Monday, September 28, 2009

oil paintings

These two semi-rustic oil paintings were found by Monsieur L - so they are more his taste than mine, and yet I have grown quite fond of them over the years!
The detail of the tiny fisherman in this painting reminds me of the time we drove past a solitary live one sitting patiently on his upside-down bucket on the banks of the Loire with his pristine old Citroen Deux-Chevaux parked close by beside him. It was such a classic french country moment that we stopped the car to take pictures of him - and he didn't seem to mind at all!


Untitled; signed "A. SARDET" and dated "FEVRIER 1914" [detail shot below]
Oil on canvas nailed around a wood stretcher;
50 x 32.5 cm
found at a brocante in Le Bourget [a suburb to the northeast of Paris]

CAD/US$1,200/Euros840


*Re: "A. SARDET" - I have tried to find out more about this painter [including googling, of course!] but to no avail. If anyone out there has any information, please do let me know...

*****



"LES PINS A PYLA-SUR-MER"
signed on the front but the name is indecipherable,
and on the label pasted on the back is a name "DON [?]Y" [detail shot below];
dated 1956
Oil on wood panel;
46.5 x 33 cm

CAD/US$800/Euros560


*PYLA-SUR-MER is a seaside town known for its fine sand dunes [and pine trees, too, according to this painting!] located on the Bay of Arcachon in the Gironde region [on the Atlantic coast of France]

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

les boîtes en bois



wood box for holding a dozen small bottles of perfumed hair oil [but found without the bottles];
wire hinges attaching the lid at the back;
side and bottom panels are joined with tiny metal nails;
metal hook clasp in the front;
repairs to a crack in the lid;
circa 1900, found at an antique fair in the Bois de Vincennes in Paris;
[24.5 x 21 cm wide x 5.5 cm high]

CAD/US$200/Euros140





very lovely paper label glued to the inside of the lid
[the box is unlined]

*****


"CHOCOLAT LOMBART"* box [but chocolates long gone!]
wire hinges attach the lid to the back of the box;
side and bottom panels joined with tiny metal nails;
metal wire clasp on the front of the lid;
19th century, found at a brocante fair in Paris;
[30 x 20.5 cm wide x 9 cm high]

CAD/US$200/Euros140





"CHOCOLAT LOMBART
BREVETE EN 1789
PAR SA MAJESTE
LOUIS XVI...
[the words on the bottom halves of the ovals are not quite legible]"
stamped on the top of the lid



paper label glued onto the inside of the lid
[the box is unlined bare wood]

*CHOCOLAT LOMBART was established in Paris in 1760, as indicated on the label above, on the Boulevard des Italiens and only moved to Avenue de Choisy in 1860. It was taken over by Chocolat MENIER [I have a small metal box from this chocolate company as well] in 1957.

*****



tiny wood box used for mailing something...
the address label handwritten in ink and attached to the top of the lid is now barely legible;
the Republique Français stamp glued to the front side panel is date-stamped JANV 99 [January 1899];
there are 4 blobs of red sealing wax [with partial monograms], one on each of the side panels;
the lid is attached to the box with metal hinges on the sides;
the side and bottom panels are joined with tiny metal nails;
shapely closing metal clasp on the front;
found with a collection of saint medallions inside, but I don't remember from which village brocante we were at
[7.5 x 5.5 cm wide x 3 cm high]

{SOLD}