A PAIR OF FRENCH ORMOLU AND PORPHYRY SIX-LIGHT CANDELABRA

These candelabra date from the revival of the Empire style at the end of the 19th century. Swans frequently appeared in Greek and Roman art as attributes for Apollo, Leda and sometimes Zeus. Here, as a support for candelabra, the swan represents Apollo, the sun god, who conquers darkness. As an emblem of Roman iconography Percier and Fontaine adopted the swan as a central ornamental motif in their architectural glorification of Napoleon Bonaparte. Their designs were translated into furniture and objects by the Jacob Frères and Pierre-Philippe Thomire who supplied a set of swan sconces for the Tuileries in 1810 (O. Nouvel-Kammerer, Symbols of Power: Napoleon and the Art of the Empire Style 1800 - 1815, New York, 2007, pp. 228-245).