Fabulous antique French Napoleon III to Belle Epoque era Holy water font or "benitier" with colorful and ornate champleve enamel on bronze cross & water font, beveled pale onyx plaque and mounted on a larger navy velvet covered wood panel! The addition of the label on the back with hand written personalization, etc. a fun aspect. I can't quite make out all of the script but you can see the dates and that it was a "Souvenir de Famille" (family memory) for a first communion. Beautiful champleve enamel in gilded bronze cross & font, vibrant colors and marvelous condition to it and the pale cream/white onyx plaque. The velvet covered wood back panel does show more of its age but we normally find these old champleve fonts alone, without any back panel so there's that. Whether it's the devotional or decorative aspects that you find alluring, this is truly a fine example of the art and the condition is fantastic, age considered.
Very good to excellent condition, age considered. As noted, the rear velvet covered wood panel has some age damage to it, a chip to the right side point, visible from the front and rear, with some resulting velvet loss. A tiny nip or two to the onyx plaque possible but no larger chips or cracks to note. Also, no loss to the enamel decoration.
