Pair Of Ewers In Gilt And Patinated Bronze Attributed To André-antoine Ravrio (1759 - 1814)

PAIR OF EWERS in gilded and patinated bronze Attributed to André-Antoine RAVRIO (1759 - 1814) EMPIRE PARIS period, circa 1810 Height: 38.5 cm; width: 10 cm; depth: 14 cm Comparative bibliography: Denise Ledoux-Lebard in Vergoldete Bronzen, Otto Meyer and Hans Pröschel Klinkhardt & Biermann, München, 1986. Pages 689 to 694 Elegant pair of simulated ewers, in chiseled, patinated and gilded bronze. The ovoid body is decorated with laurel leaves, openwork palmettes and a gilded bronze rim. This body rests on a small pedestal which rests on a square base in morello cherry red marble, highlighted with a frieze of acanthus leaves in gilded bronze. The handle is composed of a long sinuous volute of gilded bronze ending in a griffin and resting on a satyr's head. Very good general condition. Some small chips on the marble. The model of this pair of ewers can be attributed with certainty to André-Antoine Ravrio, due to the presence of an almost identical ewer on the portrait made by Henri-François Riesener, in 1812, and kept at the Louvre Museum . In this portrait, Ravrio is shown holding a female figure in his hands; in the background, placed on the desk, we find an ewer whose shape and handle are identical to the model presented. André-Antoine Ravrio (1759-1814) was a French bronzier and gilder, from a family linked to the Van der Cruses and the Rieseners, famous families of Parisian cabinetmakers and painters. Received master foundry in 1777, Ravrio worked for the Count of Artois and was one of the best gilders active under the Directory and the Empire alongside Thomire, Galle and Feuchère. In 1803 he made a phloscope (tripod) for the Spanish court, then he supplied Prince Murat in 1809 to the Elysée Palace. In the same year, King Frederick of Würtenberg made considerable purchases in Ravrio's store. He is one of the regular suppliers to the Imperial Furniture Guard, for which he supplies numerous bronzes used in the redevelopment of Napoleon's main residences. Some of his creations are today preserved in the collections of the Louvre Museum, or the Mobilier national, in Paris.