little cups

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

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

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

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

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]

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

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

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

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