Antique French Champlevé Enamel and Gilt Bronze Photo Frame with Green Silk Mount, c. 1870–1890

Antique French Champlevé Enamel and Gilt Bronze Photo Frame with Green Silk Mount, c. 1870–1890

A wonderfully rich French champlevé enamel frame from the last decades of the 19th century, the kind of piece that stops people mid-scroll. The gilt bronze body is cast with a scrolling foliate cresting and shaped apron, and every surface is worked in champlevé enamel: a turquoise ground scattered with royal blue, oxblood red, cream, green and raspberry, the cells separated by finely engraved gilt tracery.

The rectangular opening is dressed with a green moiré silk mount behind glass, which sets off the enamel beautifully and gives the frame real presence even before a photograph goes in. The back carries a folding easel strut and a hanging ring, so it can sit on a desk or dressing table or hang on the wall.

Champlevé is a technique where the design is carved or cast into the metal and the recesses are filled with coloured enamel and fired, leaving the gilt lines raised between the colours. French workshops produced frames like this for the Paris luxury trade in the Napoleon III and early Third Republic years, and they remain some of the most collected small objects of the period.

Details

Origin: France
Period: Napoleon III / early Third Republic
Date: Circa 1870–1890
Material: Gilt bronze with polychrome champlevé enamel, glass, green moiré silk mount
Form: Easel-back photograph frame with hanging ring. 
Approximate Measurements
Height: 6.5”
Width: 4.5” 
Sight size (opening): 3.5” x 2.25”

Condition

Very good antique condition with light / expected wear to the gilding consistent with age. Enamel complete. Glass original. Easel strut works as intended.

A standout French enamel frame with exceptional colour, ready for a favourite photograph, a miniature, or simply to be enjoyed for the enamel work itself.