AFTER THE MODEL BY CLAUDE MICHEL, CALLED CLODION, THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

This well-known model was first recorded in an anonymous drawing circa 1785, which is now held in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. The original models, made popular by Clodion, were supplied by Parisian marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre for the Grand Reception Room at Carlton House in 1794. The models were widely admired in the 19th century and the exceptionally fine quality of the casting and chasing to the gilt-bronze on the present candelabra justify an attribution to a first-rate 19th century bronzier such as Henry Dasson or Alfred Beurdeley. The provenance records that the first owner of the candelabra was William Tilden Blodgett (1823–1875), who was a prominent Manhattan entrepreneur and philanthropist, and founding trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.