Real bronze. Real age. This French architectural fronton was cast in the late 1800s to crown a mirror, paneled door, or trumeau in a Paris townhouse. The design is pure Louis XVI revival: an oval cartouche framed by roses and ribbon swags, flanked by laurel and olive branches with bundled wheat. The symbols speak of prosperity, victory, and peace. The cartouche was intended for a monogram or crest, which makes this an easy way to give a room that quiet club prestige.
Display it on a mantel or shelf, hang it over a doorway, or set it above a bar. The sand-cast back and rich brown patina with traces of natural verdigris confirm authentic bronze, not lightweight spelter. A small foundry number on the face shows it came from a professional Paris workshop that supplied decorators and cabinetmakers.
Origin and date: France, circa 1880 to 1910
Material: Cast bronze
Motifs: laurel, olive, wheat, roses, ribbon, cartouche
Size: 22 in L x 7.5 in H x about 1.5 in D
Condition:
Rich original brown patina with natural verdigris in recesses. Positive-relief details are crisp. The sand-cast back retains three ground sprue points from the original pour. There is a stable hairline to the left of the central cartouche within the floral wreath; it reads as a surface line from age and past removal rather than an active split. Old mounting holes at the ends and minor edge rubs, tiny nicks, and tooling marks consistent with 19th-century foundry work. Clean, solid, and ready to display.
