Pair of Ormulu Empire candlesticks, attributed to Claude Galle

A superb pair of Empire-style candlesticks in gilded bronze; the fluted shafts, shaped like column shafts, are topped by three female heads crowned with flowers beneath the candle holder. The circular base features standing human feet and foliage ornamentation. In fine condition. Period gilding. The quality of the piece leaves little doubt as to the artist who created them: Claude Galle in Paris.

Size: H 32 cm – diameter 15 cm

Background: Claude Galle (1759–1815) was one of the leading bronze artists and foundrymen-engravers of the late Louis XVI and Empire periods. Born in Villepreux, near Versailles, he served his apprenticeship in Paris with the foundryman Pierre Foy, whose daughter he married in 1784. Having qualified as a master foundryman in 1786, he took over his father-in-law’s workshop upon the latter’s death in 1788, and developed it into one of the most important in Paris, employing around 400 craftsmen. He set up his workshop on the Quai de la Monnaie, then, in 1805, at 60 Rue Vivienne. He collaborated with numerous craftsmen, including Pierre-Philippe Thomire, and supplied the majority of the bronze furnishings for the Château de Fontainebleau during the Empire. After his death, his son Gérard-Jean Galle (1788–1846) continued to run the workshop.