PROBABLY VIENNESE, CIRCA 1700

These richly decorated torcheres with their unusual carved capital of putti busts are nearly identical to a single torchere which belonged to Marie Christine Princess of Salm (1655-1744), younger sister of Leopold I , Holy Roman Emperor (1640-1705), illustrated in A.W. Vliegenthart, Boulle Möbel der Fürsten Salm, 1995, Rhede, p. 27, pl. 22. A large group of Boulle furniture produced by Flemish and German craftsmen in Vienna and delivered to her residence at Anholt is documented in letters between Marie Christine and her brother and is discussed in further detail by Vliegenthart. Some of this furniture, including the single torchere mentioned above, is now conserved in the Vienna Hofburg. Another pair of torcheres known to have come from Vienna, however of a slightly differing model with carved giltwood lions perched atop each of the scrolled feet of the tripod support, were made for the Counts of Harach and are still at Schloss Rohrau (op. cit., p.23, pl.19). A third pair of Viennese Boulle marquetry torcheres, almost identical to the present lot, are with Kugel, Paris.

Though the design of these Viennese models of torcheres are slightly more free in their use of sculptural giltwood decoration, they still undoubtedly show the strong influence of the work of Pierre Gole (1620-1684), ébéniste to Louis XIV. They also relate to a pair of torchères now in the Musée Carnavalet, Paris and formerly in the collection of Mme. Henriette Bouvier (illustrated in A. Forrray -Carlier , Le Mobilier du Musée Carnavalet, Dijon, 2000, p. 38-9, pl. 7.) Another very closely related pair, however also lacking any carved giltwood elements, was sold anonymously, Sotheby's, New York, 10 December 1994, lot 280.