FROMENT-MEURICE. Important pair of Neo-Renaissance style cry - Lot 223

FROMENT-MEURICE. Important pair of Neo-Renaissance style crystal ewer-shaped wine carafes mounted in chased silver (950 thousandths), the baluster-shaped crystal body engraved with foliate and floral scrolls, encircled by a silver openwork frieze chased with scrolls, decorated in the center with a cartouche bearing the interlaced monogram AHS on one side, and a female head on the other, resting on a pedestal with a circular base in silver gadrooned and foliated, the scrolled foliated handle, the spout adorned with a satyr's head in mascaron, the crystal and silver stoppers. Good overall condition, one crystal stopper damaged, the female mascaron foliage slightly missing. Marked FROMENT-MEURICE on the base. Paris, second half of the 19th century, circa 1865-1880. In their original wooden and brass case monogrammed AHS, lined with velvet and ochre silk inside, stamped Maison Froment-Meurice, 372 rue Saint-Honoré, Paris. Provenance: According to family tradition and a handwritten note dated October 29, 1975, reinforced by the presence of the AHS monogram, this was a gift from Emperor Alexander II of Russia to one of his favorite artists, the singer Hortense Schneider (1833-1920). It is known that the Tsar went to see Offenbach's protégée in the opéra bouffe "La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein" at the Théâtre des Variétés as soon as he arrived in Paris on June 1, 1867, and that they subsequently dined together. The Tsar subsequently invited the opera artist to Russia on several occasions from 1871 onwards. The small handwritten document contained in the box is enclosed (see photo). Height: 36 cm. Total gross weight: 1984 grams. Expert : Maxime Charron. Paris.