Centrepiece - Bronze, Glass

Centerpiece / fruit bowl in gilded bronze and molded/relief glass – Louis XV / Rococo style – c. 1880–1920

Elegant centerpiece or ornamental fruit bowl, executed in gilded bronze, with a large circular bowl in transparent molded and relief glass.

The bowl features floral decoration with roses, leaves and radial motifs, with a notched and wavy rim, resting on an elaborate metal framework. The central shaft is richly ornamented with vegetal elements, shells, flowers and scrolls characteristic of Rococo / Louis XV Revival taste.

The base, with a lively contour, presents abundant relief decoration with flowers, acanthus leaves, volutes and ornamental reserves. Four volute arms extend laterally beneath the bowl, reinforcing the piece’s exuberant decoration.

In the center, the bowl is crowned by a large bronze openwork handle, composed of symmetrical volutes and floral motifs, enabling transport and constituting an important decorative element.

The combination of the strong, sculptural gilded bronze and the transparency of the glass produces an especially elegant effect, typical of objects of apparatus intended for dining tables and sideboards of European bourgeois homes in the late 19th century.

Origin: Europe, probably France
Period: late 19th / early 20th centuries, circa 1880–1920
Style: Louis XV / Rococo Revival
Materials: gilded bronze and molded/relief glass
Height: 29 cm
Diameter: 29 cm
Condition: good overall state of conservation, with signs of age and use compatible with antiquity.