.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Conceived as naturalistically flowering trees with entwined tôle leafy branches issuing porcelain flowers with vine-cast bobèches, these candelabra exemplify the taste among fashionable collectors of the 1740's and 1750's for whimsical imitations of nature. They reflect the 'Pittoresque' style promoted by the ornameniste Just-Aurèle Meissonier, who illustrated girandolles a branche de porcelaine garnie de l'or in his books of designs published circa 1750 by Gabriel Huquier. The taste for these objects was particularly prevalent among Royal circles and Madame de Pompadour took great delight in being able to deceive Louis XV into believing that such colorful floral arrangements were real and not porcelain.
Charming objects such as these candelabra were supplied almost exclusively by fashionable marchands merciers such as Lazare Duvaux, who listed similar porcelain-mounted naturalistic candelabra in his Livre-Journal under nos. 83 and 2189, priced at 264 and 95 livres respectively (see L. Courajod, Livre-journal de Lazare Duvaux...1748-1758, Paris, 1873, 2 vols.).
Madame Louise-Elisabeth (1727-1759), the eldest daughter of Louis XV, was evidently particularly enchanted by such novel imitations of nature. Two pairs of wall-lights with porcelain flowers and tulip-form bobèches were delivered to her apartments at Versailles in 1759 by the dealer Testard (one pair was sold anonymously Christie's New York, 31 October 1996, lot 265 and the other is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Several pairs of candelabra with tôle branches, porcelain flowers and various types of figural porcelain bases were delivered to her by Lazare Duvaux between 1749 and 1753 for the apartments at the Palace of Parma, which she was decorating lavishly following her marriage to the Infante Don Philippe of Spain, who was made Duke of Parma in 1748 (A. Gonzalez-Palacios, Il Patrimonio Artistico del Quirinale: Gli Arredi Francesi, Milan, 1995, pp. 276-284).
The present pair of candlesticks relates closely to three other known pairs of candelabras. Probably the most complete is the remarkable pair of three-branch candelabra from French & Company, sold Christie's New York, 24 November 1998, lot 80. The pair in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich is closer in design and presumably also originally had removeable candelabrum (see P. Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1987, p.98, fig.108). An additional related pair of two-branch candelabra was sold from the collection of René Fribourg, Sotheby's London, 28 June 1963, lot 168. The present pair differs from all of the above in that they incorporate some additional ormolu C-scrolls to support the shaft, along with the tôle foliage.
The C couronné poinçon was used from March 1745-February 1749.
Charming objects such as these candelabra were supplied almost exclusively by fashionable marchands merciers such as Lazare Duvaux, who listed similar porcelain-mounted naturalistic candelabra in his Livre-Journal under nos. 83 and 2189, priced at 264 and 95 livres respectively (see L. Courajod, Livre-journal de Lazare Duvaux...1748-1758, Paris, 1873, 2 vols.).
Madame Louise-Elisabeth (1727-1759), the eldest daughter of Louis XV, was evidently particularly enchanted by such novel imitations of nature. Two pairs of wall-lights with porcelain flowers and tulip-form bobèches were delivered to her apartments at Versailles in 1759 by the dealer Testard (one pair was sold anonymously Christie's New York, 31 October 1996, lot 265 and the other is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Several pairs of candelabra with tôle branches, porcelain flowers and various types of figural porcelain bases were delivered to her by Lazare Duvaux between 1749 and 1753 for the apartments at the Palace of Parma, which she was decorating lavishly following her marriage to the Infante Don Philippe of Spain, who was made Duke of Parma in 1748 (A. Gonzalez-Palacios, Il Patrimonio Artistico del Quirinale: Gli Arredi Francesi, Milan, 1995, pp. 276-284).
The present pair of candlesticks relates closely to three other known pairs of candelabras. Probably the most complete is the remarkable pair of three-branch candelabra from French & Company, sold Christie's New York, 24 November 1998, lot 80. The pair in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich is closer in design and presumably also originally had removeable candelabrum (see P. Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1987, p.98, fig.108). An additional related pair of two-branch candelabra was sold from the collection of René Fribourg, Sotheby's London, 28 June 1963, lot 168. The present pair differs from all of the above in that they incorporate some additional ormolu C-scrolls to support the shaft, along with the tôle foliage.
The C couronné poinçon was used from March 1745-February 1749.