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Lot Essay
The basic design of the draped nymph on these candelabra recalls the drawing from 1761 by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (see H.Ottomeyer, P.Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 254, fig. 4.7.1). 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 Sèvres (1759-1766). He refers to them as Deux Groupes de femmes en platre. Ce sont des Chandeliers pour être exécutés en argent. Ils ont deux pieds six pouces de haut chacun, and were in fact originally intended to be cast by the orfèvre François-Thomas Germain.
A number of similar examples follow Falconet's design, such as the three-light lily candelabra supported by draped nymphs which are conserved in the Royal Castle in Warsaw (SZM 407/3-4) (ibid., p. 254, fig. 4.7.3).
A number of similar examples follow Falconet's design, such as the three-light lily candelabra supported by draped nymphs which are conserved in the Royal Castle in Warsaw (SZM 407/3-4) (ibid., p. 254, fig. 4.7.3).