A pair of Louis XV gilt-bronze, tôle and soft-paste porcelain three-light candelabra, circa 1745,

each with shaped scrolling rockwork base, issuing an elaborate naturalistic foliated tôle stem adorned with white and coloured porcelain flowers topped by grapevine-cast bronze nozzle issuing removable tôle flower decorated triple candle-arms, ending on cast-bronze nozzles; each marked with crowned C

Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc., New York, 1972;

French & Company, New York;

Acquired Christie's New York, French & Company, 24th November 1998, lot 80 ($178,500);

European Private Collection.

RELATED LITERATURE

Louis Courajod, Livre-journal de Lazare Duvaux...1748-1758, Paris, 1873;

Alvar Gonzalez-Palacios, Il Patrimonio Artistico del Quirinale: Gli Arredi Francesi, Milan,  Mondadori Electa, 1995;

Pierre Verlet, Les bronzes dorés français du XVIIIe siècle. Paris, Picard, 1987.

In overall very good conserved condition. The gilding is original and the quality of the casting and chasing is very good with some very minor wear. The tôle and porcelain flowers would benefit from a light clean according to taste. There are some very minor chips to the porcelain flowers. Both with crowned ç poinçon to the gilt-bronze bases.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Elaborately conceived as a decorative folie, these truly exquisite candelabra reflect the taste for naturalistic and imaginative Rococo pieces in vogue from the 1730’s and seem to be the finest candelabra of this type in existence.

Decorative objects with delicate porcelain flowers were incredibly fashionable among courtiers and the marchands-merciers in the mid-18th century used them to decorate candelabra, chandeliers, candlesticks as well as clocks. Soft-paste porcelain flowers began to be made at the Vincennes manufactory in about 1745. These white or brightly coloured flowers were intended to be used as table ornaments, where an element of playful deception and amusement was intended, especially during the winter months when fresh flowers were not available.

In some instances, they were scented and placed in flower beds, as on an occasion in 1750, when Madame de Pompadour received Louis XV for the first time at her recently completed Château de Bellevue. By 1750, flowers accounted for five-sixths of Vincennes's output and this success was assisted by the royal privilège which prevented any other manufacture from making or painting them. Their popularity decreased after 1755 but enjoyed a revival in 1770.

The King’s favourite commissioned these flowers through the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux who had listed porcelain-mounted candelabra similar to the present lot in his Livre-Journal under nos. 83 and 2189, priced at 264 and 95 livres respectively (L. Courajod, p.9 and p.248).

The same Duvaux supplied Madame Louise-Elisabeth (1727-1759), the eldest daughter of Louis XV, who married the Infante Don Felipe of Spain, Duke of Parma. For her palace in Parma, Colorno, Duvaux delivered several pairs of porcelain flowered candelabra with tôle branches as well as other types of figural porcelain bases between 1749 and 1753 (Gonzalez-Palacios, pp. 276-284).

The naturalistic cast nozzles and the unusual trapezoidal structure of each candelabrum echo Juste-Aurèle's Meissonier's designs, as in two published prints of 'Girandolles a branche de porcelaine garnie d'or'. A related pair of candlesticks, with similar bronze base and nozzles and almost certainly from the same workshop, is in the collections of the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum (fig.1). One other related pair of candelabra, but not as elaborate as the present pieces, from the collection of René Fribourg was sold in these rooms, Sotheby's, 28 June 1963, lot 168 and another pair from the Rossi Collection, sold Sotheby's, Louis XV Furniture from the Estate of the late Giuseppe Rossi, 11 March 1999, vol. II, lot 793. A pair of candelabra of this type is in Neues Palais, Potsdam.

The crowned C seen on the base of these pieces is a tax mark struck on bronzes in effect from February 1745 to February 1749, helping us to accurately date them within these dates.