Pair Of Napoleon III Marble And Gilt Bronze Vases

Pair of baluster-shaped sea green marble vases with rich Louis XV style gilt bronze ornamentation, composed of a profusion of leafy branches decorated with flowers, seeds and shells, spreading over the belly and forming the handles. Each vase rests on a pedestal edged with a gilt bronze rod, chiseled with grooves and foliage, placed on a square base with cut sides, surrounded by a gilt bronze net. In the second half of the 19th century, the upper middle class of the court of Napoleon III dreamed of rediscovering the splendor and elegance of the Ancien Régime. The influence of Empress Eugènie, who had boundless admiration for Marie-Antoinette, was decisive in this new fashion. The new wealthy industrialists relayed this trend which came at just the right time. It allowed them to surround themselves with an aristocratic decor, copied from that of the previous century. In the middle of the 19th century, between 1852 and 1870, under the reign of Napoleon III and well after, these "style" pieces of furniture and art objects appeared, perfect replicas of those created in the 18th century.
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