed, but in European tradition, this hardy, evergreen plant holds a special significance.
Shiva
Our website features a unique Indian ivory sculpture with a very particular theme, full of numerous details that require special commentary. It is a sculpture called "Shiva Parivar" (lot 4102). Shiva ("bringer of happiness") in ancient Indian Hindu mythology is one of the three supreme gods (along with Vishnu and Brahma) who form a divine triad, similar to the Holy Trinity of Christianity.
Liquor cellars
From the late 18th century onward, the liquor cabinet became an integral part of French society and travel, allowing the elite to spend extended periods in carriages. Since then, perhaps no other luxury item has been as popular in French aristocratic circles as these artfully and lavishly crafted liquor cabinets. Today, at the renowned Drouot auctions in Paris, these masterpieces of ingenuity and exquisite cabinetmaking are still highly sought after.
Ring makers
In France, such objects have long existed: small containers of various shapes, designed simply to hold jewelry removed for short periods (for storage, there are jewelry boxes or cases). In the past, these ring holders came in a wide variety of forms. They could be stemmed crystal or glass bowls, small bronze bowls decorated with reliefs, decorative porcelain saucers on bronze bases, or small glass baskets. In the 20th century, the famous crystal houses, Daum and Lalique, continued this tradition.
The Boulle style
André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), an exceptional French cabinetmaker, designer, engraver, and founder, created a unique technique: the combination of bronze and brass with marquetry, serving both art and craftsmanship. His talent also gave rise to a distinctive style in decorative arts applied to luxury goods for four centuries, from the reign of Louis XIV to that of Napoleon III.
The half-porcelain
In antiquity (from the beginning of the 19th century), dishes were made not only of pure porcelain or earthenware, but also of semi-porcelain or fine earthenware, occupying an intermediate position between earthenware and porcelain.
Fine earthenware is an opaque white clay paste with a fine, dense, and resonant texture, covered with a lead glaze. It falls between traditional earthenware and porcelain.
The Banker's Mirror
The "banker's mirror" (or, as it is also called, the "magic mirror") became widespread among European nobility in the 15th century. The creation of convex mirrors was linked to the great interest in optics that emerged in early Renaissance Flanders. The spherical surface of these mirrors, initially coated with tin on the inside and later with an amalgam of mercury with gold or bronze, provided not only
The large Emile Bourgeois depot
We have several services on the site featuring special brands. Here, we have the brand from the famous Parisian boutique of Emile Bourgeois. The renowned French-style store of Emile Bourgeois, located at 21 rue Drouot in Paris, opened its doors in 1862 and, until its closure in 1902, was dedicated exclusively to high-end porcelain. The shop's owner, Emile Bourgeois (1823-1926), remained…
The Georges Sand service
Sets of this kind (a small liqueur decanter and a few miniature glasses) in France have a very particular name – “George Sand service”, in honor of the French writer Georges Sand (pseudonym of Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, Baroness Dudevant), who adopted a male pseudonym to display her emancipation (and was one of the first to wear men's clothing in the 19th century), a friend of Alfred de Musset, Franz Liszt, Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Eugène Delacroix, Victor Hugo, and former beloved Chopin…
The Norman wardrobe
“Dear wardrobe” – I simply want to repeat these words from Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” when speaking of the so-called Norman wardrobe. Of course, such wardrobes were made exclusively in Normandy, in northwestern France. But this type of traditional French furniture, unlike other regional styles, exists not only in Normandy, but throughout France and in other countries. The Norman wardrobe is more than just a piece of furniture in a traditional French home…