Wonderful antique French Napoleon III or Victorian era champleve enamel 12" tall picture frame with colorful floral & foliate decoration in a turquoise "mat", set in heavy gilded bronze or brass with easel back stand and unique Catholic or Christian cross finial! "Champleve" is a technique of etching the design into the bronze or brass panel itself, then filled with the enamel in various colors & shades. Often confused with "cloisonné" but that method is when wire is affixed on top of the base metal panel rather than incised into the panel as you see here. Definitely converted to a picture frame sometime in the past, it likely originally displayed a painting, perhaps a cross with Holy water font, given the style and our knowledge of the pieces. Now a stunning picture frame!
Very good condition. No loss to the enamel to be found. Some wear to the gilding on the front. The easel stand appears to have been salvaged from another antique frame and simply secured to the bronze or brass backing. There is also a hang ring so the frame could be table-top or wall displayed. See pictures for all measurements.
