Carved Bronze Bas-Relief Jewelry Box or Tobacco Holder, France, 19th Century

Details

Description

Item description:
Stunning jewelry box or tobacco box made entirely of bronze, dating back to the first half of the … Read more Item description:
Stunning jewelry box or tobacco box made entirely of bronze, dating back to the first half of the 1800s. Empire style, as can be easily deduced from the shape of the feet. Embellished with two large bas-relief panels, one on the front and one on the back, two smaller panels on the left and right, and finally the largest panel above the lid.

Useful information for evaluating the object:
It is a casting, not a sheet of bronze pressed into the shape of a bas-relief, but a real sculpture. In fact, if you look inside, you will see that it is completely smooth. If it were a sheet of bronze pressed into bas-relief, you would see the pits, i.e., the negative of the figures that protrude on the outside, but inside it is completely smooth, so a sculptor made all the bas-relief panels by hand and created a mold to make a casting.

Final considerations on the object:
Part of the padding is missing inside, and some of the feet are slightly bent, but this is insignificant for a very old object with a beautiful antique patina and made from high-quality bronze alloy. The various scenes depicted in the bas-relief panels are of different themes, from a hunting scene to an ancient brewery, a country scene with dancing, and two scenes of fruit or olive harvesting. It should be noted that the bas-reliefs on all the panels are remarkably protruding. We have deliberately taken some photos at a very sharp angle to show how much the characters in the bas-reliefs protrude. I can assure you that this is a piece of truly high aesthetic quality, ancient, rare, and beautiful! See less