Pair of Gilt Bronze and Enamel Cups. Barbedienne, 19th Century

Mounted on griffins, these gilt bronze cups, whose bottoms and feet are decorated with enamels, are emblematic of the second half of the 19th century. The great interest shown in heritage – a new concept at the end of the Ancien Régime – fascinates scholars and wealthy circles of society. The subtleties of Gothic are revealed by Viollet-le-Duc, those of the novel and its marvelous creatures by Paul Abadie junior and it is a whole current of rereading of these styles which is emerging. One dives back into the past – still fantasized – and bring back old techniques, in particular enamels. Ferdinand Barbedienne makes no mistake !
All this mixes with the tastes of the time and no one is surprised to see a Japanese style mixed in (which then covers both Chinese and Japanese productions). Our bowls in perfect condition are the perfect illustration of this: the enamels are both the memory of those of Limoges as much as an obvious evocation of Chinese cloisonné. Romanesque griffins replaced the caryatids of the neoclassical style of the beginning of the century and the use of these cuts corresponded to the fashion of the time. No doubt some potpourri, perfumed water or perhaps even fumigation tablets were placed there.