A PAIR OF GILT-BRONZE CANDELABRA, LOUIS XV, CIRCA 1750 |

with three lights ornemented with swirling branches and rocailles around which chimeras. The multi-part melted base is chiseled with lattice, rock, moss and waves

Comparative literature :D. Alcouffe, Cinq Années d'Enrichissement du Patrimoine National, 1975-1980, n° 97

P. Kjellberg, La Collection Grog. 6. Les Bronzes dorés, dans Connaissance des Arts, n° 266, avril 1974, p.100-101

The photograph is slightly too contrasted. The gilt bronzes are quite tarnished all throughout the surface and would benefit from a slight cleaning. Nice chasing and beautiful rococo model.
"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."

The same candelabras given by Mr. and Mrs. René Grog-Carven at the Louvre Museum have been the subject of a study by Mr. Daniel Alcouffe in the catalog of the Exhibition: Cinq Années d'Enrichissement du Patrimoine National, 1975- 1980, No. 97. Like ours, the Grog candelabra are both of the same model but reversed in relation to each other ; their extremely cut base is embedded in a broader rock base probably intended to improve their stability. Indeed the model "abbreviated", without the base or arms, exists : a pair of gilded bronze candlesticks adorned with silvered bronze child figures, a pair of which is preserved in the Wallace Collection of London (catalog No. F 78-79) and another pair is part of the Wrightsmann collection (Catalog No. 167).
But the models with children lights are very similar, as noted by Sir F. Watson, to the style of Meissonnier, especially the plates No. 10-11-12 of the Livre de chandeliers de sculpture en argent published in 1728. However, the style of Meissonnier's work is more fluid and bolder than on our candelabra models. These, by their nervous twist, rather evoke the work of Pineau.
Another study by Pierre Kjellberg on the Grog collection also mentions their play of animated and tortured lines giving them a certain lyricism (Connaissance des Arts, No. 266, April 1974, pp. 100-101). This pair of candelabra, presents the mark with the crowned C, which was affixed on the old and new bronzes as a tax between 1745 and 1749. Only the counter-base is not hallmarked, since it would be a element added later for reasons of stability, as noted above Mr. Daniel Alcouffe. Unmistakably French, the candelabras of the Louvre and ours are distinguished by their unbridled appearance, reminiscent of the Bavarian "Rococo" of which one of the great masters was the French François Cuviliès.
For comparative examples :


- Sale "Collection de Mr. X", Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, May 22, 1911, No. 53, for a pair of similar candelabras but topped above the bobeches of two branches.

- Sale Sotheby's, New York, November 8 and 9, 1985, lot 257 : old collection of Mrs. Henry L. Blum.
- Sale Sotheby's, Monaco, June 22, 1986, lot 476, for a pair of similar candelabra adorned with a shield with the arms of François Leonor Goyon Matignon de Grimaldi, Duke of Valentinois.