Lot Essay
This celebrated 'Egyptian' model enjoyed enduring popularity during the Empire period, as a result of Napoleon's campaigns in Egypt and the subsequent publication of Baron Vivant-Denon's Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Egypte, 1802. A pair of related Egyptian candelabra, forming part of a garniture and attributed to Claude Galle, bronzier au Garde-Meuble, is illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Proschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, p. 338, fig. 5.3.6. A further nearly identical pair is illustrated in 'Egyptomania', Exhibition Catalogue, Paris, 1994, p. 290, fig. 4 and in P. M. Favelac, 'Aujourd'hui s'installer en Directoire', Empire, Paris p. 46.