Object Description
A Neo-Grec Gilt and Patinated Bronze Amphora Vase, Attributed to Christofle
By Christofle (French, active from 1830)
French, c. 1880
Height: 35cm, width 20cm, depth 15cm
This striking Neo-Grec amphora vase rises from a separate square plinth base on four gilt lion’s-paw feet, its broad ovoid body carried on a circular foot and flanked by a pair of gilt strap handles with coiled terminals. The entire surface is worked in dark patinated bronze and enriched throughout with gold and silver damasquinage, organised in the manner of an ancient Greek painted vase with a programme of continuous figural friezes and ornamental borders that rewards close examination from every angle.
The neck opens with a wide register of gilt lotus leaves above a Greek key frieze, followed by a band of anthemion and palmette ornament. The principal body presents a different scene on each face. One depicts a Homeric or Trojan War episode — helmeted warriors in profile, carrying round shields and spears, attending a fallen or kneeling figure in elaborate armour rendered with a precision that recalls the finest Attic red-figure ware. The reverse presents a sacrificial or votive scene centred on a small pedestal shrine, with draped and helmeted figures gathered around a winged cult idol, a standing female figure holding a laurel branch among them. A further face shows a solemn procession of draped figures and warriors in attitudes of ceremony and supplication.
The lower body narrows through further registers of gilt ornament — a band of ovolo and a frieze of elongated anthemia — to a circular foot banded with Greek key and lotus motifs. The plinth base, separately cast, has sides chased with acanthus scrolls, its corners each accented with a gilt mask.
The decorative treatment — gold and silver damasquinage on a dark patinated bronze ground — is directly attributable to the “damasquinage galvanique” technique patented by Henri Bouilhet of Christofle et Cie in 1867, produced in limited quantities for the firm’s most prestigious exhibition and presentation pieces. A pair of vases of identical model, signed by Christofle, was sold at Christie’s Paris on 27 April 2021 (Lot 322) for EUR 37,500, lending strong support to the present attribution. No maker’s mark has been identified on the present vase at time of cataloguing.