Three-piece gilt and silvered bronze garniture by Picard

This superb three-piece centrepiece garniture, comprised of a central two-tier tazza and a pair of raised bowls, is by Henri Picard, a leading metalworker active during the reign of Napoleon III. The set is crafted from cut glass and gilt and silvered bronze supports.

Each piece is raised on an elaborate bimetallic base, the base terminating in lion’s paw feet and featuring a dazzling combination of gilt and silvered bronze wrought into a variety of scrolled and classicising forms in the ornate Napoleon III style.

The two-tier tazza, raised on four feet, features a large glass bowl as the lower tier and a shallower dish as the upper, the two connected by a gilt and patinated bronze central support. This support, replete with a classical mask and bundles of ripe berries, continues above the upper tier, culminating in an ornate finial. The two smaller raised bowls are similarly decorated, each supported by three feet and featuring a shallow cut glass dish.

Each piece is signed underfoot ‘PICARD. FES / 100.’