A PAIR OF DIRECTOIRE ORMOLU AND PATINATED BRONZE THREE-BRANCH CANDELABRA
A PAIR OF DIRECTOIRE ORMOLU AND PATINATED BRONZE THREE-BRANCH CANDELABRA

CIRCA 1795

Details
A PAIR OF DIRECTOIRE ORMOLU AND PATINATED BRONZE THREE-BRANCH CANDELABRA
CIRCA 1795
Each in the form of a standing African figure with elephant headdress and dragon-form candle-arms
18½ in. (47 cm.) high (2)

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Lot Essay

Expressing similar taste as the previous lot, this pair of candelabra with Africans wearing helmets of elephant heads reflects the enduring fascination with the exotic in France, particularly during the Enlightenment when philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau extolled the 'noble sauvage'. Several versions of African figural candelabra are recorded, but only one other pair is known featuring the distinctive elephant headdresses of these candelabra (sold Christie's, New York, 11 June 2010, lot 17, $86,500).

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