PARIGIGI's french bits & pieces

les petites assiettes

2010-08-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

[speaking of plates, mine has been rather full this summer, therefore have been a little distracted from posting regularly...but I will make more of an effort to continue on!]

"CHEZ ANTOINE

75, RUE SAINTE-ANNE

PARIS 2e. - RIC 78-67"

[this restaurant is no longer at this address - if anyone remembers it from long ago, please do let me know...]
Limoges faience; mid-20th C.;
14 x 9.5 cm x 2 cm high

CAD/US$150/ Euros 120

detail of the mark on the base

*****

12 franc saucer; early 20th C.;
11.5 cm in diameter x 2 cm high

CAD/US$100/Euros 80

not completely legible mark on base::
"CHARL[?]NAIS

[?]PANASSIER

.TOULOUSE."

*****

2 franc saucer; early 20th C.;
12.5 cm in diameter x 2 cm high

CAD/US$100/Euros 80

detail of mark on base::

"E LE NOUBLANCHE

52, RUE DE PARADIS

PARIS"

*****

advertising saucer for sugar-coated almonds "DRAGEES PECOU" from "MONTAUBAN" in southwestern France
ceramic; mid-20th C.;
12 cm in diameter x 2 cm high
[mark on base:: "ARDUS"]

CAD/US$50/Euros 40

les petits cendriers

2010-05-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

now here is something different! - a miniature bidet in the shape of a horse's head!...but really an ashtray - designed by Jean EFFEL for DUPONT...

"DUPONT"
mid-20th C.; ceramic
10 x 6 cm x 7 cm in height [base 5.5 x 4 cm]

CAD/US$100/Euros80

signed "JEAN EFFEL" - a french painter, illustrator, caricaturist and journalist who was also known by his nom de plume François Lejeune [1908-1982]

*****

"DEGUSTATION BARONE

43, Rue Vacon

COQUILLAGES"
Mid-20th C.; ceramic
10 x 9 cm x 1.5 cm in height
[no mark on base]
[two tiny chips off glaze on rim]

CAD/US$50/Euros40

*****

"AUX GALERIES LAFAYETTE
PARIS" around rim
"LW" in center
1980's [?]; ceramic
11.5 cm in diameter x 1.5 cm in height

CAD/US$50/Euros40

mark on base: "PORCELAINES GOUMOT-LABESSE
LIMOGES FRANCE"

les cendriers drôles

2010-04-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

these unusual advertising ashtrays were collected by Monsieur L because he found their forms amusing and relatively rare to come across...

"PICON"
ceramic; mid-20th C.
17-17.5 cm in diameter [top] x 10.5-11.5 cm in diameter [base]
x 4-7.5 cm in height

CAD/US$200/140 Euros

the round mark on the base indicates::
"FAIENCE D'ART PROCERAM AUBAGNE EN PROVENCE
MADE IN FRANCE 72"

*PICON is an orange based apéritif liquor created by Gaetan PICON in 1837 in Marseille. It is a popular bitters for accompanying beer in the northern and eastern regions of France.

*****

"CYNAR"
this adorable artichoke-shaped piece is the CYNAR brand of Italian digestif bitters concocted from artichoke and 13 other herbs [this after-dinner apéritif was created in 1952 and the brand has since been acquired by the CAMPARI group]
ceramic; mid-20th C.
6 cm in diameter [top] x 7 cm in diameter [base]
x 10 cm in height
[no marks on the base]

CAD/US$150/100 Euros

*****

"LES FILS CHARVET"
an elegant and classic cream and gold cendrier with a perfectly rendered lump of coal!
ceramic; mid-20th C., maybe earlier?;
found in the Marché Vernaison at the Saint-Ouen flea market, Paris
17 cm in diameter [top] x 8 cm in diameter [base]
x 5 cm in height

CAD/US$250/170 Euros

I have to presume that LES FILS CHARVET was a coal company somewhere in France!
[I have googled the name but haven't found much information so far, but I will do more research and post that later.]

les cendriers sans cendres

2010-04-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

I just found a box of vintage ceramic ashtrays that I had forgotten about!

I don't smoke and have no use for these items as their original function, but once in a while at a brocante I would pick one up that appealed to me aesthetically, and so would Monsieur L...

Over the years they have added up to a small collection of under-appreciated accoutrements, but I do still find them very charming and very french!... and cleaned up, they can be used to hold small trinkets and trifles instead...

"MORIN PERE & FILS

Au Coeur de la Bourgogne"

mid-20th C.

13 x 13 x 2.5 cm [h]

CAD/US$100/70 Euros

Maison MORIN Père et Fils was established in 1822 in Nuits-Saint-Georges, in the heart of Burgundy, and is renowned for its Marc de Bourgogne.

*****

"PERNOD 51 PERNOD 45
Pernod Fils"
mid-20th C.; found at the Chatou brocante fair
15 cm diameter x 1.5 cm [h]

CAD/US$150/100 Euros

[the mark on the base is somewhat worn off, but I can make out "...Malesherbes PARIS (8e)"]
PERNOD Fils was founded in 1805 and is the oldest brand of anise spirits in France.

*****

"TOURING CLUB DE FRANCE"
mid-20th C.
13 x 15 cm x 2.5 cm [h]
CAD/US$200/140 Euros

The TOURING CLUB DE FRANCE was an association founded in 1890 in Neuilly-sur-Seine dedicated to tourism in France by developing and identifying more travel routes, bicycle paths, traffic signals, road signs, tourist facilities and campgrounds. It is no longer extant since 1983.

faience blanche

2010-03-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

this lovely white-glazed faience lidded bowl was found in a little antique store in Morges, Switzerland - there is no mark on the bottom and the dealer could not identify it as french or swiss, but assured me that it was 19th century...

15 x 12cm x 6cm h [bowl] / 15 x 13cm x 6cm h to top of fruit [lid]

CAD/US$300/Euros200

the opening for a spoon to nestle in some home-made confiture or condiment or just plain sugar!

the lovely barbotine modelling of a rosehip or small quince and 3 leaves on the top of the lid...

*****

this graceful swan bowl/vase was found by Monsieur L at the brocante market in Geneva - there is also no mark on it, but he believes it to be a 19th century "milieu de table" - part of a table centerpiece for displaying flowers...

16 x 8cm x 12cm h

[some tiny chips on the tail feathers]

CAD/US$200/Euros130

I should have put a small bouquet of spring flowers in it for these photos!

toast and gems

2010-02-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

this elegant little toast-rack will grace any breakfast table unobtrusively...

I have also used it to hold large format european business cards and postcards...

early 20th century, found at an antique fair in the Bois de Vincennes;

12 x 7 x 8 cm high [+3 cm handle height]; no markings

CAD/US$100/Euros70

*****

an economically designed piece for displaying delicate pieces of jewellery, perhaps not of the most precious kind...but I can see it standing on the tiny vanity of a modest mademoiselle with a hard-earned collection of pretty bijoux...

19th century, found in Amsterdam at a dealer of french antiques;

base 9 cm diameter x 20.5 cm high;

cast iron weighted base is stamped on the underside:

"V.N.SIEGEL

PARIS

19 RUE REAUMUR"

CAD/US$200/Euros140

[I googled the company V.N. SIEGEL, PARIS stamped on this jewellery stand, and judging from the few items listed on ebay they seemed to have produced a range of items from oil lamps to more luxurious cane and umbrella stands listed on Christie's auction site!...I couldn't find any other information about the establishment, which I presume is now defunct - if anyone knows more about it, please do let me know...]

a soapdish and a candlestick

2010-01-09T14:26:00.000-08:00

a very elegant and well-worn soap-holder in silvered bronze;
19th century, found at an antique fair in Auxerre;
12 x 9 x 4 cm high

CAD/US$100/Euros70

detail of the base... with no discernible markings

*****

a very romantic and well-used candle-holder in bronze;
19th century; found at the Porte-de-Vanves flea market in Paris;
11.5 cm round x 5.5 cm high

CAD/US$200/Euros140

detail of the base... with a lovely swirling leaves design

a clock and a lock

2009-12-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

tick-tock, tick-tock...literally the sound of time passing!
in Paris, I stay in an apartment where the large pendulum of the old standing clock has a particular loud beat and the clock would chime out the hours not once but twice, hour upon hour!...sometimes it truly drove me mad!!
but this little "JAZ" alarm clock has a sweet little tick-tocking...and is in good working condition...[on the back cover, the previous owner has scratched a series of faint numbers, perhaps to secret bank accounts??]

"JAZ" trademark and "MADE IN FRANCE" printed on the face;
pre-1960's; found at the Porte-de-Vanves flea market;
6 cm round; "bronzy" metal

CAD/US$150/Euros100

*****

Monsieur L found this cool old metal padlock with key but he doesn't remember from which brocante or flea market...

"CERES" brand name and "VF PARIS" etched on the lock cover, which is hinged to slide open for the key;
pre-1950's; in good working condition;
7 cm x 6 cm [+ 4.5] x 1.5 cm

CAD/US$50/Euros35

dog prize plaques

2009-11-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

Woof! Woof! I Won!!
19th century; red and gold paint on metal [spelter]
12 x 7 cm

{SOLD}

Woof! I only came in 2nd place...whimper...sigh...
19th century; blue and gold paint on metal [spelter]
12 x 7 cm

{SOLD}

Drawer-pulls

2009-11-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

verdigris bronze drawer-pull with twin rams' heads flanking a central medallion with roman profile below a classical urn motif;
19th century; found at Marché Vernaison, St-Ouen
15 x 12 cm

CAD/US$150/Euros100

*****

lovely pair of ornate bronze drawer-pulls;
19th century; found at a brocante in Paris
12.5 x 4 cm

CAD/US$50/Euros35

pair of simple laurel leaves bronze drawer-pulls;
19th century; found at a brocante in Paris
12 x 2.5 cm

CAD/US$30/Euros20

*****

"RADIGUER PARIS"*
cast iron drawer-pull;
early 1900's; found at a flea market outside of Paris
10 x 2.5 cm

CAD/US$50/Euros30

*Monsieur RADIGUER was the former manager of the Paris branch of H.W. CASLON & Cie, a type-foundry that designed and made metal types for printing, and he eventually established his own company - hence his name on a drawer-pull presumably from his type-founding premises!

Door-pulls

2009-11-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

These two heavy ancient iron door-pulls were found by Monsieur L many years ago and I love the fact that they had been touched by generations of french hands on a daily basis...

this one with a lion's head is still encrusted with traces of burgundy paint...
18th century; found at a brocante outside of Paris;

8 x 8 cm [+ 5 cm back screw]

{SOLD}

*****

brown paint flaking a little off the finely detailed sun motif of this door-pull;
18th century; found at a flea market outside of Paris;
8 x 8 cm [+ 6 cm back screw]

CAD/US$200/Euros140

Door-knockers

2009-10-29T09:33:00.001-07:00

Knock-Knock jokes aside, I only have these two metal door-knockers left...[having sold all that I find, I have hung on to these two favourite ones]
The elegant lady's hand holding a ball ["une main de bienvenue"] is always popular [enough to be still reproduced], but this one is the real deal - unfortunately, the screw on the back has been broken, thereby making it too short to insert into a door, but it is still very decorative as a paperweight or part of a collection of smalls...

19th century; can't remember which brocante it was found;
11 x 4 cm [4 cm length of back screw]

{SOLD}

*****

this silvered metal knocker with the double winged creatures is a one-of for me, not having seen another one again since... I have used it on our front door but was afraid to have it stolen!
"A V *" mark is etched onto the back screw post
19th century
8 x 8 cm [7 cm length of back screw]

CAD/US$150/Euros100

a songbird and a spider dance

2009-10-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

I found this lovely little watercolour [with the frame] at a mad jumble of a brocante in an unremarkable suburb of Paris... I love the fresh spring colours, the spontaneous brush-strokes and the naive quality of it...[the slight white line just right of center in this image is from a reflection in the glass and is not on the painting]

Unsigned and undated [my guess is pre-1960's, judging from the frame];
watercolour on paper;
12 x 16 cm / 17.5 x 22 cm framed in gold-painted wood

CAD/US$200/Euros140

*****

"THE TARANTELLA DANCE"
"Printed in Oil Colours
By G. Baxter
The Inventor and Patentee
XI. Northampton Square"
is stamped on the lower left hand corner of the backing paper;
found [with frame] at the brocante fair at Chatou outside of Paris;
10 x 7.5 cm / 17 x 13 cm framed in gold-painted wood

CAD/US$200/Euros140

G. BAXTER is presumably George Baxter [1804-1867] and there is a website about his life and work, with a complete listing of his oil colour prints. There is mention of the Tarantella Set [1850], of which this print must be a part of, but there is no accompanying image to confirm its belonging.
[The Tarantella dance is a rapid whirling folk dance that originated in southern Italy from a dancing mania, also known as tarantism, supposedly caused by the bite of a tarantula spider!]

a drawing and an engraving

2009-10-08T08:54:00.001-07:00

The what-goes-around-comes-around Aesop's fable of the Fox and the Stork is beautifully illustrated in this fine drawing of the Stork finally enjoying her lunch while the Fox sniffs around the jar in hunger and frustration...

I found this framed drawing at the wonderfully atmospheric brocante fair at Chatou over ten years ago now, and still am slightly reluctant to let it go...

"Le Renard et la Cicogne"
signed "Gve GAUHEY" and dated 1826
[I have tried researching for a Gustave GAUHEY but no luck]
graphite pencil on paper [with some damage in spots around the drawing];
24 x 18.5 cm / 37.5 x 26.5 cm framed [wood painted black; original glass]

CAD/US$700/Euros500

*****

"Les Disciples de Flore"
"Peint par Bonnieu Peintre du Roi"*
"Gravé par Amb. Orio"**
18th century; found at an antiques fair in Paris
24.5 x 17 cm / 41.5 x 34 cm framed [found in wood frame and original glass]

CAD/US$700/Euros500

*BONNIEU peintre du roi is mentioned in one book "Mercure de France"
**AMBROISE ORIO has his name on another engraving that I googled - "Vue du Grand Marché à Bruxelles" by Bernard RIDDERBOSCH, 1783

oil paintings

2009-09-28T07:06:00.001-07:00

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]

les boîtes en bois

2009-09-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

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}

metal boxes

2009-08-27T06:47:00.001-07:00

copper box with the crest of MONTBELIARD*
19th century, found at the Porte-de-Vanves flea market
[15 x 7.5 cm wide x 6 cm high/7.5 cm with the feet]

detail of crowned headless bird [eagle?] on the sides;
a pattern of the double crossed Croix de Lorraine** on top of the lid and on the front and back sides;
the lock is missing its key;
original tufted red satin cushion still lines the bottom of the inside

CAD/US$500/Euros350

*MONTBELIARD is located in eastern France in the Doubs département of the Franche-Comté region...distinguished by the Château des Ducs de Wurtemberg and the Peugeot car manufacturing plant, now running out of gas...?

**The Cross of Lorraine was the heraldic cross of the Dukes of Lorraine, the region bordering Alsace to the east, and north of the Franche-Comté... it was also held as a symbol for Joan of Arc and during the second World War was adopted as the official symbol by the Free French Forces.

*****

"CHOCOLAT MENIER"* bronzy [brass?] lidded box
late19th/early 20th century, found at the St-Ouen flea market
[12.5 x 8.5 cm wide x 5.5 cm high]

CAD/US$200/Euros140

*Chocolat MENIER was founded in 1816 in Paris by the Menier family as a pharmaceutical aside from their hardware company, and the chocolate was only used sparingly as a medicinal product to coat the bitter pills! After almost 150 years in business, the Menier family lost control of their company and had to sell it in 1960, eventually being brought into the Swiss Nestlé S.A. concern of today. [The chocolate producing factory that was built in Noisiel in 1825, and became the largest chocolate manufacturer in 19th century France, expanded in 1872 with "an iconic iron and brick factory building of the Industrial Revolution", which is now designated as an official "Monument historique" and will soon be included as a UNESCO World Heritage site.]

*****

"K.L.G " painted tin lidded box
[I am not sure what K.L.G stands for and what had been stored inside this little box]
19th century?/early 20th century?, found at a brocante outside of Paris
[9 x 3.5 cm wide x 3 cm high]

CAD/US$50/Euros35

"PRIX IMPOSE
EXIGER LA BANDE DE GARANTIE"
printed on the front edge of the lid

"FABRIQUE EN FRANCE
STAD[?] LET[????] & [?]OUSSIN, MONTREUIL"
printed on the back edge of the lid

les boîtes rondes

2009-08-18T07:01:00.001-07:00

This round lidded tin box is one I have held onto for a while...and I have never come across another one quite like it!
The intricate design is pressed into what I believe to be lead, or a softer such metal, and then attached [glued?] onto the plain tin surface of the top and around the sides. Tiny milky "pierre de lune" [moonstones] are set in the center of the flowers like glistening drops of dew...

19th century, found in a brocante outside Paris
[17 cm in diameter x 4 cm high]

CAD/US$400/Euros280

*****

This Paris souvenir box in plated silver needs a little polishing, but I love the way it has discoloured to a goldy sheen...

The date "1918" is etched above the crest of Paris and "Souvenir de Paris" is etched below the laurel branches.
[enlarge the image below to read]
[10 cm in diameter x 4 cm high]

CAD/US$300/Euros200

rising temperatures...

2009-08-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

My temperature is set arising by the well-formed naked gods who grace these two pieces...!

I believe this to be Aristée, son of Apollo and Cyrene, posing casually atop the pyramidal base attached with the thermometer gauge with the word "REAUMr" marked above - the Réaumur scale was formulated by René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur in 1730 and was widely used in France, Germany and Russia in the 18th century, but by the 19th century France had adopted the Celsius scale for the metric system, and nowadays the only use of the Réaumur scale is in the measuring of milk temperature in cheese production!...[perhaps that is why Aristée was chosen to crown this piece as he was once taught by the nymphs to curdle milk!!]
[1 degree Ré = 1.25 degree Celsius]

bronze, 19th century, found at an antique fair in Paris
[23.5 cm high/ 7.5 x 7.5 cm base/ statue 8 cm high]

CAD/US$1,200/Euros840

*****

This must be Zeus sitting astride his soaring eagle holding onto his thunderbolts and his sceptre, rather grandly commending a modest hair salon in Brest! A promotional novelty item with a non too reliable thermometer [in Celsius, but with diluted mercury??] that could accommodate any business concern on the plaque... this one advertising for:

"JANINE VOURCH
EDWIGE COIFFURE
36 rue d'Aiguillon
BREST Tel. 44.20.69"

metal, pre-1960's, found at a brocante in Brittany
[16 cm in length x 4 cm at widest]

CAD/US$100/Euros70

little cups

2009-08-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

I guess it makes sense for little "cups" to follow tiny "platters"!...
and the ones below are quite diverse in style and temperament... but they are all "precious" in their own way and I couldn't resist when I came upon each one of them!

bronze cup with a pattern of fleur-de-lis and the three royal animals around the sides in relief;
pre-1950's, found at the St-Ouen flea market, Paris
[6 cm high x 4.5 cm wide]

CAD/US$200/Euros140

royal porcupine

royal ermine

royal salamander

*****

silver baby cup on 3 balled feet, with the entire alphabet etched around the rim;
partially engraved marks "HOTEL DE PARIS" on both sides,
[it is claimed to be from the Hotel de Paris in Monaco]
pre-1950's, found at the Porte-de-Vanves flea market, Paris
[7 cm high x 6.5 cm wide at the top]

CAD/US$200/Euros140

*****

miniature silver-plated pedestal "champagne bucket",
with lion's heads and rings handles
pre-1950's, [I know this is English, but I am pretty sure I had found it in France!]
[7.5 cm high x 6.5 cm wide at the top/ 4.5 cm wide at the base]

{SOLD}

detail of lion's head and ring handle

"VINERS OF SHEFFIELD
ENGLAND
SILVERPLATE"
embossed on the bottom

tiny platters

2009-07-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

These small "advertising plates" were gifted to me by my sidekick, Monsieur L, who finds such minuscule things très adorable!... but they are well-made and substantial, in the sense that they represent the existence of once thriving establishments in a Paris [and Geneva] of another age...

"1822 BADAN 1922.....1822 GENEVE 1922" around the rim
[17 cm x 10 cm]

"Offert par la Maison Badan à l'occasion de son Centenaire" inscribed on the back

CAD/US$100/Euros70

*****

"AU BON ACCUEIL
Mon GAUCHER
98, RUE D'AUBERVILLIERS
PARIS 19. TEL NORD 69-64"
inscribed on the front
spelter
pre-1950's
[11.5 cm X 7.5 cm]

{SOLD}

*****

"ALIMENTATION - VINS
M. BEAUMARD
74, AVENUE GAMBETTA, 74
COURBEVOIE"
inscribed on the front
spelter painted silver
pre-1950's
[10 cm x 6.5 cm]

{SOLD}

Faience

2009-07-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

Who could resist a rustic piece of french glazed earthenware to warm up any table or sideboard or hand...
Although the supply of fresh choices seem endless, old pieces that have been used for decades, perhaps by the same family, are harder and harder to come by - they have been so collectible... and breakable!

Jug/Pitcher/Pichet
jaspé swirl or marbleized glaze treatment
[this piece had been used for storing oil]
turn of the 19th/20th century, [found at the Saint-Ouen flea market in Paris still sticky with oil residue!]
[15 cm high x 16 cm wide to handle/ 11 cm wide top x 9.5 cm wide base]

CAD/US$300/Euros200

*****

Terrine with Lid
19th century, [found at a flea market in Utrecht]
[8 cm high without lid on/ 12 cm high with lid/ 9 cm wide top and base/
lid 11 cm wide]

"K G LUNEVILLE
1896
8 F"
stamped on the base

CAD/US$200/Euros140

*****

Bowl
pre-1950's [from an aunt who collects them in Provence]
[7 cm high x 11.5 wide top/ 8 cm wide base]
slight chipping around rim

CAD/US$100/Euros70

*****

Salt Dish
pre-1950's, [found at an antique fair by the Bastille in Paris]
[3 cm high x 9 cm x 5.5 cm wide]

"EE
10"
stamped on the base

CAD/US$50/Euros35

Holy Smoke and Water

2009-07-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

I have sat in dimly lit churches where the priest in his ornate chasuble robe walks by slowly swinging a censer, wafting clouds of incense smoke...the senses are soon lulled by the pungent scent, the sonorous incantations, the flickering candles, and of course, the invocation to a higher purpose...

Censer
19th century, [found at an antique fair in Chatou outside of Paris]
Bronze, [some minor dents]
[27 cm high x 14 cm at the widest]
[attached "cup" inside for burning the incense; the chains are used for swinging it during a religious ritual to distribute the smoke]

CAD/US$500/Euros350

*****

Vessel for holy water
19th century, [found at an antique fair in the Bois de Vincennes in Paris]
Glass, [some small chips on lip]
[18 cm high x 14 cm at the widest]

CAD/US$200/Euros140

"EAU DE NOTRE DAME DE LA SALETTE"
in relief on one side of the bottle
[Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette in the Rhône-Alpes region of France is a place of pilgrimage due to the appearance of the Virgin to two shepherd boys in 1846, as depicted on the other side of the bottle as in the top image]

Bénitiers

2009-07-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

These two lovely bénitiers from Lourdes to hold drops of holy water were found in Paris on separate occasions...
[Over the years I have come across some beautiful pieces but they were always coveted by certain clients and I have had to let them go!]

Detail of the metal relief attached to the below bénitiere depicting the miraculous vision of Bernadette in the grotto of Lourdes...

c. pre-1950's
glass bowl attached to marble plaque with metal medallion
[16 cm in length x 11 cm at widest]

CAD/US$200/Euros140

*****

"JE SUIS L'IMMACULEE CONCEPTION"
engraved on the upper arch "ribbon"
"NOTRE DAME DE LOURDES"
engraved on the bottom "ribbon"

c. pre-1950's
spelter
[27.5 cm in length x 13 cm wide]

CAD/US$300/Euros200

Virgins [Mary only]

2009-07-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

I don't come across many lovely Virgins anymore, especially ones that I must have!
The first two featured below I had found in Paris years ago and have been held in thrall ever since by such exquisite delicacy of details...

Does her face not emit the sweetest expression of love?

"N.D. DES VICTOIRES" engraved on the front of the base

Virgin and Child*

c. late 19th century

spelter

[13 cm high/ 3.5 x 5.5. cm base]

CAD/US$200/Euros140

*This tiny crowned Virgin and Child is based on the statue above the east transept altar in the 17th century Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church built by Louis XIII in Paris [2eme Arr.]

*****

Gold Virgin

c. late 19th century

gilt metal

[21.5 cm high/ 6 x 6 cm base]

CAD/US$300/Euros200

*****

Praying Virgin

c. pre-1950's

paint on plaster

[17 cm high/ 4 x 4 cm base]

CAD/US$100/Euros70

les Tours Eiffels et l'Escargot

2009-06-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Ahh!...the omnipresent Eiffel Tower! So many have come and gone from my life, and I have but just these 3 left that are not made yesterday! Tiny they may be but so full of sentimental value that my heart will break a little when they leave me again for new homes!

Deco-style, c. pre-1940's (hairline crack at base)

[8 cm high / 9 cm x 7 cm wide base]

CAD/US$100/Euros70

*****

pre-1960's

[11.5 cm high x 4.5 cm wide at base]

CAD/US$100/Euros70

*****

pre-1950's, tip a little angled to one side
[13 cm high x 6 cm wide base]

CAD/US$150/Euros100

*My most recent find from a village vide-grenier in Brittany where the old couple selling it have had it for over 50 years...probably a souvenir from their honeymoon to Paris!

*****

pre-1960's, stamped "COLIMEX" below the shell
[9.5 cm long x 3 cm high x 5 cm at widest]

CAD/US$200/Euros140

*I believe COLIMEX was a cosmetology/pharmacology company (I did google it), but I am not sure what the lovely snail had to do with their products! It was probably a promotional gift that had once held something else, perhaps a pen, in the holder attached to behind the shell. [I have never seen another one like it!]

I found it at a brocante in Paris many years ago and have become quite attached to its very symbolic frenchness!!

Corkscrews

2009-06-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

old grapevine wood handle corkscrew

c. turn of the 19th/20th century

[15 cm long handle x 10 cm long to tip of corkscrew]

CAD/US$100/Euros70

detail of metal plate label:
"CAVE DU VAL CLOS / CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE"

*****

patented "PERFECT" concertina cockscrews

nickel-plated steel, some wear
"PERFECT
BREVETE S.G.D.G."
stamped on both sides

c. pre-1950's

[21 cm long fully extended x 13 cm long squished up x 14 cm at widest when squished]

CAD/US$100/Euros70 for Each (a little less if you buy both!)

*****

champagne cork pull or lifter from the Maison de Castellane established in 1895 in Epernay

"CHAMPAGNE de Castellane

EPERNAY"

engraved on the top

"DEPOSE FRANCE" stamped on the back

c. pre-1950's

[8 cm long x 4.5 cm to 2.5 cm wide x 2 cm high]

CAD/US$100/Euros70

Champagne buckets

2009-06-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

What is France without champagne buckets??... even if I can't drink it myself [totally allergic!] - and I know what I am missing!! - the allure of the classic metal vessels to hold bottles of illusions and bubbly fun is never to be taken lightly...
[I have used these buckets for flower displays to very lovely effects...]

"Le Canari"

engraved on one side of bucket
c. pre-1960's

[20 cm high x 19 cm wide at top x 13.5 cm wide at bottom]

silver-plated

{SOLD}

*there is still a "Le Canari" bistrot in Paris on Rue Monge but I am not sure if this is from the same restaurant]

"E.POTFER / METAL BLANC / ORFEVRE

PARIS

30"

engraved on bottom of the bucket

*****

[no engraved markings on body]

"TETE-LEROY

MADE IN FRANCE"

engraved on the bottom
c. pre-1960's

[20 cm high x 20 cm wide at top x 13.5 cm wide at bottom]

silverplated

CAD/US$400/Euros280

detail of handle

Trophies

2009-06-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

These trophies were presented to me by various frenchmen...for no particular reasons...really!

"CHALLENGE EIFFEL.L

A.B.A."

engraved on the bronze strip attached to the marble base
c. pre-1950's

[39 cm high x 14 cm wide (cup)/13 x 13 cm base]

(metal cup on marble base with interesting fish motif stem)

CAD/US$500/Euros350

*I am not sure what sport this trophy was presented for - perhaps a race to the top of the Eiffel Tower??

*****

"CLUB DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE

TOURNOI DE BRIDGE

19 AVRIL 1939

RAOUL WEIL"

engraved on the cup

(metal cup on marble base)

[15 cm high x 11.5 cm wide (cup)/ 7.5 x 7.5 cm base]

CAD/US$300/Euros200

*****

"ORANGINA"

engraved and painted orange on the cup
c. 1960's/70's?

(metal cup on marble base)

[29.5 cm high x 8 cm wide (cup)/ 7 x 7 cm base]

CAD/US$300/Euros200

*For the one who drinks the most ORANGINA in a day? in a year?

*****

"INT. GREENKEEPER GOLF - TOURNAMENT 1979

3.PREIS

ORAG

PARIS"

engraved on the front

"Sponsor: ORAG INTER AG

BADEN - SCHWEIZ"

engraved on the back

[20 cm in diameter]

CAD/US$100/Euros70