CIRCA 1775

Although the bronzier responsible for this pair of candelabra remains unrecorded, the model itself enjoyed enormous success in both the 18th and 19th Centuries and shares much in common with the oeuvre of the sculpteur Claude Michel, dit Clodion and that of Louis Félix de la Rue (H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et. al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, Vol. I, p. 210, no. XXVIII).

This model was particularly admired by English connoisseurs throughout the 19th Century and many of the candelabra they bought remained in the same distinguished collections until comparatively recently. These include the pair recorded in the possession of the comtesse de Flahaut at Coventry House, London in 1863 and subsequently sold by the Trustees of the Meiklour Settlement, Christie's London, 11 June 1992, lot 50, as well as those sold by the 6th Lord Ashburton, K.C.V.O., Christie's London, 19 March 1964, lot 58. A further pair, purchased by a Mr. Fortnum in London in 1852 from the collection of Léopold I, King of the Belgians, is now conserved in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.