A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI ORMOLU, PATINATED-BRONZE AND WHITE MARBLE THREE-LIGHT CANDELABRA

The classically-draped female nymphs of this pair of candelabra are perhaps inspired by the group exhibited in the Salon of 1761 by Etienne-Maurice Falconet (d. 1791). Falconet's figures were intended for execution by François-Thomas Germain in silver, but quickly found success in all media, prompting the philosopher Denis Diderot to comment that the figures are 'd'un caractère simple, noble et antique. En vérité je n'ai rien vu de Falconet qui faît mieux'.

At least five pairs of candelabra of this model are recorded. All were probably executed by the same ciseleur-doreur, probably for a marchand-mercier such as Dominique Daguerre. These comprise a pair headed by a splayed eagle, which is at the Palace of Pavlosk (E. Ducamp, Pavlousk Les Collections, Paris, 1993, p.189). A second pair is illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, 4.14.10. The third pair is in the musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris; this latter pair was acquired from Seligmann in 1925 (N. Gasc, The Nissim de Camondo Museum, Paris, 2001, inv. 86, p. 61). The fourth was sold in Paris, Ader, Galerie Charpentier, 24 March 1955, lot 62; the final pair was sold from the Gutzwiller Collection, Sotheby's Monaco, 1 July 1995, lot 100.