Important Napoleon III Chandelier

An important chandelier of Napoleon III period in the style of Louis XVI, with eight arms of light decorated with foliage holding twenty-eight lights on two levels. The central shaft is decorated with a neoclassical fire urn placed on a bouquet of roses around a torch and a quiver with arrows. The whole is crowned with garlands of flowers and bows.

The Napoleon III style is the apotheosis of eclecticism and pastiche. Pompeian, Chinoiserie, Neo-Renaissance, Louis XV, Louis XVI, etc. Excessive ostentation, the style plays with ornamentation, a love of luxury and pomp. Accumulation is the golden rule and grandeur the preferred ploy. For the lover of historic styles, the Napoleon III era is a delight. This chandelier is especially successful and comprehensive example of this style. All grammar of Napoleon III style is defined : the taste of Louis XVI style and Neoclassical reference of the central fire urn. The size of this chandelier, with its twenty-eight lights is as much an exceptional lighting object as a sophisticated sculpture. The carving is particularly well highlighted by its gold and medal patina.