Pair of ormolu candlesticks

France, Louis XV period, circa 1735-1740
Chased and gilt bronze

Similar example:
- Pair of candlesticks, Louis XV period, private collection.

The restless base of these ormolu candlesticks is adorned with alternating asymmetrical rocaille cartouches and fluted motifs on an amati background underlined by scrolls.
The baluster shaft is adorned with gadrooned motifs up to the shoulder. The latter is decorated with scrolling leaves, before stretching in a twisted movement to the binet.
This upper part, also sinuous, is decorated with palms, chiseled wheat ears and curves. Scrolls adorn the neck.


The elegant rocaille swirl
Ormolu candlesticks proliferated in the first decades of the 18th century. Intended to be used in pairs on mantels, tables, desks, chests of drawers, etc., their shapes, designed to be viewed from different angles, are the ideal vehicle for rocaille experiments with swirling forms animated by asymmetrical curves, as well as ornaments derived from the plant and marine world. Scrolls and palmettes stretch gracefully along the surfaces, swirling around silhouettes populated by shells and flowers in a graceful, serene movement far removed from the rococo bustle too quickly associated with rocaille.
The asymmetry of rocaille compositions is in fact perfectly controlled. In goldsmiths' and silversmiths' work, the central part culminates in a widening base, guiding the eye vertically up to the upper part, with a play of undulating curves and counter-curves in which the decorations continue.

Bibliography
-Pierre Verlet, Les bronzes dorés français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, éditions Picard, 2003, p.190- 197.