"Pair Of Candlesticks, Sterling Silver, Edme-pierre Balzac, Paris, 1749-1750"
Pair of Candlesticks
Sterling Silver
By Edme-Pierre Balzac (mo de 1739-1781 (?))
Paris, 1749-1750
Weight: 694g & 695g
Dimensions: diam (basis): 14cm, height: 24cm
Provenance: Parisian collection
Pair of silver candlesticks, baluster shape. Each candlestick rests on a rounded base with a quadruple ogee. The umbilicus is decorated with twisted channels. The baluster shaft as well as the intermediate knots take up the decoration of the base, decoration that we find on the binet swollen at its base decorated with nets.
Candlesticks whose model is typical of the production of the Balzac brothers, invented by Edme-Pierre, later taken over by his brother Jean-François. With a wide seat, with a rich and deep molding, they are characterized by a relatively important weight.
Hallmarks: (under the foot): Charge: A crowned for the large work of Paris (1744-1750); Warden's mark: I crowned for Paris from July 15th, 1749 to July 15th, 1750; Master silversmith: EPB, a cinquefoil; On the foot: Discharge: a running dogfor Paris, 1744-1750
Edme-Pierre Balzac began his apprenticeship in 1719 with a master in his native town, Gien, in 1719. He subsequently won Paris and was appointed privileged silversmith by the Court on July 4th, 1739, by purchasing the office of goldsmith merchant following the Court. On January 7th, 1749, he sold his office to his brother Jean-François but kept his hallmark and his position as a Parisian goldsmith, being guaranteed by Guillaume Loir. He was made master in 1747 by virtue of the King's declaration in favor of the poor in the community. On January 17th, 1753, he filed for bankruptcy. According to the Paris Poster of September 2nd, 1755, Balzac resumed his activities. In 1766, he invented the machine "for printing net cutlery" and in 1771 attacked his former worker who copied the machine. In 1781, he was reported in the provinces. The production of this master is represented in the largest French and foreign collections; Metropolitan Museum of New York, The Louvre Museum & the Musée des Arts Décoratifs of Paris ...
Ref. Bimbenet-Privat & Fontaine: "Datation de l’orfèvrerie parisienne sous l’ancien régime", Paris musées, 1995; Kugel: "La collection Jourdan-Barry", 2005; Nocq, Henry: "Le poinçon de Paris, Directory of master goldsmiths in the jurisdiction of Paris ..." Paris, 5 Tomes, rééd. 1968