metal boxes

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

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, possibly one-of-a-kind homemade, 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...

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

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