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Lot Essay
With their elongated double scrolls these superb candlesticks are characteristic for the oeuvre of Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis (d.1774). Duplessis' career was illustrious and he is recorded as a sculptor, ceramics modeller, goldsmith, and bronzier working in the rococo manner. His oeuvre has not yet been fully researched and limited documented examples of his work are available. However, his designs for porcelain during the period 1748 to 1774, when Duplessis was artistic director at Vincennes and its successor, Sèvres, give a very good indication of his favoured style. Particularly noteworthy are his balustre rocaille vases made in soft and hard paste porcelain from circa 1750, that were named for him, 'Vase Duplessis'. A drawing for these survives in the Sèvres archive (L.H. Roth, C. Le Corbeiller, French Eighteenth-Century Porcelain at the Wadsworth Atheneum; The J. Pierpont Morgan Collection, p. 105, fig. 59-1).
Interestingly, these candlesticks are inscribed ‘POIRIER’ in dotted script, referring to the celebrated marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirier (1720-1785), whose shop, A la Couronne d'Or, was located in the fashionable rue Saint-Honoré, and who almost certainly retailed these candlesticks. One of the leading dealer of luxury goods, Poirier specialised in all forms of objets de luxe and played an important creative role, acting as a catalyst between craftsmen and designers to create new forms and fashions. He was instrumental in the creation of the neo-classical style and held a virtual monopoly on the sale of porcelain-mounted furniture, a technique that he pioneered and perfected. His illustrious clientèle included Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry, the duc de Choiseul and the duc de Caylus (S. Eriksen, Early Neo-Classicism in France, London, 1974, p. 215).
Interestingly, these candlesticks are inscribed ‘POIRIER’ in dotted script, referring to the celebrated marchand-mercier Simon-Philippe Poirier (1720-1785), whose shop, A la Couronne d'Or, was located in the fashionable rue Saint-Honoré, and who almost certainly retailed these candlesticks. One of the leading dealer of luxury goods, Poirier specialised in all forms of objets de luxe and played an important creative role, acting as a catalyst between craftsmen and designers to create new forms and fashions. He was instrumental in the creation of the neo-classical style and held a virtual monopoly on the sale of porcelain-mounted furniture, a technique that he pioneered and perfected. His illustrious clientèle included Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry, the duc de Choiseul and the duc de Caylus (S. Eriksen, Early Neo-Classicism in France, London, 1974, p. 215).