Pair of bronze candlesticks by Meissonnier, Paris circa 1740

Rare pair of finely chased and mercury-gilded bronze candlesticks.
Rococo-style model with trilobed bases with double rows of acanthus scrolls and gadroon friezes; on which rest stems and bobeches decorated with acanthus rooster-crested scrolls and delicately whip-shaped scrolls.

Very fine chasing quality; original mercury gilding.

Beautiful condition, with signs of wear to the gilding.

Parisian work, Louis XV period, circa 1740-1750, after designs by the ornamentalist Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier.

Dimensions:

Height: 25 cm; base diameter: 15 cm

- A similar pair of candlesticks is housed at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. (Inv. No. 1977.178.2)

- A pair close to Christie's London sale, December 2, 1998, lot 44 (14,950 GBP)

- The design of our candlesticks was published in the collection "Fifth Book of the Works of Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier," engraved by Gabriel Huquier in 1745.

Our opinion:

Our pair of candlesticks represents the height of the Rococo style that affected Paris in the decade 1740-1750.
The great French ornamentalists, such as Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), the Slodtz brothers, and Juste-Auréle Meissonnier (1695-1750), were the undisputed masters of an exuberant and uninhibited rocaille that invaded the decorative arts. The shape of our candlesticks originates from a piece of goldwork designed by Meissonnier in 1735 for the Duke of Kingston; the silver candelabra from this commission, hallmarked by the goldsmith Claude Duvivier (1688-1747), is now housed at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. (Inv. No. 32.632).
Like many of Meissonnier's works, the design for this candelabra was engraved by Gabriel Huquier and published around 1745 in a collection entitled "Fifth Book of the Works of Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier."
From this project stemmed a variant of candlesticks, the design of which was also engraved and published by Huquier (plate 14).
While the goldsmith Claude Duvivier collaborated with Meissonnier on the silver pieces, we know nothing of the founder-chasers who worked with the latter on the bronze pieces. The extreme quality of the carving and its profusion point us towards leading bronze makers such as Jacques Caffieri or Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain, but at present, the absence of marks and precise inventories prevents us from formally identifying them.
The rarity of torches of this type, however, suggests that the distribution of this model, which represents the quintessence of the Rococo style, was restricted to a Parisian elite.