Bronze tazza with relief – Minerva and the arts, Napoleon III, 19th century

Bronze tazza with relief – Minerva and the arts, Napoleon III, 19th century

A fine bronze tazza (footed dish, coupe on a stem) from the second half of the 19th century, in the rich Renaissance revival style of the Napoleon III period. The centre of the dish shows a relief with a classical scene: Minerva in her helmet and a female figure at an altar, surrounded by personifications of the arts with a flute, a violin, books and a caduceus, and a putto with a palm branch in the sky. In the background lies a Roman townscape with temple columns, an antique statue, a triumphal column and a domed church. The underside of the dish, the vase-shaped stem with ram’s heads and the round foot are decorated all round with putti, masks, reclining figures, foliage and rocaille cartouches.

Why we chose this piece

This tazza is a small sculpture: the closer you look, the more you see. The central scene is finely cast and chased, with surprising details such as the tiny figures on the square and the relief on the altar. The warm golden-brown colour of the bronze, with some green patina in the recesses, shows that this piece has been around for many years.

Style and interior

A tazza like this suits a classic or French antique interior, on a mantelpiece or in a display cabinet, but also looks beautiful in a modern or sober interior as a special accent. Use it as a vide-poche for keys and jewellery, as a dish for calling cards, or simply as a decorative object next to books and candlesticks.

Dimensions: to follow shortly
Material: cast and chased bronze (copper alloy), underside of the foot lathe-turned
Style: Renaissance revival / Napoleon III
Period: second half of the 19th century (c. 1860–1900)
Origin: France
Quantity: 1
Condition: good antique condition, with a beautiful, unpolished patina. The bronze is sound, without breaks, cracks or restorations, and the tazza stands firmly. The rim of the dish is not perfectly round and is slightly wavy in a few places (photos 1 and 5). In the recesses of the relief there is some green oxidation patina (photos 2, 5, 6 and 8) and here and there some white polish residue (photos 2 and 8). On the turned underside of the foot is an old, illegible scratched mark, an inventory or dealer’s number (photo 3). Light signs of use and small scratches on the flat rim.

Price:
€ 245

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