AFTER THE MODEL BY JULES-AURÈLE MEISSONNIER, CIRCA 1890

These candlesticks are inspired by a pair supplied to the French royal family on the occasion of the birth of the Dauphin in 1729. The design for the royal pair is attributed to Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier, who, as designer to the King's cabinet, designed or supplied models for gilt-bronze candelabra or candlesticks, picture frames, furniture, carriages as well as stage sets and other temporary structures. The elegant swirling form and naturalistic motifs exemplify the early stages of rococo design in France. Another ormolu pair of this model is in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. The design was extensively reproduced during the nineteenth century. For a full discussion of this model, see P. Fuhring, Jules-Aurèle Meissonnier: Un génie du rococo 1695-1750, Turin, 1999, vol. II, pp. 193-197.