A FINE PAIR OF FRENCH SILVER FOUR-LIGHT GIRANDOLE CANDELABRA

MAKER'S MARK OF THIÉBAUT FRÈRES, PARIS, CIRCA 1880; THE FOUR FIGURES WITH SCULPTOR'S SIGNATURE, A. FALGUIÈRE

Details

A FINE PAIR OF FRENCH SILVER FOUR-LIGHT GIRANDOLE CANDELABRA
Maker's mark of Thiébaut Frères, Paris, circa 1880; the four figures with sculptor's signature, A. Falguière
Each on pierced rocaille and foliate base, supporting a rococo arbor festooned with rose garlands and four rose-clad candle branches, with leaf-form wax-pans, sockets and removable nozzles, one arbor enclosing a figure of Diana with hound, surmounted by a finial of the hunting nymph, the other enclosing a figure of Juno and a peacock, surmounted by a finial of a young man with cockerel, each marked on base of stand and figure, wax-pans and finial, also engraved THIÉBAUT FRÈRES on foot
21in. (53.3cm.) and 22in. (55.9cm.) high; 381oz. 10dwt. (11,877gr.) (2)

Further details

Detail, lot 147

Lot Essay

Alexandre Falguière (1831-1900) was one of the most successful and prolific sculptors in late 19th century France. Awarded the Prix de Rome (1859) and the Légion d'honneur (1889), he was also a professor of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. His sculptures adorned the Paris Opéra, the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile and the Comédie Française, among others. His statue of Lafayette, commissioned by the U.S. Congress in 1885, stands across the street from the White House.

Falguière produced a magnificent series of female figures, including Diana (1887), Hunting Nymph (1888), and Woman with a Peacock, which are reproduced in miniature on the present candelabra. He had a long relationship with the foundry of Thiebaut Frères, Fumière & Gavignot, who frequently cast his sculptures in bronze.

More from IMPORTANT SILVER, OBJECTS OF VERTU AND RUSSIAN WORKS OF ART

View All