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Lot Essay
The C Couronné Poinçon was a tax mark used in France between March 1745 and February 1749 on any alloy containing copper.
The form of these candlesticks comes from a drawing by Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695-1750) 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 comparable pair of candlesticks of this design was supplied to the French Royal family on the occasion of the birth of the Dauphin in 1729.
Several closely related pairs of candlesticks are known and include a pair formerly in the Wrightsman Collection illustrated F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, 1966, vol. II, p. 333; and a pair in the Wallace Collection (ill. F.J.B. Watson, The Wallace Collection, Furniture, London, 1956, F. 76 and F. 77, p. 1203).
Born in Turin in 1695, Meissonnier's Italian origin and training probably enhanced the extravagance of his decorative style. He became Orfèvre du roi in 1724 and succeeded Jean II Bérain as Premier dessinateur de la chambre et cabinet du Roi in 1726, working as a silversmith, architect and designer directly for Louis XV. The exuberantly rococo nature of his work often led him to work for foreign patrons, such as the Duke of Kingston for whom he made two terrines circa 1735 and Prince Czartoryski for whom he designed panelling.
The form of these candlesticks comes from a drawing by Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695-1750) 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 comparable pair of candlesticks of this design was supplied to the French Royal family on the occasion of the birth of the Dauphin in 1729.
Several closely related pairs of candlesticks are known and include a pair formerly in the Wrightsman Collection illustrated F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, 1966, vol. II, p. 333; and a pair in the Wallace Collection (ill. F.J.B. Watson, The Wallace Collection, Furniture, London, 1956, F. 76 and F. 77, p. 1203).
Born in Turin in 1695, Meissonnier's Italian origin and training probably enhanced the extravagance of his decorative style. He became Orfèvre du roi in 1724 and succeeded Jean II Bérain as Premier dessinateur de la chambre et cabinet du Roi in 1726, working as a silversmith, architect and designer directly for Louis XV. The exuberantly rococo nature of his work often led him to work for foreign patrons, such as the Duke of Kingston for whom he made two terrines circa 1735 and Prince Czartoryski for whom he designed panelling.