French Napoleon III Decanter Set with Ormolu Grape Frame
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Amboyna - Amboyna is a tree native to Indonesia (named after the Indonesian island of Ambon) and South East Asia, and when harvested the timber has a fragrant rose-like scent, and is of a rich brown colour, usually harvested from the burl of the tree with "birds-eye" markings . In furniture is is usually veneered and used for decorative effects on top quality pieces.
- Tantalus - A tantalus is a container for holding two or three glass or crystal bottles of alchoholic drinks. A tantalus may take various forms, the most common being made from silver, silver plate or wood with the three bottles in a circle or two bottles in line with a central handle. A larger version has three bottles in a line with two end supports and a horizontal top and handle. To prevent unauthorised access, some tantalus have a locking mecahnism that prevents the bottles and stoppers being removed from the bottles when secured.
A box tantalus, as the name implies is an elaborate wooden box made of a fancy timber such as coramandel, with divisions for the bottles and a lockable lid. Some of these type are designed for liquers and include the liquer glasses set into fitted holders. - Ormolu - Ormolu was popular with French craftsmen in the 18th and 19th century for ornamental fittings for furniture, clocks and other decorative items. True ormolu is gilt bronze, that is bronze that has been coated with gold using a mercury amalgam. Due to the health risks associated with using mercury, this method of creating ormolu was discontinued in France in the 1830s. A substitute was developed consisting of about 75% copper and 25% zinc, however it was inferior to the bronze version. It was often lacquered to prevent it tarnishing.
- Ebony - Ebony is a close grained timber, black in colour. It has a fine texture which can be polished to a high gloss, making it suitable for venereering, inlay and stringing and its use as solid timber is resticted to small decorative items and ornamental decoration, such as chess pieces and musical instrument parts. The term "ebonised" means "faux ebony", timber that has been darkened during the polishing process to resemble ebony.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A boxed brass Le Roy & Fils mid-19th century officer/carriage clock with Filligree foliate side panels. The enamel dial with Roman numeral markings in black and stamped Le Roys & Fils Paris, 57 new Bond St, London. Comes in original leather and purple velv
A Chinese hexagonal famille rose brush pot, Six character red Jiaqing mark against a turquoise ground standing on six ruyi-shaped feet, the mouth rim, feet, and the flanges with gilded outlines against a red ground, each side painted in a small central pan
A carved huanghuali portable table cabinet, Guanpixiang Qing dynasty, the hinged canted cover lifting to reveal a shallow compartment over a pair of panelled doors, each carved in relief with a stylised flower spray of a single bloom with leafy scrollwork
Three cast iron Safe still Banks. American, c. 1890s to early 1900s, including a Kento 3 dial radio Bank; a Champion Thrift Bank, locked, combination not known; and a miniature daisy Safe, key present (3) largest 7 x 11 x 7 cm