Pair of Bronze Sconces with Seven Branches

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Pair of Bronze Sconces with Seven Branches

About the Item

Monumental pair of bronze sconces with seven branches. Two big branches are held by a bow with love knot, they are the sculptural protagonists from which the seven candleholder branches depart. A floral corolla supports a curled chalice shaped as a tulip, where the candle is placed. The branches, enriched with leaves and berries, are finely chiselled. Entirely gilded with paint, one of the two presents an additional branch in the middle, without a candleholder that is used to fill up the space. The fasteners are handmade. Historical and stylistic analysis: The model is without a doubt derived by the sconces realized by Thomas Germain (Paris, 1726-1791, master of Ladatte). There are four of them preserved in the Getty museum that are marked with the writing “FAIT PAR F.T. GERMAIN SCULP. ORF. DU ROY ADY GALLERIES DU LOUVRE A PARIS 1756” and with the inventory number on another branch “1051 lux ..2”, in another subsequent non-melting inventory, it reports “n°28 CP”, surmounted by a crown. The story of this sconce is very interesting. The first well-known arrangement was for the residence of Louis Philippe d’Orleans (1725-1785), for his parade room and the ballroom of the Royal Palace. His son, Louis Philippe Joseph, duke d’Orleans, sold them to the French Crown through the merchant Feuchere. They were brought to the PAlace of Versailles at first and from 1787 to the Castle of Compiegne, where they had been used by Mary Antoinette until the nationalization of the castle by the revolutionary government in 1792. From there on, they became a possession of Archibald Primrose, fifth count of Rosebery, who placed them in the main dining room of his flat at 38, Berkeley Square in London. During the 20th century, they changed ownership again, until the Paul Getty Museum got them through a Sotheby’s auction in Munich in 1981. The Thomas Germain sconces were described as one of the most important pieces of the times by the Encyclopedia of Diderot in 1762. The history of these sconces is interesting because it allows us to understand how they have been considered of great interest until the beginning of the 19th century. The two sconces described in this file are the same identical model of those made by T. Germain, but made bigger in dimension and in the number of branches, clearly for a larger location. The realization is very similar, the handmade chisel and screws allow us to date the sconces to the first years of the 19th century, when the original models were still in the Palace of Luxembourg. The gilding is painted on with particular attention to create a clear opaque effect similar to mercury gildings, and it is the detail that doesn’t allow us to date the two objects earlier. Bibliography: Diderot, Denis and Jean le Rond d'Alembert, Encyclopédie ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Planches. vol. 1 (Paris, 1762), s.v. "architecture," plates XXXII-XXXIII. Colle, Enrico, Angela Griseri, Roberto Valeriani. Bronzi decorativi in Italia: Bronzisti e fonditori italiani dal seicento all'ottocento. Repertori d'arti decorative, Milano, Electa, 2001, p. 112, ill. 113.

Similar to:
François-Thomas Germain (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 38.19 in (97 cm)Width: 27.56 in (70 cm)Depth: 20.87 in (53 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Style:
Other (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Other
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
Early 19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1800s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Milano, IT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1721223276912