Pair 19 C. French Ormolu Four Arm Candelabra with Putti, After Pierre Gouthière

Description

A Pair of 19th Century French Ormolu Four Arm Candelabra/vases with Putti, After the Model by Pierre Gouthière, attributed to Henry Dasson. Each candelabrum is of lidded vase form, featuring a spirally fluted and waisted neck surmounted by a domed lid with a pinecone finial. The neck is flanked by two seated putti, symmetrically positioned on either side, with defined facial features and textured hair. The putti rest their hands on the handles, which take the form of cornucopia terminating in fruiting foliate nozzles. The bronze quality, hand chizzeling, detail, and gilding on these vases all point to the work of the renowned Parisian bronzier: Henry Dasson. The part-gadrooned body is centered to both the front and back by a foliate-entwined female mask, framed by oak leaf garlands. The scrolling handles extend outward, flanking the central masks, and are cast in the form of cornucopia filled with fruit and foliage. These elements transition into four curved candle arms, each terminating in a foliate-cast nozzle. The candelabra rest on a circular spreading socle, cast with a stiff-leaf design and bordered by a beaded edge. The base is raised on four lion-paw feet. The design of these candelabra is based on a model attributed to Pierre Gouthière, created around 1775 for use as chimney garnitures. Among the few remaining 18th-century examples, a pair that was likely in the collection of Empress Joséphine at the Tuileries Palace is now in the Musée du Louvre, as illustrated in Gilt Bronzes in the Louvre (p. 110, fig. 51). Another example, formerly in the collection of Baron Henri de Rothschild, is now in the J. Paul Getty Museum (Summary Catalogue of European Decorative Arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum, 2001, p. 78, fig. 155). Further related examples are held in the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Palace of Pavlovsk (Catalogue of the Jones Collection, vol. II, 1922, p. 55, cat. 204; Pavlovsk – The Collections, 1993, p. 188, fig. 22). A closely related pair of ormolu and white marble candelabra-vases was sold from Hackwood House at Christie’s house sale, 20–22 April 1998, lot 111. France, Circa: 1870

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