Charles-Guillaume Diehl, Jean Brandely, Emile...

Charles-Guillaume Diehl, Jean Brandely, Emile Frémiet Greek Revival humidor France Circa 1867 Cedar, bronze and galvanic copper Height: 124 cm; Width: 55 cm; Depth: 42 cm Rare cedar cigar cellar, featuring a flap on the front, revealing five sliding trays, bottomless, trimmed with cane. Beautifully ornamented with silvered galvanic bronzes and copper, such as the central niche featuring a fantastic winged creature, topped by a feline at the top of the cabinet. Resting on four high legs joined by a brace decorated with a silvered bronze incense burner. Related work : The central relief of this cigar cabinet, with its gargoyle motif, is directly inspired by the one designed by J. Brandely for the leaf of the Médaillier Mérovingien made by Diehl in 1867, and preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Inv. 1989.197). Biographies : Charles-Guillaume Diehl (1811-c. 1885), who settled in Paris around 1840, founded his cabinetmaking and decorating business at no. 19, rue Michel-le-Comte, in 1855. His workshops produced elegant small pieces of furniture in rosewood and cedar, and "fantasias with bronzes and porcelain" (see Les ébénistes du XIXe siècle, D. Ledoux-Lebard, Ed. de l'amateur, 1982, p°164). However, it was Diehl's caskets (kits, liquor and cigar cellars, game, glove, cashmere and jewelry boxes) that established his reputation (see L'art en France sous le Second Empire, Exposition Grand-Palais, Paris, 1979, p°133). Awarded a bronze medal at the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris, he presented an earthenware jardinière with columns and a liqueur cellar at the 1861 Exposition des Arts industriels. In collaboration with the designer Jean Brandely (active between 1867 and 1873), Diehl renewed his decorative repertoire and created his astonishing Greek-style furniture, which met with dazzling success at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1867, while his chests won a silver medal. Some of Diehl's Greek motifs were so distinctive that they were commented on at length by art critic J. Mesnard in his book "Les Merveilles de l'Exposition Universelle de 1867, tome I I, p° 133 & 149". Diehl also teamed up with two renowned sculptors for the 1867 Exposition Universelle: Emile Guillemin (1841-1907), who carved the relief of a sideboard in mahogany and gilded galvanic bronzes (Musée d'Orsay, Paris, Inv. O.A.O. 992), and Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910), who created the bas-relief of a medallion in cedar, marquetry and silver bronzes (Musée d'Orsay, Paris, Inv. O.A. 10440) Diehl was again awarded a Medaille d'Honneur at the 1869 Central Union Exhibition and a Medaille de Progrès at the 1873 Vienna Universal Exhibition (Buffet in blackened pearwood, lemon tree and galvanic bronzes, design by J. Brandely and bas-relief by E. Guillemin, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, Inv. O.A.O. 336). Critically acclaimed, Diehl is considered one of the most innovative artists of the 19th century. His last participation was at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878, where he presented his latest creations "out of competition", including an inlaid book table with a naturalistic grasshopper decoration that anticipates Art Nouveau (Musée de l'Ecole de Nancy, Nancy).