Antique French Bronze Amphora Vase, Chased Frieze and Scroll Handles on Marble Base — France, 19th Century

The amphora — the two-handled vessel of ancient Greece and Rome — became one of the defining decorative objects of the French neoclassical revival. From the Empire period onward, the great Parisian bronziers cast it in every scale, from small desk ornaments to monumental floor pieces, understanding that its form carried a weight of cultural meaning that no invented shape could match. The elongated body, the scroll handles, the chased frieze running at the widest point — these were not decorations but quotations, legible to anyone who had studied the originals in Rome or in the Louvre, and that legibility was part of what made the object worth owning.

This vase is French, nineteenth century, cast in bronze in the antique manner, and at seventy centimetres it commands a room. The body is a slender amphora form — tapering from a narrow neck through a shouldered oval belly to a fluted lower section that narrows again to a foot — raised on a circular green-veined marble base. At the widest point of the body, a chased frieze runs in continuous relief: figures in the classical manner within a scrolling foliate border, the chasing confident and unhesitating. Two tall scroll handles rise from the shoulder, each formed from a single sinuous rod that curls at the top into a volute and descends with a slight outward bow before meeting the body at the base — the handle form that gives the amphora its characteristic silhouette. Note how the handles are not symmetrically identical but share the same gesture: the mark of a piece cast from a sculptor's model in which each handle was formed individually rather than duplicated mechanically. The original patina is a warm, even olive-brown throughout.

Whoever kept this vase before you gave it a long and careful life. The patina is original and consistent; the chasing is crisp; the marble base is sound. At seventy centimetres it is a floor piece as much as a mantelpiece piece — ready for a console, a pedestal, or a fireplace surround that can carry its scale.

It arrives professionally packed and fully insured. All duties and import charges are our responsibility — you pay nothing beyond the listed price. Returns are accepted within 30 days.

DETAILS:
Size: Height 70 cm (27.6 in) — roughly the height of a standard table lamp with shade
Material: patinated bronze; green-veined marble base
Style/Period: French neoclassical, in the antique manner, 19th century
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide — all import duties paid by us, nothing to settle on delivery
Condition: very good antique condition; original patina consistent throughout; chasing crisp; marble base sound
Returns: accepted within 30 days

Read our condition standard. Please ask if you need additional photographs or measurements.

Worldwide delivery is included in the price. Every piece is individually packed, tracked and fully insured. No shipping charge is added at checkout. If your destination is not listed, please contact us before ordering.

Maison Jaspers pays US tariffs and import duties. For other destinations, local import taxes and duties may apply and are payable by the recipient. Contact us before ordering if you need destination-specific guidance.

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Notify us within 30 days of delivery if you wish to return a piece. No reason is required. You pay return shipping for a change-of-mind return.

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