- 90
A pair of Directoire ormolu three-branch wall lights circa 1790, elements lacking
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 USD
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Description
- height 25 1/4 in.; width 14 in.
- 60 cm; 35.5 cm
Condition
Repairs to the back of one, with traces of soldering. Each formerly with a bottom finial. Old repairs. Traces of green paint to the back. Verdigris and rubbing to the ormolu. Will clean up nicely. In otherwise good 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.
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.
Catalogue Note
A set of four wall-lights of this model was sold Sotheby's London, 5 June 1964, lot 96. They retained the elements missing to this pair, namely nozzles affixed to each eagle's head, further scrolls emerging from behind the female masks and the missing section to the base.
A variant of the model, a cornucopia of flowers replacing the thyrsus at the summit of each wall-light, can be seen in the Royal Palace in Warsaw (see: S. Iskierski, Les Bronzes du château royal et du Palais de Lazienski à Varsovie, 1929, pl. 9). This set of four in the Cabinet des Conférences of the Royal Palace described in the 1795 inventory as "quatre bras à trois branches faits en arabesques de bronze ciselé et doré en or mat, à 30# la pièce "and are discussed in detail in A. Rottermund, Inventaire Général des meubles et effets mobiliers qui sont dans le château de Varsovie fait en mars 1795, 1997, p. 145 and illustrated fig. 17. Thought to date from circa 1786, date of completion of the Cabinet des Conférences, they have historically been attributed to Gouthière, who was one of the bronziers known to have supplied works for the Palace. Only one of these wall-lights now dates from the 18th century, the other three having been subsituted at a later date.
A set of four wall-lights of the Warsaw model hang in the Grand Salon of the Musée Nissim de Cammondo, Paris (see: M.-N. de Garry, The Camondo Legacy, the Passions of a Paris Collector, Paris, 2008, pp. 142 and 150-151).
This model also relates to the set of four wall-lights in the Philadelphia Museum of Art delivered in August 1784 to Mesdames for the Grand Salon at Bellevue by the marchand Darnault (see: H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel, et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, vol. I, Munich, 1986, p. 261, fig. 4.8.5). Previously in the collection of Count Cheremetyeff in St. Petersburg, they were sold by Duveen to Mrs. Hamilton Rice in 1927.
A variant of the model, a cornucopia of flowers replacing the thyrsus at the summit of each wall-light, can be seen in the Royal Palace in Warsaw (see: S. Iskierski, Les Bronzes du château royal et du Palais de Lazienski à Varsovie, 1929, pl. 9). This set of four in the Cabinet des Conférences of the Royal Palace described in the 1795 inventory as "quatre bras à trois branches faits en arabesques de bronze ciselé et doré en or mat, à 30# la pièce "and are discussed in detail in A. Rottermund, Inventaire Général des meubles et effets mobiliers qui sont dans le château de Varsovie fait en mars 1795, 1997, p. 145 and illustrated fig. 17. Thought to date from circa 1786, date of completion of the Cabinet des Conférences, they have historically been attributed to Gouthière, who was one of the bronziers known to have supplied works for the Palace. Only one of these wall-lights now dates from the 18th century, the other three having been subsituted at a later date.
A set of four wall-lights of the Warsaw model hang in the Grand Salon of the Musée Nissim de Cammondo, Paris (see: M.-N. de Garry, The Camondo Legacy, the Passions of a Paris Collector, Paris, 2008, pp. 142 and 150-151).
This model also relates to the set of four wall-lights in the Philadelphia Museum of Art delivered in August 1784 to Mesdames for the Grand Salon at Bellevue by the marchand Darnault (see: H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel, et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, vol. I, Munich, 1986, p. 261, fig. 4.8.5). Previously in the collection of Count Cheremetyeff in St. Petersburg, they were sold by Duveen to Mrs. Hamilton Rice in 1927.