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Lot Essay
With its beaded trellis frame, crowned cresting and fleur-de-lys finial, the present chandelier was most certainly intended for a Royal residence circa 1700. 'Lustres à lacé' such as this one were typically supplied by marchand-merciers to the Bâtiments du Roi or to the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi for the Royal fètes and ceremonies organised by the King's Household or Maison du Roi and for general Court entertainment. Such 'lustres à lacé' or 'en treillage' were considered precious objects as evidenced by the commission for a 'lustre en treillage' by Madame de Pompadour for the château de Crécy and by Louis XV's commission several months after his 'maîtresse-en-chef' for a chandelier of the same model (discussed in Pierre Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés Français du XVIIIème siècle, Paris, 1987, p.94).
Few examples of lustres à lacé denoting, as in the present case, a Royal provenance are recorded. Amongst these are a chandelier now at Drottningholm Castle, originally supplied to the Swedish Crown in 1754 for the significant sum of 3,000 livres (ill. Ibid, p.93, fig.103). The Drottningholm example is also surmounted by a crown but lacks the giltwood stem armature featured on the present lot.
A further related chandelier surmounted by a giltwood fleur-de-lys but lacking the crown to the cresting is in the J.P. Getty Museum, Malibu and illustrated in Bremer-David, Decorative Arts of the Getty Museum, 1993, no.156.
As explained by the abbé Jaubert in his Dictionnaire des Arts et Métiers, re-published in 1773, three distinct types of such lustres are recorded: lustres 'à tige découverte', 'à consoles' and 'à lacé' - as in the present case - 'à cause des entrelacs de petits grains de verre dont ils sont presque tout couverts' (P.Verlet, op. cit., p.93).
Related examples sold at auction include a 'lustre à lacé' sold, Christie's, Monaco, 16-17 June 2001, lot 743 (FF917,500 with premium).
Few examples of lustres à lacé denoting, as in the present case, a Royal provenance are recorded. Amongst these are a chandelier now at Drottningholm Castle, originally supplied to the Swedish Crown in 1754 for the significant sum of 3,000 livres (ill. Ibid, p.93, fig.103). The Drottningholm example is also surmounted by a crown but lacks the giltwood stem armature featured on the present lot.
A further related chandelier surmounted by a giltwood fleur-de-lys but lacking the crown to the cresting is in the J.P. Getty Museum, Malibu and illustrated in Bremer-David, Decorative Arts of the Getty Museum, 1993, no.156.
As explained by the abbé Jaubert in his Dictionnaire des Arts et Métiers, re-published in 1773, three distinct types of such lustres are recorded: lustres 'à tige découverte', 'à consoles' and 'à lacé' - as in the present case - 'à cause des entrelacs de petits grains de verre dont ils sont presque tout couverts' (P.Verlet, op. cit., p.93).
Related examples sold at auction include a 'lustre à lacé' sold, Christie's, Monaco, 16-17 June 2001, lot 743 (FF917,500 with premium).