An Empire inkwell in gilt bronze and mahogany by Ravrio

Very nice inkwell mahogany, cut crystal and finely chiseled gilt bronze. The finish is exceptional as e.g. for the cobra-shaped plug.

The label, unfortunately damaged, "M Ravrio // XXX XXX Richelieu N 93 // the Grid" allows us to date the object between the moving Ravrio the Rue Richelieu in 1809 and his death in 1814.

Condition Report: beautiful conservation gilding (mercury), wood restoration and cleaning bronzes in our workshop. There is no small plug for the inkwell anymore.

Ravrio André Antoine (1759-1814) belonged to a family of famous artists. His cousin, the painter Henri-François Riesener, made two portraits of him today in the Louvre painting department. Ravrio had chosen the profession of his father, that of bronze worker, and quickly became a craftsman sought at the end of the old regime. Under the First Empire, it enjoyed great fame and became, along with other bronze workers (Thomire, Galle, Feuchère), official supplier to the Imperial House. The furniture guard passed him orders for the Fontainebleau castle and worked for Murat, to the Bonaparte family and foreign courts.