Column; France, 19th century.

Column; France, 19th century.
Onyx, cloisonné enamel and bronze.
Presents some pitting.
Measurements: 112 x 39,5 x 39,5 cm.
Decorative column, example of the French historicist decorative arts of the 19th century, period in which the combination of precious materials, archaeological references and technical virtuosity gave place to objects conceived to ennoble the bourgeois and aristocratic interiors. Made mainly in onyx, with bronze and cloisonné enamel applications, the piece stands out for its complex formal articulation and the chromatic richness derived from the dialogue between stone, metal and enamel.
The structure is organized by four columns with cylindrical shafts entirely made of onyx, a material particularly appreciated in the 19th century for its translucency, its natural veins and its association with luxury and classical tradition. These columns rest on a stepped and articulated base, supported by finely worked brass feet, which gives the whole a marked architectural and monumental feeling despite its decorative scale. The plinths and capitals, made of bronze, adopt forms inspired by the composite order, evoking the ornamental repertoire of Greco-Roman antiquity so admired by European historicism.
Of particular interest is the transition between the bronze capitals and bases and the onyx shafts, resolved by delicate segments of polychrome cloisonné enamel. This technique, based on the compartmentalization of the colors by means of fine metallic fillets, introduces a chromatic and precious dimension that connects the work with the orientalizing taste and with the nineteenth-century fascination for the sumptuary arts of the Far East and the Byzantine world. The piece fully responds to the decorative eclecticism characteristic of 19th century France.