Un Fleuve" bronze inkwell signed Barbedienne after Jean-Jacques Caffieri
Gilt bronze and red Griotte marble inkwell featuring an allegory of a River. This late 19th century antique inkstand is composed of a penholder carved out of marble and two ormolu cups and their lids. The inside of the cups is made of blue glass. In the center is a finely sculpted bronze statuette of a naked old man, simply crowned with reeds and seated on an urn from which water flows. His left hand rests on an oar, while his right hand holds the rim of the urn. This allegorical figure illustrating a River God is chased after a famous marble by Jean-Jacques Caffieri, "Un Fleuve", created in 1759 for presentation at the Salon and entered the Louvre in 1852. This bronze of a mythological figure is signed on the back "F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR". This writing set rests on a bronze base, finely chased with shells and frieze scrolls, supported by six small "toupie" feet.
Caffieri Jean-Jacques (1725-1792)
Born into a family of sculptors of Italian origin, Jean-Jacques Caffieri was a pupil of François Lemoyne, then a boarder at the Académie de France in Rome from 1749 to 1753. In 1757, he presented a plaster cast of "Fleuve" at the Salon, becoming a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. In 1759, he presented the final version in marble and was admitted to the Académie. He produced numerous portraits and busts of great men such as Pierre Corneille, Jean De La Fontaine and Jean-Philippe Rameau. Along with Jean-Antoine Houdon, he is undoubtedly the greatest portrait painter of the second half of the 18th century.
Circa: 1880
Dim: W: 37cm, D: 21cm, H: 25cm.
Dim: W: 14,6in, D: 8,3in, H: 9,8in.
Condition report: Good condition. Gold wear.
