A pair of gilt-bronze and patinated bronze chenets, Louis XVI, circa 1790

each in the form of recumbent sphinx on moulded rectangular plinth decorated on the frieze with acanthus scrolls flanked by Apollo's masks, on flattened bun feet

These elegant chenets are in good condition. The patination to the sphinxes has had minor areas of retouching. One chenet with a small crack to the lower section, and a dent to the top of the plinth. The back of the scrolling frieze and some of the feet probably replaced. They are ready to be placed.
"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:
Pierre Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris 1987, p. 214-5, fig. 241-42. 
Egyptomania. L’Egypte dans l’art occidental, exhibition catalogue, Musée du Louvre, Paris 1994, no. 29-30, p.87-91 and p. 282.  

The design of this elegant pair of chenets is inspired by one of the classic examples of the French bronzier’s art of the late 18th century, the pair of sphinx chenets supplied to Marie Antoinette’s Salon des Nobles at Versailles in 1786, illustrated by Verlet op. cit., p. 214-5, fig. 241-42. The latter were chased by the celebrated bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire after a design by Louis-Simon Boizot, chief sculptor of the Sèvres factory. The latter derived his design from reproductions of an Egyptian fourth century BC pair of black basalt recumbent sphinxes that were in the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome in the 18^th century and acquired by the Louvre in 1807, illustrated in Egyptomania. op. cit., no. 29-30, p. 87-91.  

The use of sphinxes as a motif for gilt-bronze objects reflected the growing interest in Ancient Egypt during the neoclassical period, inspired by Piranesi’s decoration of the Caffè degli Inglesi in Rome in the 1760s. Recumbent sphinxes would continue to appear in furniture and gilt-bronze models throughout the late Ancien Régime, Directoire and Empire periods, seen for example in a pair of chenets attributed to Lucien-François Feuchère of circa 1804, now at Malmaison illustrated in Egyptomania, op. cit., no. 163, p. 282.