Neo-Grec Gueridon
Émile-Louis Picault · Signed
France, Circa 1860
An antique Napoleon III period patinated and gilt bronze gueridon in the Neo-Grec style, signed by the sculptor Émile-Louis Picault and executed circa 1860. A regular exhibitor at the Salon for nearly half a century, Picault excelled in subjects inspired by Antiquity, rendering them with a remarkable attention to detail. The top is centered with a relief medallion depicting a famous episode from the Peloponnesian War: the Athenian soldiers taken prisoner following the Siege of Syracuse in 413 BC. It bears the Latin inscription "Olympias XCI Graeci Syracusis Captivi", dating the event to the 91st Olympiad. Around the perimeter, masks of the Olympian gods complete this scholarly composition. The top rests upon a central shaft adorned with a lizard, leading down to a circular base supported by four claw feet. The interplay of patinated bronze and gilt highlights accentuates the exquisite delicacy of the chasing. Both decorative and erudite, this gueridon reflects the Second Empire's passion for Greek Antiquity. It will effortlessly find its place in a salon, library, or study, set beside an armchair or featured in the center of a room.
7 800 €
- Artist / Maker
- Émile-Louis Picault · Signed
- Circa
- 1860
- Origin
- France
Dimensions
- Height : 37 in(94 cm)
- Width : 20.5 in(52 cm)
- Depth : 15.7 in(40 cm)
Technique / Materials
- Patinated and gilt bronze
Museum collections
- Other works by Picault in public collections: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Troyes ("La Famille, joies et peines", plaster relief, 1894); Musée des Beaux-Arts de Chambéry ("Le Semeur d'idées", bronze reduction); Musées de Maubeuge ("Le Devoir"); Dahesh Museum of Art, New York ("Allégorie").
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