Dalva Brothers Antiques, Antique Furniture, New York

French 18th century furniture, clocks, lighting, paintings, porcelain, sculpture and tapestries

Rare Sèvres ice-cooler (glacière or seau à glace à trépied) with floral polychrome decoration on a white ground and gold and platinum decoration on a black ground. The hemispherical container is glazed white on the interior and is supported by four rectangular legs headed with leopard masks bearing rings, in two-colored gilding, and resting on gilded leopard paws. The piece is raised on an eight-sided plinth with four long concave sides and four short convex sides below the leopard paws. The outside lower portion of the piece is decorated with polychrome floral vines with gilded outlines on a white ground. The upper portion is decorated with a Chinoiserie landscape with figures delineated in tones of gilding and platinum on a rare black ground. [Possibly originally with a top. Gilding on top rim worn. Slight wear to gilding on sculptural elements. Chip to rim.]

The form was designed by Louis Le Masson (1743-1829) to be used in the Service Arabesque, begun at Sèvres in 1783 for Louis XVI. The service was created in a very advanced neo-classical style, with the painted decoration derived from Raphael’s Loggia in the Vatican. The form of the ice-cooler was based on a Roman tripod stand.

Well painted crossed “L’s” mark under plinth