Pair of large Louis XIV style wall columns

A large pair of contrasting wall columns in veined Campan, red griotte and ochre-veined black portor marbles perfectly embody the taste for splendour that characterised the Louis XIV style. Each rests on a plinth base in portor marble, giving the ensemble an imposing presence. The moulded and grooved top in Griotte red marble elegantly balances the composition.

At the top of each mantel is a finely chased gilded bronze mask depicting Bacchus and Bacchante, inspired by mythology, with radiating fan-shaped hair, typical of the decorative motifs and ornamentation of the Louis XIV period.

These columns, both decorative and symbolic, were designed to support works of art or precious objects, while embodying the grandeur and spirit of the Sun King’s reign. Their presence in an interior testifies to a refined taste for noble materials and classical motifs revisited in a spirit of power and splendour.

French work circa 1850.