Clearly influenced by Egyptomania, these elegant candelabra are products of an Italian workshop and are related to the oeuvres of two of the most celebrated Italian silversmiths and bronze-founders of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839) and Francesco Righetti (1749-1919). Valadier’s influence is particularly strong as the plinths mounted with ormolu swags are very similar to those used by him in a number of his creations. In the exhibition dedicated to his workshop's production ('Valadier', Exhibition Catalogue, London, 1991), a number of drawings were displayed which bear close relation to the plinths of these candelabra, such as the bases for the group of the Flagellation (no. 62, p. 119). Similar laurel trails adorn the plinth of Giuseppe’s father, Luigi Valadier's designs for the Saints of the Monreale altarpiece (no. 45, pp. 79-81). Giuseppe Valadier is also well-known for incorporating Egyptian figures into his designs, an example of which is a pair of ormolu candelabra featuring standing Isis priest caryatides sold Christie’s, London, 2 December 1998, lot 69. Valadier’s Egyptian figures were most likely inspired by the two Egyptian figures flanking the entrance of the Museo Pio-Clementino, which were originally part of the famous Roman villa of Hadrian at Tivoli. These figures appear as early as in the 1780s in the work of Luigi Valadier on three clocks, see A. González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Milan, 1984, vol. I, plate XXI.