Louis-Philippe Gilt-Bronze and Patinated Bronze Inkwell

Object Description

A Louis-Philippe Gilt-Bronze and Patinated Bronze Inkwell.

Signed Alphonse Giroux

Object History

Maison Giroux was founded by Francois-Simon-Alphonse Giroux in 1799 at 7 rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré, Paris. The store, specialising in small luxury goods and curiosities, expanded rapidly in the first half of the nineteenth century,

Francois oversaw the manufacture and design of small items of furniture until his death in 1848. He won the ‘Prix de Rome’ in 1825, and a silver medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1834.

Under the direction of Giroux’s sons, Alphonse-Gustave and André, the company flourished and became by the late 1860’s one of the most pre-eminent Parisian Maison de Haute Luxe (luxury stores).

In 1867, Ferdinand Duvinage, a cousin of Alphonse-Gustave and André, took over the management of the business alongside a Mr Harinkouck.

Object Literature

Ledoux-Lebard, Denise. Les Ebénistes du XIX siècle, Les Editions de l’Amateur, (Paris), 1984; pps. 223-30.

D. Kisluk – Grosheide. Maison Giroux and its ‘Oriental’ Marquetry Technique, The journal of the furniture history society, vol. XXXV, 1999, p. 147-172.

Object Details