19TH CENTURY AND LATER, OF LOUIS XVI STYLE, AFTER FALCONET

The design of the draped nymphs on this candelabrum refer to a design of 1761 by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (see H.Ottomeyer, P.Prvschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol.I, p.254, fig4.7.1). The design depicts two pairs of plaster models of figures supporting candelabra which were exhibited at the Salon du Louvre in 1761 by Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791), Director of the Sculpture studio at Sevres (1759-1766). He refers to them as Deux Grouppes de femmes en platre. Ce sont des Chandeliers pour jtre exicutis en argent. Ils ont deux pieds six pouces de haut chacun. They were in fact originally intended to be cast by the orfevre Francois-Thomas Germain.
A number of similar examples follow Falconet's design, such as the three-light lilly candelabra supported by draped nymphs which is conserved in the Royal Castle in Warsaw (SZM 407/3-4) (ibid. p.254, fig.4.7.3).