A pair of Italian gilt-bronze and white marble candelabra attributed to the workshop of Luigi and Giuseppe Valadier, Roman, circa 1780-1785

each with three acanthus cast S-shaped candlearms issuing from a fluted marble vase centred by foliage and a leaf-cast nozzle, held aloft by a female neo-classical figure, on a circular fluted marble socle

Castillo de Bendinat, Mallorca;
Private Collection, Chicago

In good condition,. Cleaned. Two palm leafs of one have been re-soldered.
"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."

Comparative Literature:
Jannic Durand, Daniel Alcouffe, Luigi Valadier au Louvre ou l'Antiquité exaltée, Paris, 1994, pp. 128-177.
Alvar González-Palacios, Valadier father and son - some further notes and discoveries, in Makers, Dealers and Collectors: Studies in Honour of Geoffrey de Bellaigue, London, 2007, pp. 69-84. 

The offered pair of candelabra can firmly be attributed to the workshop of Luigi and Giuseppe Valadier. A closely related pair of candelabra is part of the famous surtout de table made for the Duca Braschi, nephew of Pius VI, by Luigi Valadier 1783, which is now in the Louvre in Paris. Illustrated here in fig. 1. The present candelabra also correspond to a model drawn on a sheet of paper in Giuseppe Valadier's hand and sent by Charles Heathcote Tatham to Henry Holland, architect to the Prince of Wales. This sheet is among the Tatham papers in the Victoria & Albert Museum and is reproduced here in fig. 2.

Luigi (1726-1785) and Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839):
The Valadier family was the most well-known and celebrated dynasty of goldsmiths and founders in Rome in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The first notable member of the family was Andrea Valadier (1695-1759), whose workshop near the San Luigi dei Francesi church in Rome was continued by his son Luigi (1725-1785). In 1762, he moved his atelier to 89 via del Babuino, where he produced pieces for the Vatican and the Roman aristocracy. A large group of existing preparatory drawings for silver works of art bear witness to the vast repertory of his workshop. In 1779, he was nominated Cavaliere by Pope Pius VI and from then on he started mounting the famous Vatican collection of antique cameos. The family tradition was continued by one of Luigi's four sons, Giuseppe (1762-1839). He won first prize in the Concorso Clementina in 1775 and was eventually appointed head of the Vatican Foundry and named silversmith to the Sacra Palazzo Apostolico in 1781. As bronzier, he worked in a similar style to his father's. One of his most celebrated Roman neoclassical pieces was a bronze table supported on twelve statues modelled by Vincenzo Pacetti (now in the Vatican Library).