Lot n° 195
Estimation :
15000 - 20000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 55 384EUR
Rare pair of three-light candelabra in very... - Lot 195 - Thierry de Maigret
Rare pair of three-light candelabra in very finely chased and gilded bronze; the sinuous arms with scrolled brackets supported by laurel tori centered on a flaming keel; the basins with laurel edges and fluted bobeches; the bases in the form of fluted column shafts emerging from foliage inscribed on flutes and standing out against a matted background; small circular gadrooned feet.
Louis XVI period.
Attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain.
H : 39 cm
The particularly elaborate composition of this rare pair of candelabras is more or less directly inspired by certain projects of Parisian ornamentalists of the early Neoclassicism period, particularly those of Jean-Charles Delafosse (1734-1791) who distinguished himself by his widely distributed collections of ornaments and demonstrated his perfect mastery of geometric lines, thus breaking with the rocaille models of the early Louis XV reign. The attribution of this model to a bronzemaker remains uncertain, but it should be noted that a type of candelabra with strong stylistic similarities was made by the bronzemaker Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain around 1765-1770; a pair of this type appeared in the sale of Monsieur de Billy's collections in 1784 (see J-D. Augarde, Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain bronzier (1719-1791), Inédits sur sa vie et son œuvre, in L'Estampille/L'Objet d'art, n°308, December 1996, p. 78).
Nowadays, among the rare known examples of identical model to the one we propose, let us quote in particular : a first pair which was formerly in the collection of Joseph Bardac (sale in Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Maître Lair-Dubreuil, 9 December 1927, n°86, plate XXIII); as well as a second which was part of the collection of Sir George Burns in North Mymms Park (Christie's sale, 24-26 September 1979, lot 34); a third one was offered on the Art Market at the dispersion of Georges Lurcy's collection (Sotheby's sale, New York, 8-9 November 1957, lot 328); a candelabra is illustrated in Le Dix-huitième siècle Français, Collection Connaissance des Arts, Hachette, 1956, p. 130; finally, let us mention in particular a pair of identical candelabra that was bequeathed in 1882 by John Jones to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (Inv.985/985A-1882) (illustrated in Cecil H. Smith, Victoria and Albert Museum, Catalogue of the Jones Collection, Part II, Ceramics, Metalwork, Sculpture Etc..., London, 1924, no. 202, plate 44; see also H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, VergoldeteBronzen, Die Bronzearbeiten des SpätbarockundKlassizismus, Klinkhardt & Biermann, Munich, 1986, Band I, p. 186, fig. 3.9.4).
Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain (Paris 1719-1791) was probably the most famous Parisian bronze-maker of the mid-18th century. Active from 1742 onwards, the craftsman is best known for the creation of numerous clock cases and cartels which made his reputation, notably the cartel known as "à la Diane chasseresse" (see an example preserved in the Louvre Museum), the clock supported by two Chinese (see a model of this type in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Lyon), as well as several animal-themed clocks. Towards the end of the 1750s, he also played a key role in the revival of the Parisian decorative arts and in the development of the neoclassical movement. In parallel to his watchmaking creations, Saint-Germain also made many furniture bronzes: andirons, wall lights, candelabras, etc., always showing the same creativity and demonstrating his exceptional talents as a bronze worker. He retired from the business in the mid 1770s.
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