Pair of Antique French Blue and White Saint-Clément Faience Lion Candle Holders

Rouen, located in the region of Normandy, just outside of Paris, has been at the center of French faience production since the mid-1500s. This lovely hand-painted jardiniere (circa 1...

Standing at over two feet tall, this 17th century pair of angel candlesticks has been carved out of a beautiful French elm wood. Because elm wood typically has an interlocked grain, it can be quite difficult to carve or split. These candlesticks were produced by a master craftsman in France during the 1600s. Our angels have long, wavy hair that extends past their shoulders. They are wearing long flowing gowns with scalloped collars and half sleeves. The loosely draped robe reaches their ankles, exposing bare feet that stand upon a round base. One leg is also visible from behind the material due to a slit at mid-thigh. Each angel is holding a turned candle holder that has a large wrought iron pricket with a lobed bobeche. In France, this type of candle holder is known as an Ange Céroféraire. A ceroferary is the acolyte...

More information coming soon… Produced by La Manufacture de Madame Veuve Dumas (in the 1800s), this French faience platter has a vibrant ring of images surrounding a center cartouch...

This stunning lidded urn might have once been found in a 19th century Italian apothecary. The front of the shaped urn body has the hand-painted phrase “C. Violaru”, which is the heavily abbreviated form of the Latin word for violet (violaceum). Up until the mid-1700’s, apothecaries would make syrups from violets and use it to treat kidney ailments. Above the Latin wording is a whimsical musical scene with a man blowing a horn leading a couple who is holding hands over rocky terrain lined with shrubbery. A large house and trees can be seen behind the trio with a pair of mountains in the distance. On the opposite side of the urn is a floral display with a bird perched on a rock. Beneath the bird is a geometric design, possibly a stylized sun with radiating beams of light. Both scenes are segmented by a pair of thin quarter round moldings that encircle the entire vase. Other hand-painted motifs include floral and foliate margents, geometric patterns, and Vitruvian waves that are infilled with horizontal fluting. The sides of the urn have a fish-scale background beneath two mustachioed mascarons. Both men have been styled in grotesque fashion, with a pair of spiraled horns emanating from their heads. In between the horns is a looping handle that is affixed to the body in similar tight spirals. The domed lid has three scrolled arms that merge in a geometric finial. The base color of the urn is white, with illustrations in a monochromatic cobalt oxide blue, reminiscent of Delft blue pottery...