Pair of torches in chased and gilt bronze...

Pair of torches in chased and gilt bronze by Galle, Empire
period. Smooth shaft decorated with stars and surmounted by owls finished with claw feet, on a round
base decorated with palmettes.
Gilding wear. Small accidents.
H. 29.5 cm

Provenance: former collection Maurice Fenaille (1855-1937), then by descent.

Claude Galle (1759-1815), received master in 1786, provided the
Garde-Meuble under Louis XVI and during the Empire. In 1799, one finds in its stock "a pair of
owl torches" estimated at 54 francs. A similar pair is kept at the Château de Fontainebleau in the second salon of the Empress in 1807.

See Jean-Pierre Samoyault, Pendules et bronzes d'ameublement entrés sous le Premier Empire, Catalogue des collections du mobilier, Château de Fontainebleau, p.176 figure 157. An identical pair, Le Fuel, sale Fontainebleau, 10 April 2016 n°195. For a pair of candelabra with the same
torches, see Sothebys London, 13 June 2004, lot 304.
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