Studio RT Ltd

Description

This is a superb pair of early 19th Century French Empire Period Gilt Brass Lustres. They have urn shaped sconces that are bronzed, with a reeded central band and the drip pans are decorated with grapes and fruit, below which is a circlet of roses and leaves from which issue the button and icicle drops, with nine drops on each stick. The circular base is similarly decorated to the sconces, as is also the top of the central column, which is decorated with bronzed metal appliques of leaves and rope twists, in keeping with the period. They have weighted bases.

All Empire ornament is governed by a rigorous spirit of symmetry reminiscent of the Louis XIV style. Generally, the motifs on a piece's right and left sides correspond to one another in every detail when they don't, the individual motifs themselves are entirely symmetrical in composition: antique heads with identical tresses falling onto each shoulder, frontal figures of Victory with symmetrically arrayed tunics, identical rosettes or swans flanking a lock plate, etc. Like Louis XIV, Napoleon had a set of emblems unmistakably associated with his rule, most notably the eagle, the bee, stars, and the initials I (for Imperator) and N (for Napoleon), which were usually inscribed within an imperial laurel crown. Motifs used include: figures of Victory bearing palm branches, Greek dancers, nude and draped women, figures of antique chariots, winged putti, mascarons of Apollo, Hermes and the Gorgon, swans, lions, the heads of oxen, horses and wild beasts, butterflies, claws, winged chimeras, sphinxes, bucrania, sea horses, oak wreaths knotted by thin trailing ribbons, climbing grape vines, poppy rinceaux, rosettes, palm branches, and laurel. There's a lot of Greco-Roman ones: stiff and flat acanthus leaves, palmettes, cornucopias, beads, amphoras, tripods, imbricated disks, caduceuses of Mercury, vases, helmets, burning torches, winged trumpet players, and ancient musical instruments (tubas, rattles and especially lyres). Despite their antique derivation, the fluting and triglyphs so prevalent under Louis XVI are abandoned.

Height: 9 1/4 inches - 23.2cm

Diameter of base: 3 1/4inches - 8.25cm

Material: Gilt brass and glass

Weight: .84kg each

Condition: Immaculate. In perfect condition. There is no damage to the drops.