CIRCA 1790

Whilst the bronzier responsible for these candelabra is unrecorded, the model itself enjoyed enormous success in both the 18th and 19th Centuries and shares much in common with the oeuvre of the sculpteur Claude Michel, dit Clodion, and that of Louis Félix de la Rue (H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, Vol. I, p. 210, no. XXVIII). It was a model particularly admired by English connoisseurs throughout the 19th Century, and pairs could be found in many prestigious collections - such as the pair recorded in the possession of the comtesse de Flahaut at Coventry House, London in 1863 and subsequently sold by the Trustees of the Meiklour Settlement, Christie's London, 11 June 1992, lot 50; a pair sold by the 6th Lord Ashburton, KCVO, Christie's London, 19 March 1964, lot 58; and an identical pair formerly in the Riahi Collection, sold Christie's New York, 2 November 2000, lot 1 ($58,750).