DOUBLE TAILLED CRYSTAL DECANTER WITH IMPERIAL EAGLE STAND, EMPIRE PERIOD an exquisite double decanter embodies the aesthetics of the Empire style. Comprising two massive crystal bottles with faceted stoppers set in a luxurious metal stand decorated with an imperial eagle with outstretched wings holding a laurel wreath, garlands and ribbons. These objects adorned the private flats of high-ranking officers and dignitaries and may have belonged to persons close to the emperor, or even to the emperor himself. crystal, metal 28 х 17.7 х 5.8 cm PROVENANCE: possibly Antoine François Fourcroy ( 1755 -1809), French physician and chemist, collaborator of Antoine Lavoisier and apostle and historian of the Chemical Revolution. A politician, he was appointed by Napoleon Bonaparte to the Conseil d'Etat in 1799 and to the Direction Générale de l'Instruction Publique in 1802. Family of a relative of Antoine François Fourcroy: according to family tradition, Napoleon himself gave this object to Fourcroy during the Egyptian campaign. Private collection