Eugene Cornu Japonisme Bronze and Onyx Centerpiece
Our gilt and patinated bronze and onyx centerpiece bowl in the Japonisme style is attributed to Eugène Cornu of Paris, circa 1870. 14 3/4 inches tall and 13 inches in diameter. The onyx bowl is surmounted by a reticulated rim with stylized cloud motif and supported by three phoenix birds encircling an onyx disk and base with repeating cloud motif at the feet.
Additional images forwarded upon request.
For a similar model of comparable size, also attributed to Cornu, see lot 89 of Sotheby's sale in London on January 22, 2022, which sold for 13,500 GBP (18,461 USD) including buyer's premium.
Eugène Cornu (d. 1875) was a successful and admired artist in Paris who was fond of working with Algerian marble and onyx. He worked closely with G. Viot and exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867. He also exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1874 and was a director of a bronze foundry as well as several other establishments in Paris. His collaboration with G. Viot et Cie in forming The Algerian Onyx-Marbles Company of 24, Boulevard des Italiens, Paris, was his most successful venture. They both had a huge success at the London 1862 and Paris 1867 Exposition Universelle, consequently winning the médaille d'or in 1867.
