Ferdinand Barbedienne

FERDINAND BARBEDIENNE (Paris, 1810-1892).
Flower pot "Trépied du Temple d'Isis".
Gilded and patinated bronze.
Porphyry pedestal.
Catalogued in "Paris Furniture, the luxury market of the 19th century", Christopher Payne, Ed. Monelle Hayot, pp. 248-249.
Signed on the base.
Measurements: 108 x 54.5 cm (total); 10 cm (stand).

Extraordinary neoclassical tripod-gardener signed by Ferdinand Barbedienne, one of the most important French bronze artists of the 19th century. The piece corresponds to the famous model known as "Trépied du Temple d'Isis", executed in gilded and patinated bronze, and raised on a porphyry base, with a concave tripartite base also in bronze.

The composition responds to the neo-Pompeian taste that Barbedienne masterfully spread, inspired by the archaeological discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The upper circular jardinière, conceived as a rotating element, is richly decorated in high relief with garlands of fruit, classical masks and plant motifs, treated with the extraordinary technical precision that characterizes the castings of the Barbedienne workshop.

The support takes the form of a sculptural tripod of great formal complexity: the legs, with zoomorphic profile and elegant curvature, are articulated by winged figures and mythological elements, linked by scrolls and scrolls of ancient inspiration. The ensemble conveys monumental balance and ornamental refinement, combining sculpture and decorative arts in a single work.

This model is based on a Roman original found in Pompeii, today preserved in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, and was reinterpreted in the 19th century as one of the great icons of historicist classicism. The prestige of the design is reinforced by the fact that a tripod of this same model served as a reference for the one made for the baptism of Napoleon's son, the King of Rome, in 1811 (now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna). Likewise, variants of this type were offered as official gifts, such as the famous tripod in lapis lazuli given to Empress Maria Luisa, executed by Luigi and Francesco Manfredi.

Signed by Barbedienne, this work is part of the most representative core of his production: high quality bronzes, faithful to classical models, intended for an aristocratic and institutional clientele, and today considered reference pieces within the great archaeological revival of the nineteenth century.