SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY

The present pair of candelabra relates closely to the oeuvre of François Rémond (d. 1812; maitre 1774). They are based on a series of candelabra, all of which remain in important collections, attributed to Rémond, who, along with Pierre Gouthière, was perhaps the most celebrated bronzier of the Louis XVI period. The elegant vase-form bodies flanked by bacchantes issuing wonderfully life-like sprays of flowering lilies, demonstrate the enduring popularity in the Restauration period for the best models of bronzes d’ameublement from the ancien régime. A pair of candelabra, dating from 1782-3, with similarly designed body may be found in the Wallace Collection, London (see P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection; Catalogue of Furniture, London, 1996, Vol. III, pp 1236-1240, no. 244 (F132-3). Pairs of candelabra of related design may be found in the Frick Collection, New York, and in the Huntington Library, Los Angeles. Examples of candelabra featuring similar exuberant lily-spray arms include examples in the Musée Jaquemart André, Paris and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (see H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel, et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 259, figs. 4.7.11-12).