Lot Essay
The high classicism of this finely cast chandelier reflects the fashion in Russia for Empire style in the first quarter of the 19th century. It was particularly well understood and realized by the great Italian-born Russian architect Carlo Rossi (1775-1849) during his work for such Imperial residences as the Mikhailovsky Palace (1819-1823) and the Winter Palace (1819-1825) in Saint Petersburg. An almost identical ormolu chandelier but with a figure of Mercury in the center and designed by Rossi during this period for Mikhailovsky Palace is illustrated in K.A. Soloviev, Russian Lighting Devices: XVIII-XIX, 1950, Moscow, ill. 220.