Objets d’art

Objets d’art

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Candelabra

Candelabra were usually placed in pairs on the mantelpiece and on the console table against the opposite wall. This three-branch candelabrum’s ornate gilt bronze decoration is characteristic of both the Louis XVI style and the new interest in Antiquity that emerged in the 1790s and triumphed under the Empire.

  • Paire de candélabres

    Paris, vers 1780-1790
    bronze patiné et bronze doré
    legs ALEXIS GODILLOT, 1938

    inv. 33823 A et B
  • Projet pour une table-console et sa garniture

    JEAN-DEMOSTHENE DUGOURC (1749-1825)
    Paris, vers 1790
    dessin à la plume, encre noire et rehauts d’aquarelle
    don DAVID DAVID-WEILL, 1924

    inv. CD 2703

The fireplace

The firedogs were an integral part of the fireplace’s decoration, with the mantel mirror, the lamps on either side and, as here, the pair of candelabra on the mantelpiece. The ornamental gilt bronze fronts of the firedogs support the bars maintaining the logs in the hearth. The lionesses resting on their draped bases are guarding the fire. The work of their unknown creator is an example of the mastery of the founders, gilders and chasers active in the last third of the 18th century, who, like Pierre Gouthière, Pierre-Philippe Thomire and Pierre-Auguste Forestier, elevated the art of gilt bronze to its greatest heights.

  • Paire de chenets

    Paris, vers 1785
    bronze, fer dorure
    don de la VICOMTESSE MARGUERITE DE PONCINS, 1946

    inv. 35404 A et B

Vases

These decorative vases matched the decorative fittings on the mantelpiece and furniture. Here they complement the other chased and gilt bronze pieces. Often the work of several artisans, they were produced from drawings by an ornamental sculptor or architect. The bronze founder commissioned a sculptor to execute a wooden model, which he then reproduced in wax to cast the bronze. When the piece had been cast, the chaser accentuated the detail of the decoration and the piece was gilded.

  • Paire de vases

    attribuée à PIERRE-PHILIPPE THOMIRE (1751-1843), bronzier
    Paris, vers 1790-1800
    bronze ciselé et doré
    legs COMTESSE de VALENCIA DE DON JUAN, 1918

    inv. 21120 A et B