A pair of Louis XVI-style gilt-bronze five-light wall appliques, 19th century, after the model by Thomire

Acquired from Yann Allée, Paris, May 2001.

These spectacular wall lights are created after a well-known ancien régime model that can today be seen in the Petit Trianon (OA 5250.1, OA 5250.2, OA 5251.1 and OA 5251.2), with another Louis XVI example of the model in the Getty Museum (83.DF.23). An article by Daniel Meyer written for the Gazette des Beaux-Arts in 1972 was the first to match them to an entry in the 1787 records of the royal Garde-Meuble, stating that the three pairs cost 5,388 livres in total, were delivered under the direction of Jean Hauré and were created by the great Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843).¹ They were created for the King’s Games Room at Saint-Cloud during its period of renovation by Marie-Antoinette; other important furniture from this redecoration project includes a magnificent suite of seating furniture by Georges Jacob (see the example in the MET, 07.225.107).

In 1789, the wall lights were still at Saint-Cloud, and are described in that year’s inventory as:

Trois fortes paires de bras de bronze doré or moulu à cinq branches, chaque partie composée d'un vase long, surmonté d’une corne d'abondance à fleurs et fruits, le bas du vase terminé par des paquets de feuilles de chêne; la panse du vase ornée de trois figures et guirlandes de fleurs et fruits. Les branches à cannelures Torses et enroulements, les bassins ronds à bord godronné avec Leurs bobèches; le Tout supporté par une écharpe brunie à nœud et clou figuré. 40 po de haut sur 23 po de face.²

Three strong pairs of five-light appliques in gilt bronze, each section comprising a long vase headed by a cornucopia with flowers and fruit, the bottom of the vase terminating in bunches of oak leaves; the body of the vase decorated with three faces and festoons of flowers and fruit. The branches with twisted fluting and scrolls, the round gadrooned nozzles with their drip-pans; the whole held up by a sash tied in a bow and with a false nail. 40 pouces high [approx. 108cm] and 23 pouces wide [approx. 62cm].

After the Revolution, they were prized as models of artistic excellence and were often put on display: Empress Eugenie had one pair in her bedroom at Saint-Cloud,³ while they were also shown variously in the Palace of Versailles and the Petit Trianon during the nineteenth century.⁴ They were transferred to the ownership of the Louvre in 1901 and have now been hanging in the Reception Room of the Petit Trianon for just over 50 years.⁵

The model’s continued popularity is reflected in production of high-quality nineteenth-century copies such as the present lot. One example of these in the Wallace Collection (F378); the present lot is unusual in adding the interlaced 8-form branches to the trompe-l’oeil ribbon from which the light appears to hang.

¹ D. Meyer, ‘Les bras de lumière du Salon des jeux de Louis XVI à Saint-Cloud’, Gazette des Beaux Arts, January 1972. FIND THIS ARTICLE.

² Ref the 1789 from either Meyer or Wallace

³ B. Chevallier (ed.), Saint-Cloud : le palais retrouvé, Paris, 2013, p.259.

⁴ See provenance field for the entries on the Versailles website:

⁵ The Louvre’s cataloguing states that they were moved to the Petit Trianon on the 18^th November 1974 (OA 5251 1)