Pot With Handles And Its Tray In Cloisonné Enamel Signed: F.barbedienne

Ferdinand BARBEDIENNE (1810-1892), Pot with handles and its tray in cloisonné enamel and openwork gilt bronze and with Iznik-inspired decoration of flowers on a deep blue background. Very good state. The cut bears the signature of the founder "F. Barbedienne". Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1882) was a French industrialist and great bronzier of his time. He created and directed one of the most important art foundries of the 19th century, he became the official supplier of Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. Born in Normandy in 1810, Barbedienne quickly moved to Paris and ran a wallpaper store. He met Achille Collas and the two opened a foundry in 1838. Collas had already invented a machine that reproduced sculptures mathematically. The house of Collas and Barbedienne sell plaster reductions of the Venus de Milo throughout the world. She then devoted herself to bronze after the antique. Barbedienne's idea is to democratize art to make it accessible, while being consistent in the reproduction of the work. This invention allowed him to stand out and to be at the head of a good reputation near renowned sculptors of the time, such as Antonin Mercié, Paul Dubois, Clésinger, Carrier-Belleuse... He also touched on decorative objects and of furniture. In 1862, he did not go unnoticed at the Universal Exhibition in London, with his works of art encrusted with enamels (first attempts recorded in 1858). At the Universal Exhibition of 1878, he was compared to "a prince of industry and the king of bronze". H: 19.5cm D: 28cm