This lantern is derived from the celebrated model now hanging in the antechamber of the Royal Chapel at Versailles. It was popularised by H. Havard in his Dictionnaire de l'Ameublement et de la Decoration, Paris, 1898, pl. 15. The design was consequently adopted by the Paris firm of Saunier, Duval & Cie., who specialised in 'Bronzes d'Eclairage'.
A nearly identical lantern was sold from the collection of François Linke, Sotheby's London, 3 November 1989, lot 529