Live Auction 21919An Opulent Aesthetic: An Important Private Collection from an English Country House
A PAIR OF LATE LOUIS XVI ORMOLU AND CARRARA MARBLE THREE-BRANCH CANDELABRA
Lot 10

A PAIR OF LATE LOUIS XVI ORMOLU AND CARRARA MARBLE THREE-BRANCH CANDELABRA

LATE 18TH CENTURY

Closed9 February 2023

Estimate

GBP 8,000–12,000

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

Conditions of Sale
How to sell

A PAIR OF LATE LOUIS XVI ORMOLU AND CARRARA MARBLE THREE-BRANCH CANDELABRA
LATE 18TH CENTURY
Each with a classically draped female figure holding aloft a cornucopia issuing three candle-branches and a central berried and floral vine, on cylindrical base with ribbon-tied vines and square plinth, later fitted for electricity
31 1/2 in. (80 cm.) high, excluding fitments

The Carraro Rizzoli Collection; sold Christie’s, London, 14 December 2006, lot 24 (£33,600).

Specialist note


The basic design of the draped nymph on these candelabra recalls the drawing from 1761 by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (see H.Ottomeyer, P.Proschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 254, fig. 4.7.1). The design depicts two pairs of plaster models of figures supporting candelabra which were exhibited at the Salon du Louvre in 1761 by Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791), Director of the Sculpture studio at Sèvres (1759-1766). A number of similar examples follow Falconet's design, such as the three-light lily candelabra supported by draped nymphs which are conserved in the Royal Castle in Warsaw (SZM 407/3-4) (ibid., p. 254, fig. 4.7.3).