Antique Gilt Bronze Candlesticks France 1800 Attributed to Jean Simon Deverberie

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Antique Gilt Bronze Candlesticks France 1800 Attributed to Jean Simon Deverberie

About the Item

A pair of Directoire (1795-1799) gilt bronze and patinated ‘le bon or noble sauvage’ candlesticks, attributed to Jean-Simon Deverberie, Paris, France, circa 1800. A very fine pair of Directoire gilt and patinated bronze candelsticks ‘Au Jeune Nègre / le bon suavage’, each with a patinated bronze figure of a young African girl with glass eyes wearing a beaded necklace and a tassel-hung loincloth, her outstretched arms holding in both hands a vase-shaped candleholder with bronze florale finials with a candle stem terminated by vase-shaped candleholders on its head, each figure standing on a circular gilt bronze base nicely decorated with florale ornaments. Measures: Height 32 cm, base 13 cm (each) Some artists were at the time to create a series of bronzes celebrating the theme of le bon sauvage. This ideal was itself encouraged by views of equality proposed by Rousseau and others and culminated in the abolition of slavery by the Convention in 1793. Interest in le bon sauvage continued throughout the Empire period despite Napoleon’s reintroduction in 1802 of slavery and the slave trade, as it existed in 1789. Writers and artists alike were inspired to address the notion of le bon sauvage, as expressed in Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ (1719), Jonathan Swift’s ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ (1724), as well ‘Paul et Virginie’ (1787) by B. de Saint-Pierre and ‘Atala’ (1801) by Vicomte de Chateaubriand. This striking pair of candlesticks, each formed as a young female caryatid African, also reflects the enduring fascination with exotic ornament in French art and architecture. Interest in the exotic during the late eighteenth century permeated French society more subtly through the Enlightenment concepts of le bon sauvage or noble savage and man’s gentle original nature as expressed by the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) and others. These ideas influenced writers such as Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, whose 1787 novel Paul et Virginie described a harmonious life between all races on the French island of Mauritius. Novels such as this as well as earlier accounts of real discoveries by men such as James Cook and Louis Antoine Bougainville together with the arrival in Europe in 1769 and 1775 of two natives from the South Seas – Aotourous and Omai, inspired a new wave within the fine and decorative arts illustrating the notion of le bon sauvage. Deverberie appears to be the first bronzier to create clock cases and candelabra/candlesticks on such a theme. Deverberie’s drawings and art works, now in the Cabinet des Estampes, Bibliothèque Nationale Paris include designs for the present pair as well as for other examples noted above. Deverberie enjoyed great success as a bronze manufacturer as well as a marchand-mercier. By 1800 he was established at rue Barbette; four years later at Boulevard du Temple and from 1812 until 1824 his business Deverberie & Compagnie was based at rue des Fosse. For any additional information, please visit our Storefront page at SELLER DIRECTORY or contact us using the ASK THE SELLER button, we'll be happy to answer any question by our 24/24 message service.

Attributed to:
Jean-Simon Deverberie (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 12.6 in (32 cm)Width: 5.12 in (13 cm)Depth: 5.12 in (13 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Style:
Empire (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Gilt,Patinated
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
18th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1800
Condition:
Pictures are part of the description.
Seller Location:
EL Waalre, NL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU343319861293