A pair of gilt-bronzes wall-lights, Louis XVI, delivered for the Petit Appartement of King Louis XVI at Compiègne, probably after a drawing attributed to Jean-Louis Prieur

the central part with young faun holding acanthus leaves and two branches with flowers and fruits ; both with the dotted mark N.19.CP. ; (drilled for electricity)

Cabinet before the Pièce du Tour, Petit Appartement of King Louis XVI, château de Compiègne
Maurice Segoura Gallery, Paris

Literature references:
- H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Die Bronzearbeiten des Spätbarock und Klassizismus, t. I, Munich, 1986, p. 288, fig. 4.16.5
- Exh. cat. Louis XVI et Marie-Antoinette à Compiègne, Compiègne, 2006, n. 30, pp. 162-163
- Online cat. S. Legrand-Rossi, « Dessins de modèles pour le bronze et la gravure attribués à Jean-Louis-Prieur », in Dessiner et ciseler le bronze. Jean-Louis Prieur (1732-1795), musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris

The illustration of the catalogue is accurate. Good overall condition. There are some minor surface scratches and rubbed areas to the gilding. The pair of wall-appliques has been pierced for electricity. The gilding is very abundant and has been slightly cleaned. Very beautiful carving revealing specific and impressive details such as the fruits and the flowers of the drip pans and the hair of each young faun.
"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."

Our pair of wall lights is part of a prestigious ensemble delivered under King Louis XVI for his apartments at the Château of Compiègne.

The Château of Compiègne, a royal residence since King Charles V's reign, benefited from a complete reconstruction under Louis XV by means of his first architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, then his successor under Louis XVI, Louis Le Dreux de la Châtre. A redevelopment was led by the superintendent and general manager to the Crown Garde-Meuble (royal furniture holdings) Thierry de Ville-d'Avray since 1784 for the royal apartments. In the King's small apartment, besides Rococo furniture replenishments, commissions were given to the most important joiner-carpenters and cabinetmakers, among them Jean-Baptiste II Tilliard, Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené, Jean-Baptiste Boulard, and Guillaume Benneman. The King had arranged two mezzanine cabinets on the first floor serving as workshops, which included a lathe workshop, as described in French the cabinet before that of du Tour (Cabinet précédent celui du Tour). With chairs by Boulard realized for this cabinet, a pair of wall lights marked with the no. 19 was part of the deliveries. These are our pair, the only items reserved by the Commerce Commission for this room and inventoried in 1791 as "a pair of wall lights with two branches, gilt with ground gold, with small children holding scrolls on p. 14 on above". However, they were subsequently found on the art market in 2002. As part of the same order, a similar pair marked no. 20 was placed in the lathe workshop and is still kept in situ (inv. C 88.004.1 and .2).

All have the particularity of being organized around a stem decorated with a young faun holding an acanthus foliage. The childhood theme is not new and we can compare the gilt lantern by Rémond and delivered by Daguerre in 1784 for the King's interior cabinet. It comprises four children on a gaine support and is now placed at Hôtel Matignon. The drawing design of our wall lights is not known, but it is possible to compare it to the one attributed to Jean-Louis Prieur in the collections of the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris.

Several other wall lights of this model are now known, among which a pair that was part of the collections of the fashion designer Jacques Doucet dispersed by Galerie Georges Petit in 1912 (Lair-Dubreuil and Baudoin, Paris, 8 June 1912, lot 266) illustrated in the written work by Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel Vergoldete Bronzen, and perhaps corresponding to one auctioned in Paris on 24 September 1993, lot 57. Another pair with a slight difference on the lower part of the dish was sold by Esq. Rieunier and Associates, Paris, 23 June 2004, lot 102.