A FRENCH ORMOLU AND CLOISONNE ENAMEL TABLE-TOP

A pioneer of French enameling, Ferdinand Barbedienne's stand at the London 1862 International Exhibition featured a large exhibit of works in the style Orientale, and the popularity and demand for his mastery of the material endured through the end of the 19th century. The present example is particularly characteristic of cloisonné enamel wares produced by both Barbedienne and Christofle during the 1870s. An enamel plat with a nearly identical gilt border as the present lot was exhibited at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle (see inset illustration), which may have been conceived as a wall hanging or table-top. Furthermore, the cloisonné enamel design on the present lot relates closely to a table exhibited by Barbedienne at the 1873 Vienna exhibition, which the jury described as 'une magnifique table en émail cloisonné, chinois' with an elaborately-designed base 'composée de têtes d'éléphant' (L'Exposition Universelle de Vienne: Journal illustré, 1873, p. 482). A table consistent with the jury's description was sold Sotheby's, London, 17 November 2010, lot 492 (£87,650).