19th Century Art Nouveau Pair of French Bronze Mermen Candlesticks

A very fine bronze study of Venus taking an arrow from Cupid her son, who at times would shoot his arrows without meaning or reason into the hearts of men, igniting their desire. Exhibiting excellent rich brown patina and good detail, signed Sul Abadie and stamped. Additional information Height: 93 cm Condition: excellent condition Circa: 1885 Materials: bronze & marble SKU: 4979 ABOUT Jean Sul-Abadie Jean Sul-Abadie (Born 1850 ~ Died 15th April 1890) was a French artist, a pupil of Jouffroy and Falguière. Specialising in bronze sculpting in the Art Nouveau style. He made his Salon debut in 1872. Cupid & Venus Different tales exist about the origin of Venus and Cupid. Some say that Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, had a love affair with Mars, the god of war. Out of this relationship, Cupid was born. In the following painting you see Venus with Mars, who is being disarmed by Cupid. Cupid has attributes from both of his parents. Like his mother he is considered to be the god of love, or more precisely, the god of falling in love. He is portrayed as an innocent little child with bow and arrows. He shoots arrows to the heart, and awakening a love that you’re powerless to resist. In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupido, meaning “desire”) is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the war god Mars, and is known in Latin also as Amor (“Love”). His Greek counterpart is Eros. Although Eros is in Classical Greek art as a slender winged youth, during the Hellenistic period, he was increasingly portrayed as a chubby boy. During this time, his iconography acquired the bow and arrow that represent his source of power: a person, or even a deity, who is shot by Cupid’s arrow is filled with uncontrollable desire. In myths, Cupid is a minor character who serves mostly to set the plot in motion. He is a main character only in the tale of Cupid and Psyche, when wounded by his own weapons he experiences the ordeal of love. Although other extended stories are not told about him, his tradition is rich in poetic themes and visual scenarios, such as “Love conquers all” and the retaliatory punishment or torture of Cupid. In art, Cupid often appears in multiples as the Amores, or amoriniin the later terminology of art history, the equivalent of the Greek erotes. Cupids are a frequent motif of both Roman art and later Western art of the classical tradition. In the 15th century, the iconography of Cupid starts to become indistinguishable from the putto. Cupid continued to be a popular figure in the Middle Ages, when under Christian influence he often had a dual nature as Heavenly and Earthly love. In the Renaissance, a renewed interest in classical philosophy endowed him with complex allegorical meanings. In contemporary popular culture, Cupid is shown drawing his bow to inspire romantic love, often as an icon of Valentine’s Day. Venus is the Roman goddess whose functions encompassed love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity, victory, and desire. In Roman mythology, she was the mother of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy...

"Ormolu Cassolettes" A highly attractive pair of late 19th Century gilt bronze and onyx cassolettes. The onyx cassolette pots raised on gilt bronze tripod decorated with raised faces and acorns exhibiting excellent hand finished detail ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Height: 25.5 cm Width: 10 cm Depth: 10 cm Condition: Excellent Condition Circa: 1890 Materials: Bronze & Onyx SKU: 9167 ABOUT Ormolu is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold–mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and for objects finished in this way.The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury-gilding or fire-gilding, in which a solution of mercuric nitrate is applied to a piece of copper, brass, or bronze; followed by the application of an amalgam of gold and mercury. The item is then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury vaporizes and the gold remains, adhering to the metal object...

A very fine late 19th Century Art Nouveau bronze figure of a young girl sat upon a well feeding a small bird, exhibting excellent rich brown variegated patina and very fine hand fini...

An attractive pair of Art Nouveau ceramic candlesticks in muted vellum tones with gilded highlights modelled with two young girls kneeling within shallow handled dishes with their ar...

A Large Pair of antique French Louis XV/XVI Patinated & Doré Bronze Putti Form Candelabra on Marble Bases. This Large Pair of 19th Century French Patinated and Doré Bronze Putti For...

A fine pair of French 19th century gilt bronze and patinated bronze figural four-light candelabra, each modeled as a baby Bacchus, in the form of a child faun, seated on tree trunk a...

A pair of heavy patinated bronze sculpture candelabra, France mid-19th century. Two female sculptures holding a candleholder raised on a br...

A pair of heavy patinated bronze sculpture candelabra, France, mid-19th century. Two female sculptures holding a candleholder raised on a b...