Containing 147 pages of full colour illustrations and catalogue descriptions.
The figure of Fame or Renommée was used on the cover of our eighth publication. Made from gilt and patinated wood in imitation of bronze, Fame was carved after a design by Pierre-Louis-Arnulphe Duguers de Montrosier of circa 1805 and was among a number of fine works that we acquired from the collection of the connoisseur Professor Guy Ledoux-Lebard. Among other works from his esteemed collection featured in this publication was a magnificent Directoire console attributed to Martin Eloi Lignereux, Adam Weisweiler and Pierre-Philippe Thomire.
Other masterpieces included a Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain elephant clock, an Empire gilt bronze mounted mahogany bed attributed to Jacob-Desmalter and Pierre-Philippe Thomire, which was made for the duchesse de Bassano, a prominent figure within Napoleon’s Court. Other works worthy of special mention included an important and rare vase by the Royal Berlin Porcelain Manufactory (K.P.M.) made to special order by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV which admirably complemented another rare K.P.M. vase painted with a panoramic view of Potsdam. Although this book was filled with a diverse range of antiques, this year we decided to focus on a limited number of the most important examples, keeping the text to about half a page to make way for additional detailed illustrations. However, as always, full cataloguing details and descriptions are available on request or can be viewed on our website. We also decided to produce this limited edition in both hard and soft back versions; interestingly our clients preferred the latter and thus for this reason we decided to produce the next volumes with soft back covers.