3007 - OPULENT EMPIRE-STYLE TABLE CENTERPIECE WITH SPHINX HANDLES France, late 19th century. Bronze, cast, chased, and patinated, fire-gilded. The vase-shaped body rises from a square, stepped marble base with applied lion-mask handles. The body is richly decorated all around with reliefs of winged female masks, flanked by laurel garlands and medallions featuring antique-style profile portraits. Fluted handles rising from the sides, crowned by seated sphinxes. The flared rim features a palmette frieze. H: approx. 46 cm. In good condition, with slight signs of age; the gilding is worn in places. The composition and iconography of this vase are an excellent example of late 19th-century historicism, which revived the opulent forms of the Empire style (circa 1810). The use of a deep black patina and the style of gilding suggest that it was created during this later period, while the craftsmanship of the chasing reflects an admiration for the original decor of the Napoleonic era.