We regularly organize fine auctions of Furniture & Works of Art from the Early Period (Haute Époque) to the 19th century, coming from Châteaux and fine residences in the Loire Valley and Sologne as part of estate settlements, divisions, relocations, or simply upon request for appraisal. Notably, we have dispersed mounted objects from the collection of Mr. Jacques Guerlain and discovered an extremely rare Venetian enamel dish dating from the Renaissance during an estate inventory in an apartment in Montrichard.

We rely on specialized experts to best describe and value your furniture and works of art: Isabelle d'AMECOURT for the Early Period, Stéphane MOLINIER and Simon-Pierre ETIENNE for the 18th and 19th centuries.

Among the notable auction results:

• RARE AND IMPORTANT VASE in porcelain, known as "celadon", the body with stylized chrysanthemum scrolls and channel friezes, richly mounted in chased and gilded bronze; the cover centered with a rosette set against a matte background and with a seed finial; the rim punctuated by three escutcheons with monograms and ducal crowns; the neck encircled by a matte and gadrooned ring. It rests on a tripod base with leafy scrolls alternating with female masks featuring palmettes; the gadrooned base with rosette and drop. This mount was customized when the vase entered the Parisian market in the years 1744-1749 (crowned "C" punch mark). Parisian work of the 18th century. H: 31 - D: 26 cm. Provenance: Former Collection of Jacques Guerlain (1874-1963) - Paris. (collection label). Sold for €206,400 (Orléans, 11/24/2018)
• RARE PAIR OF EWER PITCHERS in crackled porcelain, known as "celadon", finely chased and gilded bronze mounts; spouts with palmettes and lattice patterns; handles with leafy scrolls, ribbons, and seeds; bases with palmettes alternating with latticed reserves, moldings, clasps, and stylized shells. Louis XV period (old restorations and addition of a leafy motif at the necks). H: 31.5 cm. Provenance: - Former collection Dubois Chefdebien - Sale in Paris, Auctioneer Ader, Hôtel Drouot, Dubois Chefdebien Collection, December 18-19, 1940, lot 49. - Former Collection of Jacques Guerlain (1874-1963) - Paris. (collection label) Bibliography: Le Dix-huitième siècle français, Collection Connaissance des Arts, Hachette, Paris, 1956, p. 113 (illustrated). Sold for €109,200 (Orléans, 11/24/2018)
• DISH in polychrome painted enamel with gilded highlights, midnight blue, light blue, green, white, and turquoise enamels. Background with a prominent umbilicus in spiraled gadroons, broad rim with hollow gadroons, floral decoration and fern leaves; reverse repeating the same plant motif in a simpler form with a field of fleurs-de-lis. Venice, late 15th/early 16th century. Diameter: 30 cm. Sold for €86,400 (Blois, 03/24/2018)
• Exceptional HUNTING CABINET in molded and carved walnut, the curved front opening with two main doors with panels adorned with finely carved medallions featuring a Bérain-style motif and scrolling acanthus leaves, surmounting a drawer with two wrought-iron handles. The sides open with two side-paneled doors. The pediment is richly carved with interlace, centered with a rocaille cartouche decorated with a face. Wide breakfront cornice at the corners. Resting on two bun feet at the front. Interior fitted with three shelves and three custom drawers. Louis XIV period. 264 x 210 x 100 cm. Provenance: Former collection of Prefect Louis Lépine (1846-1933), from his property in Montbrison (Loire). Sold for €52,800 (Orléans, October 25, 2020)

BLOIS EARTHENWARE

While the earthenware tradition in Blois does not date back to the 17th or even the 18th century, today it enjoys well-deserved success among regional collectors, as well as those across the Atlantic.
This enthusiasm highlights vases, pieces, and utilitarian objects with impressive shapes and decorations inspired by the Renaissance, incorporating emblems of the great 15th and 16th-century sovereigns, such as the ermine of Anne of Brittany or the salamander of Francis I.

Ulysse BESNARD founded the artistic earthenware factory of Blois in 1862. His successors (Émile Balon and Gaston Bruneau-Balon) continued production until 1953. The main earthenware makers and decorators from Blois were: Ulysse Besnard, Josaphat Tortat, A.W. Just, Émile Balon, Adrien Thibault, Gaston Bruneau-Balon, and Églantine Lemaître.

We have auctioned the largest collections of Blois earthenware, including those of Claude Bouclet and Michel Pasquier.

A few auction results:
- BLOIS - Ulysse: Charles V Flees Innsbruck on May 18, 1552. Sold for €5,040
- BLOIS - Ulysse BESNARD (1826-1899): Rare earthenware ewer in the shape of a nautilus. Signed and dated 1877. H: 38 cm. Sold for €8,400.
- BLOIS - Ulysse BESNARD (1826-1899): Important circular dish in polychrome earthenware with a full-surface decoration of a historical scene. The scene depicted most likely corresponds to a privy council the day after St. Bartholomew's Day in a room at the Château de Blois. Signed Ulysse and dated December 1881, on the reverse and within the design. Diam: 52 cm. In an ebonized wood frame. Sold for €6,600.

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