Barbedienne Bronze Bowl, Antique Allegorical Decoration. F. Levillain, Dated 1879 , 19th Century

Fine-chased bronze pedestal bowl with shaded brown patina and gilded highlights, featuring a remarkable allegorical decoration inspired by Antiquity.

The basin is adorned with a circular composition in high relief of great iconographic richness: procession of mythological figures, harvest scenes, animals and fertility symbols, organized around a finely guilloche central medallion.

The quality of the chasing, the precision of the details and the subtlety of the patinas testify to the exceptional craftsmanship of the Barbedienne workshops.

The work is signed F. Levillain and dated 1879, and bears the stamp of the prestigious F. Barbedienne, a famous 19th-century Parisian foundry-publisher renowned for the museum-quality of its productions.

François Levillain (1837-1905), a renowned sculptor, collaborated with Barbedienne to produce classically-inspired models for a cultivated clientele, in the neo-antique taste much in demand during the Second Empire and Third Republic.

Resting on an elegant pedestal, this bowl presents a sober, balanced line, highlighting the richness of its decoration.

It is both a refined decorative object and a collector's item.