EXCEPTIONAL PAIR OF CANDELABRA IN THE LOUIS XVI STYLE

A pair of red porphyry and blood jasper three-light candelabra mounted on gilt bronze. The ormolu shaft is in the form of an antique tripod with acanthus leaves and animal feet. At the base of the tripod, a blood jasper vase rests on a gilded bronze pedestal adorned with water leaf, foliage and fruit motifs, from which three acanthus leaf scrolls, rosettes and ears of wheat emerge. Each arm ends in a basin decorated with pearls and water leaves, and a Medici vase-shaped wick decorated with gadroons, braids and pearls. At the centre of the three arms of light is a gilded bronze thyrse with a jasper baluster topped with acanthus leaves and three eagles with outstretched wings. At the base of the tripod, a round flared base in blood jasper with ormolu ornamentation of child tritons with bifid acanthus tails, joined by a garland of flowers and fruit. The circular counter base in red porphyry with a row of ormolu pearls rests on three ormolu top legs in porphyry with a row of pearls.

Based on the stylistic canons of objets d’art from the end of the reign of Louis XVI, these Russian candelabras reveal the fascination exerted by the French decorative arts of the Ancien Régime on the production of objets d’art in the 19th century. Produced in the mid-19th century, these pieces stand out from current production thanks to the quality of the chasing and gilding of the bronzes, the choice of hard stones and the lightness of the overall design.

Russian work, mid-19th century, circa 1840-1860.
Blood jasper, red porphyry, gilded bronze.
Provenance: Former Mr.Calvet collection – art dealer in Paris.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
P. Kjellberg, Objets montés, Paris, 2000.
P. Kjellberg, Les bronzes dorés du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 2003.