Lot 498: Seven elaborate designs for ceiling decoration with repetitive floral motifs and grotesques; and A design for a door in blue and yellow decorated with musical instruments

Ennemond Collignon (1822-1890) Seven elaborate designs for ceiling decoration with repetitive floral motifs and grotesques; and A design for a door in blue and yellow decorated with musical instruments one signed 'Ennemond Collignon' (lower right); another signed and dated 'Ennemond Collignon 1872' (lower right) all pencil, pen and black ink and watercolour 25 x 18 in. (63.5 x 45.7 cm.); and smaller (8)

63.5 x 45.7 cm.

In the early 1850s, a new economic boom in France led to a new social elite and a new found desire to convey wealth and status in one’s own private residence. Architects designing private residences began to take a vested interest in not only the structural appearance but also the interior decoration, looking toward the old pomp and splendour of the Imperial court for inspiration. Additionally clients themselves wanted to be involved with interior decoration and were fascinated by France’s rich cultural history, from the Renaissance to Louis XIV, or from the elegant style of Marie-Antoinette, to the colourful delights of the orient. This created a period of wonderfully lavish and eclectic style, and for the first time décor was seen as independent of architecture and as an art form in its own right.