EARLY 19TH CENTURY

THE CLOSEST PARALLEL FOR THESE REMARKABLE à L'ANTIQUE CANDELABRA-TOPPED TORCHERES WITH THEIR FESTIVE, BACCHIC ORNAMENT, IS A PAIR OF TORCHERES WITH THE SAME BRONZED AND PARCEL-GILT COLOUR SCHEME AND SIMILAR BACCHIC MASKS ON MONOPODIA SUPPORTS, DESCRIBED AS RUSSIAN BUT UNDOUBTEDLY IN FACT OF ITALIAN ORIGIN, SOLD CHRISTIE'S, NEW YORK, 21 MAY 2005, LOT 478. THE ANTIQUE POSE OF THE ELEGANT FIGURES SUPPORTING THE CANDELABRA RECALL THE FIGURES SUPPORTING A PAIR OF JARDINIERES, PROBABLY ORIGINALLY PART OF A CENTROTAVOLA, ON A PAIR OF TORCHERES IN THE PALAZZO QUIRINALE, ROME (ILLUSTRATED IN A. GONZáLEZ-PALACIOS, IL PATRIMONIO ARTISTICO DEL QUIRINALE: I MOBILI ITALIANI, MILAN, 1996, PP. 243-244). A FURTHER PAIR OF JARDINIERES OF THIS MODEL WAS SOLD CHRISTIE'S, LONDON, 7 DECEMBER 2005, LOT 245.