Pair Of Candlesticks. Bronze (blued And Gilded). France, Circa 1800.

Pair of candlesticks. Bronze (blued and gilt). France, circa 1800.
A pair ofsix-light bronze candelabras, a type often called "tripod" due totheir shape. A base with three projections, placed on inverted truncatedpyramidal architectural elements and with reliefs and medallions on theexterior faces, serves as the base for three seated sphinxes made of burnishedbronze with gilded tails. From their backs, three upward-facing rods emerge,each ending in children's heads with butterfly wings. These sphinxes aredecorated with raised candelabras secured by an openwork band (note thespiraling bouquet inside). From the heads, a circular shape with projectionsemerges, on which the actual shaft of the candelabra rests, topped with apomegranate on a floral arrangement. The arms of the candelabras, ending inlighters, feature delicate scrolls and rooster heads. Note the varying texturesof the material and the great amount of detail present in the architectural,vegetal, and figurative elements. The design of these vase shaped candlestickswas enormously successful, and numerous variants with slight modifications weresubsequently created, including sphinxes and goat heads. On April 16, 1787,François Rémond (c. 1747–1812) supplied Daguerre with eight “girandoles entrepied” (as they were often known in literature), identified by some expertsas the eight candlesticks of this model purchased from Daguerre by George,Prince of Wales, later King George IV, for Carlton House. The largest,ten-light model with a vase and rooster heads, was created around 1786. A pairof this model is recorded in the 1836 Inventory of the Legendre de Lucaycollection, and another pair is known to have been commissioned for MarieAntoinette's Salon des Nobles at Versailles. Compare this example with thegriffin chandelier dated around 1785 in the Musée Nissim Camondo (Paris,France); or with the sphinx and stone vase attributed to François Rémond (datedbetween 1783 and 1786) in The Wallace Collection; or (with less similar bases)the late 18th-century pair attributed to Pierre Gouthière in the White DrawingRoom at Buckingham Palace, and, in this same room, another pair by Pierre Gouthière,with recumbent sphinxes and a stone vase in the centre of the two three-lightchandeliers.
·Weight: 51 kg. Size: 40x40x107 cm