A FRENCH ORMOLU TWELVE-LIGHT CHANDELIER IN THE MANNER OF ANDRE-CHARLES...
The tripod central section ornamented with profile masks of Caesar and flanked by three scrolled supports headed by putti busts and children at play, issuing voluted branches from alternating female and male masks, electrified
281⁄2 in. (72.5 cm.) high, 363⁄4 in. (93.5 cm.) diameter
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's New York, 4 May 1984, lot 32.
Private collection; Christie's, London, 12 December 2002, lot 22.
Lot Essay
This chandelier is clearly inspired by the oeuvre of André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), ébéniste du Roi and regarded among the greatest cabinetmakers of all time. The closest parallels are the set of four eight-light chandeliers in the Bibliothèque Mazarin, Paris (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer/P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, fig., 1.6.10), which were confiscated from the duc de Brissac in 1795. This form, with term figures flanking either a vase or altar on the central stem, appears on other chandeliers attributed to Boulle, including one in the Louvre (op. cit, p. 52, fig. 1.6.5.), another in the Royal Palace, Stockholm, and another formerly in the Lopez-Willshaw Collection and now on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (op. cit., p. 52, fig. 1.6.6).
A design by Daniel Marot, from his Nouveaux Livre d'Orfevrie Inventé par Marot Architecte du Roi, published in 1710 but stylistically dating from twenty to thirty years earlier, shows the use of arms issuing from masks, as well as husk-trails decorating the channeled arms.
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The tripod central section ornamented with profile masks of Caesar and flanked by three scrolled supports headed by putti busts and children at play, issuing voluted branches from alternating female and male masks, electrified
281⁄2 in. (72.5 cm.) high, 363⁄4 in. (93.5 cm.) diameter
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's New York, 4 May 1984, lot 32.
Private collection; Christie's, London, 12 December 2002, lot 22.
Lot Essay
This chandelier is clearly inspired by the oeuvre of André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), ébéniste du Roi and regarded among the greatest cabinetmakers of all time. The closest parallels are the set of four eight-light chandeliers in the Bibliothèque Mazarin, Paris (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer/P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, fig., 1.6.10), which were confiscated from the duc de Brissac in 1795. This form, with term figures flanking either a vase or altar on the central stem, appears on other chandeliers attributed to Boulle, including one in the Louvre (op. cit, p. 52, fig. 1.6.5.), another in the Royal Palace, Stockholm, and another formerly in the Lopez-Willshaw Collection and now on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (op. cit., p. 52, fig. 1.6.6).
A design by Daniel Marot, from his Nouveaux Livre d'Orfevrie Inventé par Marot Architecte du Roi, published in 1710 but stylistically dating from twenty to thirty years earlier, shows the use of arms issuing from masks, as well as husk-trails decorating the channeled arms.
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
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