Pair of Charles X goblets, Restoration period; France, c. 1830

Pair of cups Charles X, Restoration period; France, c. 1830.
Patinated bronze; yellow Siena marble.
Measurements: 40 cm. high / 48 cm. high (with stand).

This elegant pair of goblets is a good example of the late neoclassical taste that characterized the French decorative arts during the Restoration period. Made of patinated bronze, both pieces stand on prismatic bases of yellow Siena marble.

The design is an archaeological interpretation of classical forms, inspired by Greco-Roman vases. Each cup has a richly decorated cup base with carved vegetal motifs, which serve as a transition to a tank whose surface is organized in registers: the upper two thirds show a fine vertical striation, while the lower area is decorated with a series of stylized palmettes. The neck, with a truncated cone profile, is covered by a dense motif of superimposed paterae. A lip decorated with a succession of ovals and darts completes the whole.

The handles, conceived as figures of winged reptiles, possibly snakes or dragons, twist elegantly on themselves to join the lip with the vessel's deposit.