Gilded Bronze Mirror And Cherub Fan. Paris, Circa 1870

Attractive Cabriolet-shaped fan executed in gilded bronze, the leaf adorned with a beveled mirror, the plumes beautifully chiseled on a matte background of grooves, small Rocaille cartouches with cabochons, volutes, scrolls, acanthus palmettes and flowered stems. Hemmed with a ribbon covered with loops, pearls, the upper part called Grand Tour festooned is adorned with a net with fleur-de-lis motifs alternating with radiating petals centered with stylized flowers evoking delicate lace. Pierced at the level of the strands, the mount is embellished with ovals, falls of fine bases. Forming the base, a generous cord of twisted passementerie with fringed tassels - called Badin in the Great Centuries of Amorous Gallantry - with a sinuous profile enriches the bail. Mischievous admirer or zealous admirer of Muses as charming as they are seductive, a twirling Cherub modeled in a mischievous posture animates this attribute of the feminine adornment of Yesteryear, evocative of fertile eras in piquant finery as playful banter. On its reverse, darkened with a gilded metal plate, is fixed a folding rod-easel. An exquisite "Artistic Fantasy" Original transposition in chased and gilded bronze of these "Useful Zephyrs" - its name in the 17th century - patiently fashioned in ivory, tortoiseshell or mother-of-pearl, delicately adorned with sheets of fabric, painted silk or lace, this delightful table mirror adopting the form of a Fan "resurrects" faces, feminine smiles adorned by this "delicious trinket", this "rattle of inconstancy" of which Octave Uzanne (1851-1931) made himself in his essays the unrepentant and delicious biographer-prose writer (L'Eventail, 1882). On the scene of Parisian elegance and luxurious "artistic fantasies" created under the Second Empire by the inventive bronze manufacturers of the capital - we are thinking in particular of the Maison Alphonse Giroux (1799-1870) -, this essential "jewel of feminine onement" had to be judiciously perpetuated in a less fragile material but with equally charming finery. Emerging from a jumble of lace, reflecting bottles of scents, scattered pearl necklaces or a small painting with the effigy of an Elegant Lady, this refined Mirror-Fan will bring a touch of piquant coquetry to any feminine support. Materials: gilded bronze; beveled glass riveted to a gilded metal plate. Dimensions: H.: 28 cm; - W.: 48 cm; - D. of the support rod extended: 17 cm. High-quality Parisian Neo-Louis XV work from the second half of the 19th century, comparable to the creations of Maison Alphonse Giroux. Circa 1870-1880. Very good condition. Scattered pitting on the original tin.