Portoro Marble Bronze Eagle Topped Pocket Watch Holder
$2,200
SOLD
A Chased and Gilded Eagle Pocket Watch Holder standing on a patinated bronze, decorated with bronze details on a Portoro Marble base..
Portor Marble or Portoro is a very rare marble quarried in Italy and in Corsica. It is sometimes found in France, but very rarely.
It is known for its dark black color scattered with yellow/golden grooves.
Portoro was used since Roman times, but during the Middle Ages, its use was widespread in Genoa, and from the XVII century, it became prevalent in religious buildings throughout Italy. Examples of churches that feature interiors with Portoro marble include San Pietro in Vincoli, San Paolo Fuori le Mura and San Giovanni Laterano.
At the end of the XIX century, Portovenere Marble gained popularity abroad, particularly in France, where it embellished palaces and castles like those in Versailles, but also Marly and Compiegne.
Louis XIV exploited quarries solely to decorate the Versailles Palace. It was much used in the 17th, 18th and up until the 20th century with the Art Deco style, for beautiful furniture, works of art and fireplace mantels.
This particular eagle is a smaller edition of an eagle used under Napoleon the First’s Flagpoles.
Napoleon chose for his armies the Eagle, the bird of Jupiter, emblem of imperial Rome, that had been associated with military victories since ancient times.
The day after the coronation on December 2, 1804, Napoleon had the symbol placed at the top of the flagpole of all the flags of the Napoleonic armies.
On December 31, 1851, Napoleon III decided to use the same symbolism as his uncle and use eagles at the top of his flagpoles. To do this, a new ceremony of distribution of eagles was organized on May 10, 1852, after the coup d’état of December 2, 1851.
The stakes were high because it gave the future Napoleon III the opportunity to gauge the loyalty of his armies. On this occasion, he brought in representatives from all the garrisons of France and Algeria.
The eagles, made from a drawing by Jean-Auguste Barre (1811-1896), then cast in gilded bronze, once again had their wings spread and their beaks more open.
Our lovely piece is dated 1857 and is a smaller scale of the eagle used on the flagpoles of Napoleon’s III armies.
The Portoro Marble is gorgeous and the bronze details intact.
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TERMS:
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Returns:
We understand everyone’s right to a change of heart.
We guarantee the authenticity of all of our items, hence we will allow returns.
However the returns should be done no later then 3 Days after original reception of the article and will require the safe return of the item in the exact condition received.
Should the return be caused by a mistake on our part, all shipping fees will be refunded.
In other cases, the customer will be responsible for shipping charges, and insurance.
The item must be returned with the original carrier and in its original packaging, in a traceable manner.
Items with Ivory:
Please note all items sold with Ivory are in observance of the “CITES” Washington Agreement of 1973. Hence they were created more then 50 years ago.
A special note:
Unless ortherwise cited, all our items are antiques. The ‘all’ beauty of antiques is their age and their sense of coming from another time.
Therefore, SilverArtbyD&R presents to you pieces that come with a life and possibly visible indications of the sumptuous occasions under chandeliers and candlelight.
Remember this is of the past …and not the new …and the scars of the past only add to the character.
