Neoclassical Brass Fireplace Companion Set with Pine Cone Finials, in the Style of Maison Baguès, circa 1970

A distinguished neoclassical brass fireplace companion set in the refined manner of the Maison Baguès, one of Paris’s most celebrated bronziers. The set consists of multiple tools on a slender stand with a circular disc base, each tool handle surmounted by a richly cast pine cone finial—a motif emblematic of neoclassical and Empire decorative style since the late eighteenth century. The pine cone’s dense, patterned surface catches the light in the warm, amber tones characteristic of fine lacquered brass.

Maison Baguès, founded in 1840 and active to the present day, is one of the most distinguished names in French decorative bronzework, responsible for the gilded lighting and fireplace accessories that furnished the finest Parisian apartments, royal palaces, and embassies throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A set in the style of Baguès places this companion set within the tradition of the highest French decorative metalwork, produced with the quality of casting and finishing that collectors and decorators have long associated with that house.

The pine cone or pomme de pin is among the most eloquent of neoclassical motifs, associated in the antique tradition with abundance, immortality, and the sacred grove. In French decorative arts from the Louis XVI period onward it appeared as a finial on andirons, umbrella stands, bedposts, and fireplace accessories of the highest quality. Its persistence through the neoclassical, Empire, and Second Empire periods ensured it remained a canonical choice for the most distinguished French bronziers well into the twentieth century.

In good condition consistent with age, retaining a warm lacquered brass finish. A refined and authoritative companion set that will enhance any classical or transitional interior.