CIRCA 1790

Details

A PAIR OF LATE LOUIS XVI ORMOLU TWIN-BRANCH WALL-LIGHTS
CIRCA 1790
Each with entwined caduceus backplate surmounted by Mercury's winged helmet, the acanthus boss issuing two scrolling foliate branches
16 ¼ in. (41 cm.) high, 11 in. (28 cm.) wide

Provenance

Acquired from Fersen, Paris, 1964.
Monsieur and Madame Francois, A Lifetime of Collecting; Christie's, London, 9 June 2011, lot 159.

Special notice

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Lot Essay

This pattern of wall-light was supplied by the bronzier-doreur Antoine-André Ravrio for the refurbishment of the château de Fontainebleau before the visit of Pope Pius VII in November 1804. Recorded in the Mémoire du 27 brumaire an XIII (18 November 1804) and described as '2 paires dito (très grands bras) à caducées, ormoulu, 3 branches 500', they were placed in the salon of Prince Joseph on the rez-de-chaussée. They may well, however, have been executed by the fondeur Disnematin, Ravrio's predecessor, who is known to have owned 'une paire à trois branches en caducée' in 1790 (J.-P. Samoyault, Pendules et bronzes d'ameublement entrés sous le Premier Empire, Paris, 1989, no. 97, p. 131).

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