Offered by Franck Baptiste Paris
Pair of bronze sconces in the shape of women’s busts, Paris end of the 18th century.
Rare pair of finely chiseled bronze sconces gilded with mercury.?The shafts in the shape of women's busts finished with intertwined acanthus scrolls.?The two arms of light simulating the upper limbs of women, with plant decoration of foliage and bunches of grapes.??Very good state of preservation ; high quality cold carving, original mercury gilding with a matt and shiny double patina.??Parisian work from the end of the 18th century attributed to Robert-Joseph Auguste. (1757-1801)*??Dimensions :??Height : 40cm; Width : 27cm.??Bibliography :??S. Faniel, "The French 18th century", Knowledge of the Arts Collection, Hachette, 1956, p. 128, fig. B.??H. Ottomeyer, P. Proschel et al., "Vergoldete Bronzen", Munich, 1986, Vol. I, p.288, fig. 4.16.4.??Similar model :??-Metropolitan Museum New York (former Wrightsman Collection)??Our opinion :??Our sublime pair of sconces fits perfectly into the neoclassical current and the "Greek taste" which spread in Paris at the end of the 18th century. The model is traditionally attributed to the famous goldsmith Robert-Joseph Auguste (1757-1801).??This attribution is based on the description of a pair of sconces appearing in the Blondel de Gagny sale on December 10-24 1776, under number 1033, thus described : "A pair of arms with three branches of gilded bronze, very well executed , & of the composition of M. Auguste ; the body of each arm represents a woman's bust".?In addition, the drawing of a comparable woman's bust for a chandelier with six sconces can be found in the collection published by Jean-François Forty around 1768 "A l'Usage des Orfèvres et des Fondeurs" (cfr. Guilmard, " Les Maîtres Ornemanistes", Vol. I, p. 240).??*Robert-Joseph Auguste, born March 23, 1723 in Valenciennes and died in 1805 in Paris, was a royal sculptor and goldsmith to Louis XV and Louis XVI.??Failing to have validated an apprenticeship certificate, Robert Joseph Auguste obtained his entry into the guild of goldsmiths in December 1756, by order of the King's council and deposited his hallmark in January 1757.?He was appointed goldsmith to the king on March 23, 1775.?He was pushed by the Marquise de Pompadour, for whom he made a salt and pepper shaker in the round in gold through the intermediary of the mercer Lazare Duvaux.?A large part of his production disappeared following the castings of Louis XV and the revolutionaries, but his work is known thanks to his international clientele, in particular Christian VII of Denmark, Catherine II of Russia or George III of England who all placed important commissions.?
He did an apprenticeship with the Roëttiers.
His son, Henri Auguste took over the family workshop in 1784-1785.
The Louvre Museum currently has 45 pieces of the French service commissioned by King George III of England and Hanover, delivered between 1777 and 1786.
