Designs for Gilt Bronze Objects from the French Restoration 1814-1830

Exhibition Catalogue Summary

The themes portrayed in these neo-classical designs, once their Classical iconography and allegorical language is de-coded, are still highly relevant to our own times. Made for two leading Parisian bronziers of the early nineteenth century, these designs for clocks and bronzes d’ameublement (furnishing bronzes) bring to life their creators’ joy in peace and prosperity, love and celebratory feasting such as followed the end of the Napoleonic era with its endless conflict. The attractiveness of the images gives them an immediate appeal to the modern collector. There is an almost tangible romance stemming from their association with the royal and princely palaces of Europe, where realised exemplars of these designs can still be seen; for these were truly objets de luxe intended for the grandest patrons of the day. The scale of the objects in these drawings and prints is palatial, giving them a compelling presence: they justly demand and excite the attention of the onlooker, as though one were looking at the object depicted itself. Coupled with the scholarly research into these pieces, presented in this catalogue, these designs provide us with a fresh insight into the world of design and decorative arts in early nineteenth-century France and help to identify the true style of the French Restoration (1814-1830), and separate it from the Empire style with which it has so long been coupled for want of its own identity.