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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).