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Lot Essay
These wall-lights are a reduced version of the celebrated model supplied by Pierre-Philippe Thomire for the château de Saint-Cloud in 1787. Now divided between the Petit Trianon and the Louvre, the ledgers of the Garde-Meuble for 29 September 1787 record that they were supplied for the salon des jeux du Roi at Saint-Cloud at a cost of 5,388 livres. In the 1789 inventory they are described as:-
Trois fortes paires de bras de bronze doré or moulu à cinq branches, chaque partie composée d'un vase long, surmonté d,une corne d'abondance à fleurs et fruits, le bas du vase terminé par des paquets de feuilles de chéne; la panse du vase ornée de trois figures et guirlandes de fleurs et fruits. Les branches à cannelures Torses et enroulements, les bassins ronds à bord godronné avec Leurs bobèches; le Tout supporté par une écharpe brunie à noeud et clou figuré. 40 po de haut sur 23 po de face.
A further pair of Louis XVI wall-lights of the Saint-Cloud model from the collection of the ducs de Mortemart is in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (G. Wilson and C. Hess, European Decorative Arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2001, no.177), whilst a pair of early 19th Century wall-lights, with variations in casting and design, is in the Wallace Collection (ibid.).
This model clearly enjoyed enduring popularity in both the 18th and 19th Centuries. A further pair of Louis XVI wall-lights was sold anonymously at Christie's New York, 6 June 1984, lot 31, whilst a set of six of this simplified three-light model was with A La Vielle Russie, New York in 1972, and other examples signed by the 19th Century bronzier Alfred Beurdeley were sold in Paris, Palais D'Orsay, 16 May 1979, lot 49 and at Christie's New York, 20 November 1982, lot 39.
Trois fortes paires de bras de bronze doré or moulu à cinq branches, chaque partie composée d'un vase long, surmonté d,une corne d'abondance à fleurs et fruits, le bas du vase terminé par des paquets de feuilles de chéne; la panse du vase ornée de trois figures et guirlandes de fleurs et fruits. Les branches à cannelures Torses et enroulements, les bassins ronds à bord godronné avec Leurs bobèches; le Tout supporté par une écharpe brunie à noeud et clou figuré. 40 po de haut sur 23 po de face.
A further pair of Louis XVI wall-lights of the Saint-Cloud model from the collection of the ducs de Mortemart is in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (G. Wilson and C. Hess, European Decorative Arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2001, no.177), whilst a pair of early 19th Century wall-lights, with variations in casting and design, is in the Wallace Collection (ibid.).
This model clearly enjoyed enduring popularity in both the 18th and 19th Centuries. A further pair of Louis XVI wall-lights was sold anonymously at Christie's New York, 6 June 1984, lot 31, whilst a set of six of this simplified three-light model was with A La Vielle Russie, New York in 1972, and other examples signed by the 19th Century bronzier Alfred Beurdeley were sold in Paris, Palais D'Orsay, 16 May 1979, lot 49 and at Christie's New York, 20 November 1982, lot 39.
