Great Athenian Forming Golden Wood Planter

Large XIXth Athenian-shaped planter in gilded wood, molded and carved in strong relief, the zinc basin is covered with caning and an interlacing belt with an antique pattern finely carved in daylight, it is supported by a large tripod base with arched uprights underlined by a frieze of piastres extending at the top by ram's heads joined by garlands with laurel tori, the lower part resting on so-called doe's hoof feet gathered around a triangular spacer decorated with a rose window in the center. Good condition, very stable furniture, to note wear and gaps in the gilding. Dimensions: 87 cm high X 50 cm wide. Beautiful neoclassical work inspired by ancient models, this term Athenian appears in furniture in the 1770s, following the discovery of ancient tripods during archaeological excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum by Count Caylus. By allusion to a painting where a woman draped in the antique burns incense on a tripod: "The Virtuous Athenian" by Joseph-Marie Vien, the artist Jean-Henri Eberts subsequently invented a tripod in 1773. pedestal table, casserole dish, brazier and planter, which he calls Athenian. This small piece of furniture finds its place in reception rooms as well as in private apartments. These forms are reinterpreted and corresponding under the consulate and the empire to the attraction for antiquity rediscovered and evolving: François-Honoré Jacob-Desmalter or Martin-Guillaume Biennais from drawings by Charles Percier extend its use to the toilet . The planter that we present is directly inspired by the tripod represented on the painting by Joseph-Marie Vien kept at the Museum of Fine Arts in Strasbourg, the ram-headed uprights are also joined by garlands, terminated by clogs on a base triangular.