A Pair Of Empire Gilt And Patinated Bronze Candlesticks

A Pair of Empire Gilt and patinated bronze candlesticks

Crafted from chiseled, gilded, and patinated bronze, the tapered, smooth shaft—adorned at its base with a broad wreath of palmettes and stylized water leaves—rests on a tripod base with lion’s-paw feet, emerging from coiled architectural volutes. The concave bronze base with a dark patina evokes ancient tripods.

H. 34.5 cm – 9 ½ in.
D. 14 cm – 5 ½ in.

Reference to Recueil de décorations intérieures by Percier and Fontaine

The design is part of the neoclassical decorative repertoire developed during the Consulate and the Empire by Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, whose famous Collection of Interior Decorations (1801–1812) is one of the principal sources.

Percier and Fontaine’s compositions place particular emphasis on the contrast between gilded bronze and patinated bronze, as well as on forms inspired by antiquity, notably tripod bases for ceremonial furniture, Athenian-style pieces, and large light fixtures.

This design vocabulary is particularly evident in plates IV and VI of the Collection.

The construction of these candelabra thus incorporates several motifs characteristic of this repertoire: a dark, concave base evoking ancient tripods; powerful lion’s-paw feet emerging from architectural volutes; and a tapered shaft in gilded bronze, adorned at its base with a crown of upright palmettes and stylized water leaves.

With their architectural silhouette, their combination of gilded and patinated bronze, and their ornamental vocabulary drawn from antiquity, these candelabra fully embody the neoclassical aesthetic characteristic of the decorative arts of the Empire period.