A RUSSIAN NEOCLASSICAL ORMOLU AND WHITE MARBLE NINE-LIGHT CHANDELIER EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Jeremy Ltd., London

In excellent condition. Some of the smaller ormolu elements are replacements. Small scale and unique design. Ormolu is in excellent condition with only some minor rubbing and wear. Marble is in excellent condition with only some very minor nicks to edges. Some of the bobeches are difficult to remove. Please note that this chandelier is not drilled or wired for electricity.
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.

This exquisite object is an unusual and potentially unique example of a marble chandelier.  The use of white marble and gilt bronze points to a Russian origin, as the combination of these two luxurious materials is a distinctive trait of Russian neoclassical decorative arts, seen for example in two large mahogany writing tables with white marble columns produced by the court cabinetmaker Heinrich Gambs now in Pavlovsk (ill. Emmanuel Ducamp, Pavlovsk, The Collections, Paris: 1993, fig.18-19 p.108-109) as well as the white-marble mounted commode lot 207 in the present sale.   The form of the central baluster also evokes the blue and opaque glass stems archetypal of Russian lighting design in the early decades of the 19th century.

An ormolu-mounted white marble hanging lamp, from a set of 16 supplied to Pavlovsk in 1805 by the bronze workshop of Bels after designs by Voronikhin, is illustrated in Anatoly Kuchumov, Russian Decorative Art in the Collection of the Pavlovsk Palace Museum (St Petersburg: 1981), fig.81. [Fig.1]

St Petersburg bronze makers often looked to Paris for inspiration, and the elegant Egyptian mask terminals on the scrolling arms are directly based on the work of the bronzier Francois Remond (1747-1812), who in conjunction with the marchand mercier Dominique Daguerre is credited with inventing this motif in c.1785.   Candelabra incorporating comparable Egyptian head terminals are found in numerous pre-eminent collections, including a pair at Fontainebleau (J.-P. Samoyault, Chateau de Fontainebleau.  Catalogue du Mobilier, Paris: 1989, Vol.I, p.152, no.129), the Huntington Collection, San Marino (S. Bennett and C. Sargentson, French Art of the Eighteenth Century at the Huntington, New Haven and London: 2008, p.177), and the Wallace Collection (P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Furniture, Vol. III, London: 1996, p.134-5, no.247).