SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF LOUIS XV ORMOLU CANDLESTICKS
SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY
Of naturalistic form with inverted baluster stem cast with C-scrolls and trailing husks, surmounted by a similarly-cast vase-shaped nozzle, the circular spreading foot cast with foliage and stylised shells, each stamped with the 'C' couronné poinçon, with later drip-pans
10¼ in. (26 cm.) high (2)

Provenance

almost certainly acquired by David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield and 7th Viscount Stormont (d. 1796), in the mid 1770s during his service as George III's ambassador to the court of Louis XVI; and by descent, until sold, Christie's, London, Scone Palace and Blairquhan, 24 May 2007, lot 263.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The 'C' couronné poinçon was a tax mark employed on any alloy containing copper between March 1745 and February 1749.

The form of these candlesticks is based on a drawing by Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier which was engraved by Huquier and published in Le Livre de chandeliers de sculpture en argent, folios 31 and 32, plates 73 and 74. The elegant swirling form and naturalistic motifs exemplify the early stages of rococo design in France and a pair of this design was first supplied to the French royal family on the occasion of the birth of the Dauphin in 1729.
A closely related pair of candlesticks is in the Wrightsman collection, New York (ill. F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, vol. II, Greenwich, 1966, cat. 164).
For a full discussion of this model, see P. Fuhring, Jules-Aurèle Meissonnier: Un génie du rococo 1695-1750, Turin, 1999, vol. II, pp. 193-197.

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