A pair of Empire ormolu, patinated bronze and rouge griotte three-light candelabra, probably supplied by Martin-Eloi Lignereux circa 1805

each with a patinated bronze figure of a semi-nude Egyptian lady wearing an elaborate ormolu headdress cast with faux hieroglyphics and terminating in rams' heads flanking a ribbon-tied urn and surmounted by crescents topped with bobeches, raised on a marble base fitted with foliate-cast ormolu bands and mounted with ormolu plaques on three sides depicting Egyptian masks, birds and winged snakes, raised on an unadorned ormolu base. 

Sotheby's London, July 5, 1985, lot 205

Giacomo and Rozenn Wannenes, Les Bronzes Ornementaux et les Objects Montés, 2004, p. 378

Ormolu with some rubbing, surface dirt and oxidation; most to headress and other finely cast and chased areas. Patinated bronze with some light rubbing and surface dirt; not extensive. Marble bases with minor chips and restored breaks at edges; more extensive to one candelabrum where an approximately 1.5 in. area of old restored break bordering the ormolu plaque is now missing minor chips of marble. In otherwise good overall condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Although Napoleon's Egyptian campaign between 1798 and 1801 was intended to protect French trade interests and to undermine Britain's access to India, it eventually made a far larger impact on the scientific and artistic life of Europe in the form of Egyptomania than on commerce and politics. This pair of candelabra is the product of this new trend that became exponentially popular throughout the first decade of the nineteenth century. Some of the most distinguished and celebrated craftsmen of the time produced pieces in the Egyptian taste including Pierre-Louis Dagoty, Antoine-André Ravrio and Pierre-Philippe Thomire, whose pair of ormolu and patinated bronze candelabra illustrated in Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, 1986, Vol. I., p.336, fig. 5.3.3 is particularly similar to the lot offered here and derives from a design dated circa 1800 by Charles Percier for the supports of a center table now in the Musée du Louvre, see ibid, p. 336, fig. 5.3.4. Candelabra of essentially this model by Thomire were sold from the collection of M. Maxime Sciolette, Christie's Paris, June 23, 2005, lot 367 and from the collection of M. Hubert de Givenchy, Christie's Monaco, December 4, 1993, lot 39.

The present candelabra, however, were probably marketed by the Parisian marchand mercier Martin-Eloy Lignereux (died 1809). Like many of his colleagues, Lignereux, whose shop was on the rue Taitbout, took advantage of the craze for anything Egyptian and supplied objects in the new fashion to a varied clientele. In 1803, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine (died 1841), acquired a five-light version of these candelabra from Lignereux. Lord Elgin, who is well-known for taking the Parthenon marbles to London during his service as George III's Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Sublime Port of Selim III, was held for a time in Paris by Napoleon, but the candelabra purchased from Lignereux were eventually taken to his home in Scotland at Broomhall, Fife and were subsequently sold Christie's London, May 31, 1962, lot 79. Lord Elgin's candelabra and the present lot are almost identical: the casting of the nozzles, the crescents, the ribbon-tied urns, the rams' heads and the ormolu plaques on the base are virtually the same, but Elgin's candelabra are fitted with two ormolu cobras handing from the branches and are terminating in two further nozzles. One pair of this model, without the cobras, was sold from the collection of the late Lord Geoffrey Lloyd, Sotheby's London, July 5 1985, lot 205.