Of all the major sculptors of his time, Charles Cordier (1827-1905) is certainly one whose style and art stand out the most.

 

Cordier enters in 1846 to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and in 1847 joined the studio of François Rude, one of the great masters of sculpture in the middle of the nineteenth century. His encounter with a former Sudanese slave now a model acted as a revelation for our young sculptor. In 15 days he executes his bust marking a decisive turning point for his work. We are then in the midst of the abolition of slavery and the beginnings of ethnography.

 

Charles Cordier's mission is to sculpt the diversity of human beings. To do this, he traveled to Africa and the Maghreb to capture to the best and the most realistic way possible traits of the different peoples.

 

His busts stand by the accuracy of the sculpture on which the hair is done with scissors. He developed a new technique in which he mixes materials, marble, onyx, bronze, gold and silver but also colored enamels and precious stones. Thus, his busts are characterized by polychrome allowing to make it the closest of the character of his subject.

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From £200 to £120 000, the prices of his works are vary wide. Major player in the Figuration Libre of the 1980s, Combas is always an artist popular of the French contemporary art market.

 

Good news: his drawings can be bought. You can indeed "buy Combas" for £250. Autographed in marker drawings are numerous. Made by the artist in dedication of an exhibition catalog, they often end up cut and sold separately. Note that they are not a good investment for you.

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Luxury objects from their origin, wanted by kings, princes and nobles in the sixteenth century, the works of art produced in Sicily in Trapani continue to appreciated by collectors and curators.

 

It is from the early sixteenth century to the late eighteenth century that the city of Trapani develops workshops specialized in the production of objects ornate with corals.

 

Coral, from the Mediterranean is characterized by its highly nuanced red, up to pale pink.

 

Before starting to work the coral branches, the craftsman selected the pieces according to their colors, their shapes and sizes.

 

Mirrors, crucifixes, candlesticks, monstrance, tables and occasional tables produced by the workshops of Trapani are distinguished by their use of coral either branches or pieces. Sought since ancient times coral is fished in the Liguria Sea and considered divine and magical by the three monotheistic religions

 

It is interesting to note that corals could be associated with noble materials such as gold, silver and vermeil but very frequently on much more common materials such as copper, brass, gilt wood or enamel.

 

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Poetic objects with bright light and reflections lacquer panels are used in the decorative arts from the eighteenth century to adorn precious furniture. Their opalescence and depth have poetic and meditative properties so fascinating for Europeans.

 

The use of lacquer in the decorative arts is ancestral as Chinese produce them since the third millennium BC. While Chinese lacquer panels reach their peak during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Japanese are pushing the technical perfection in the eighteenth century. Through trade with the Far East, they are imported in Europe by the Compagnie des Indes and known of European from the sixteenth century.

 

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King of the auctions, Felix Ziem remains a relatively unknown artist to the public. He knew a quick notoriety and unusual fact: one of his paintings enters in the Louvre during his lifetime.

 

Our artist born in Burgundy in 1821 and studied architecture in Dijon and began a career as an architect in the Marseille region.

 

His meeting with the Duke of Orleans, eldest son of King Louis-Philippe marked a turning point in his life; in fact the latter is interested in Ziem drawings which prompted him to open a drawing school.

 

In 1840, he discovered Martigues and in 1842 he moved to Italy he visited until 1847. It is especially Venice, which influence his painting.

 

Back in France, he split his time between Paris and Fontainebleau forest where he met Theodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet. If like his friends, he painted pastoral landscapes and scenes of everyday life, his paintings cannot be linked to the Barbizon school. It should be noted that this production has hardly the favors of buyers and collectors of the artist.

 

 

Meanwhile, he painted views of Venice and the Bosphorus in the Orientalist style but does not relate fully to this movement. His views are imaginary and based on drawings he brought back from his travels. Orientalist paintings are distinguished by the horizon placed very low as well as the importance given to the vertical lines which set him apart from its contemporaries.

 

Ziem died in 1911 leaving behind approximately 10,000 paintings, oils on canvas and oil on panel. Despite the success he met during his lifetime, he did not bind with other painters of his time and did not form student.

Stranger to the great artistic movements of the late nineteenth century, his paintings continue to be the dreamed Orient.

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The design is popular! This is the right time to sell. Do not hesitate to ask us about the value of your items. Online valuations are free.

 

The prize goes to the clean lines including the works of the 50s. The classics such as Charles & Ray Eames, Harry BERTOIA Pierre Paulin or George Nelson will remain intact. Of course, French Design’s precursors as Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand and Jean PROVEN remain safe values .

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For just over a month, all the specialists and curators in old masters questioned the paternity of a painting sold by Sotheby's Olympia (London) in December 2006. The debate focuses on the author of the painting and therefore its value: £50,000 or £10 million.

Let us revisit origins and consequences of this case now in the hands of the London High Court of Justice.

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Precious objects born from the collaboration of a clockmaker and a bronze maker, animal’s clocks are very popular items since the eighteenth century.

 

Since ancient times, man tries to master time. The sundial or hourglass are the first instruments for measuring time but it was only in the Renaissance that researches increased, leading to the early seventeenth century to the invention of the first clocks.

 

The first mechanical clocks operated with a weight that falls unevenly making them too imprecise. The system with a pendulum was invented in the eighteenth century.

 

From the middle of the eighteenth century, the spring arrangement allows to produce small objects that can measure the time and portable.

 

In the eighteenth century, these portable clocks are sought after by the aristocracy as they are considered as valuable objects and their technical shows the importance of its owner. Under the reign of Louis XV, they become ordinary objects at the court of Versailles and compete in originality.

 

Orient is then very fashionable: lacquer panels and porcelain arrive from the Far East. Trade with Asia is increasing and the taste for decoration as well.

 

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Whether to sell, or insure your old or modern paintings, objects or furniture it is necessary to know the value at a given time to avoid disappointment.

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Icon design, the Transat is still very popular. It is said that one of its first editions has been sold for more than one million.

 

Designed by Eileen Gray in 1924, the Transat is still much sought after by collectors. Its modernity and functionality have enabled it to never take a ride.

 

On the market side, everything is a question of age! £5,000 are necessary for a Contemporary Publishing but only to 2 to 3 times less for version Ecart from the 80s.

 

 

Prices, however, can take off when the edition is old ... because a historic edition of the 20s sells for more than £80,000!

 

In November 2011, Sotheby's offered for sale a black lacquered Transat made ​​for the Maharaja of Indore bedroom's in 1930. Its estimate "titanic" (£60,000 to £1 M) was too high for many potential buyers.

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