THE FIGURE GROUP ATTRIBUTED TO MARTIN FRERES, CIRCA 1745, THE OVAL ORMOLU BASE CIRCA 1745, THE OTHER ELEMENTS 19TH CENTURY

Lacquered bronze figures such as those found on this candelabra were decorated to resemble the finest and most expensive 17th century Japanese lacquer, reflecting one of the most sophisticated phases of the 'goût Chinois'. Traditionally, such figures have been associated almost exclusively with the Martin dynasty, both as a result of contemporary documentary references and the fact that they were granted a Royal Patent to protect the vernis technique which they had invented. It has been argued, however, that there were no doubt other unknown craftsmen supplying such figures to the marchands-merciers, and Parisian almanachs of the period often list several specialists in vernis. (See C. Sargentson Merchants and Luxury Markets: The Marchands-Merciers of Eighteenth Century Paris, London, 1996).

A pair of Louis XV porcelain-mounted ormolu candelabra incorporating an identical figure group from a private collection in Paris, was sold Sotheby's, Paris, 16 December 2004, lot 142.