Ferdinand Barbedienne - Tazza - Gilt bronze - Bronze cup

Authentic bronze cup by Ferdinand Levillain, sculptor (1837–1905) and the founder Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810–1892), model exhibited at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889. Ferdinand Levillain was awarded the silver medal at the 1889 exposition, hence its unusual size: diameter 34 cm, height 12 cm, and 4.2 kg, and signed in the décor 'F. Levillain, sculpteur, 1879'. By contrast, this cup, well known and generally measured at 27 cm in diameter, 8 cm high, and 1.8 kg, is never signed 'sculpteur', which, according to an expert, duly justifies its authentication. This circular bronze cup with double patina, depicting a scene of fieldwork and friezed with interlaced foliage, is not very fashionable at the moment but remains an exceptional object for a centerpiece.