Pr, French Empire Revival Patinated & Gilt-Bronze Vases by Fumière Et Cie, Paris

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Pair of French Empire Revival Patinated and Gilt-Bronze Vases by Fumière et Cie, Paris
Stamped “FUMIÈRE / TRIBAUT / SUCCr … Read more Pair of French Empire Revival Patinated and Gilt-Bronze Vases by Fumière et Cie, Paris
Stamped “FUMIÈRE / TRIBAUT / SUCCr / 12 RUE DE L'ÉCHAUDÉ / PARIS”
France, late 19th to early 20th century

This finely cast and richly detailed pair of Empire Revival bronze vases epitomizes the neoclassical grandeur and sculptural finesse associated with the French decorative arts revival of the late 19th century. Executed in patinated and gilt-bronze, each vase presents a baluster form body with a mottled green finish, surmounted by a pierced gilt-bronze collar of upright palmettes, beadwork, and fluting. The shoulders are adorned with dramatic ram’s head mascarons in full relief, from which suspend intricately modeled gilt-bronze garlands of grape vines—symbolic of Bacchic fertility and classical abundance.

The vases rest on gilt-bronze socles encircled by a guilloche band with a stylized leaf motif, supported on circular plinths with four projecting blocks, each applied with a classical rosette. The base is incised and stamped with the oval foundry mark of Fumière & Cie, Successeurs de Tribaut, a noted Parisian bronzier active at 12 rue de l'Échaudé. The foundry operated during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was known for producing high-quality decorative bronzes, lighting, and mounts in the Empire, Louis XVI, and Renaissance Revival styles. The craftsmanship and aesthetic ambition of these vases suggest the firm’s engagement with prominent architects and decorators active during the Belle Époque.

The style of these vases echoes the monumental forms popularized during the Napoleonic Empire, particularly the influence of designers such as Percier and Fontaine. The dramatic goat mascarons and grapevine festoons pay direct homage to the antique Roman krater and Bacchic iconography, while the patinated body and doré bronze mounts evoke the sophisticated dual-tonality favored by 19th-century collectors and tastemakers, including those furnishing hôtels particuliers or gallery interiors in the manner of the Château de Malmaison.

Though conceived as vases, their closed tops suggest they were intended as decorative garniture rather than functional vessels. Their scale, sculptural massing, and highly finished detail are closely comparable to ormolu-mounted bronzes by Ferdinand Barbedienne or Henry Dasson, and they are emblematic of the enduring fascination with the aesthetics of empire and antiquity in turn-of-the-century France.



Measures:

Height: 15.125 inches

Base Diameter: 5.75 inches

Width (at ram heads): 8.125 inches See less