Pair 'Neo-Grec' Torchère Stands, Attributed to Barbedienne

A pair of bronze and Belge Noir marble porte-torchères in the manner of Barbedienne. French, circa 1870.

A Very Fine Pair of Regence Style Gilt-Bronze and Rouge Griotte Marble Jardinières on Stands. Each jardinière has a scrolling foliate frieze above a tapering rouge Griotte marble...

A very fine pair of Regence style gilt bronze and Rouge Griotte marble jardinières on stands.  French, circa 1870. Each jardinière has a scrolling foliate frieze above a taperi...

A Pair of North European Mahogany Pedestals. The circular tops above gadrooned rims and leaf carved capitals. Supported on three columnar uprights with leaf carved and ball feet. On...

An unusual pair of French engraved low candlesticks with and delicately incised and decorated base , the middle has two rams head , and floral motif. original silvering under the bas...

Due to their utilitarian nature, surviving pairs of 17th century candle stands/torchères are extremely rare and generally only seen today in great houses. The quality of the marquetry decoration and the attention to detail indicate that these candle stands were probably made for a substantial household. The turned stems displays the skill of the turner, and create fluidity, variety of form, emphasing the quality of the solid walnut grain and the floral inlay as well as holding and balancing the form of the top. The sweeping, scroll feet balance the proportion and fluidity of the candle stands/torchères, giving them presence. They are sturdy and in excellent condition. Virtually identical turnings and form. Both with octagonal tops, one with a central marquetry floral spray, the other plain. The upper sections with solid walnut baluster and ring turnings leading into lower octagonal sections decorated with marquetry floral sprays repeated 3 times. The stems supported by octagonal blocks with a repeat of the floral spray and scroll tripod bases with two floral sprays on the upper facing sections. Excellent original colour and patina. English. Height 96cm, Top diameter 29cm Moveable stands to support a candlestick or lamp were intended to supplement the fixed lighting arrangements of rooms. The evidence of inventories suggests that they did not become common in France until about 1650 when they accompanied fine tables and cabinets. Such stands, being sometimes in the form of gueridons. The fashion for decorative candlestands spread rapidly after the Restoration, when they were often made en-suite to flank a sidetable with a mirror above. Such sets are mentioned in lists of household goods and by contemporary writers. In 1664, for instance, Mary Verney is anxious to obtain “a table and stands of the same coler”. The Academy of Armory, published in 1688, defines a candle-stand as a “little round table...

This exquisite pair of 19th-century French candelabras is crafted from finely chiseled bronze in the Greek style. Each candelabra features a luxurious base made from royal red marble...

Pair of Egyptian style Torchères with hermes and female busts on the stems, on flared griffon feet, attributed to Agostino Fantastici. The plates are supported by finely worked palmettes. Mahogany, partly black lacquered and gilded. Attr. Agostino Fantastici, Siena circa 1820 Born in 1782 to Bernardino and Margherita Boddi. He learned his first notions of architecture from his father, a professor of mathematics at the University of Siena and a hydraulic engineer. He trained first in Siena, then in Rome, and was active both during the French occupation and, above all, during the Restoration period. His work was very wide-ranging and included numerous projects, mainly in Senegal. The first years of activity included the prison in the former convent of Santa Marta (1811), the conversion of the convent of Sant'Agostino to the Liceo (1811), the church of San Salvatore (1812-1832), work on Palazzo Griffoli in Lucignano (1815-1818), the new tribune for the church of the Madonna (1812-1832) ; the new tribune for the church of the bishopric of Santa Maria della Scala (1815-1818); the Duomo of Montalcino (1817-1832), his masterpiece as a sacred building, and the façade of the Duomo of Colle di Val d'Elsa; the portico and scaffolding of the Council of Tolome in Sant'Agostino (1818, with Francesco Paccagnini). In Siena he also worked at the Teatro dei Rinnovati (1832), the Teatro dei Rozzi and the Duomo, as well as creating ponti, dighe, steccati and pescaie ; in the fifth century of the Ottocento, he worked on the church of San Giuseppe, where a new chapel was created, on the church of San Leonardo, on the altar of the church of Saints Peter and Paul, on the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre and on the slates of the church of Santa Maria in Provenzano, and on the church of San Pietro alla Magione. Among his works of residential architecture, he designed the façade of Palazzo Pozzesi (1823), the refurbishment of Palazzo Puccioni, Palazzo Staderini, Palazzo Brancadori (1828) and the Borghesi Casino (1825), the gardens of Villa di Scorgiano and Casa Malavolti, the extension and interior stage of Villa Spannocchi, Villa Il Pavone...