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Pair of bronze candlesticks (silver and gold) finely chopped, with a woman's busts of the ancient décor topped with Greek, was shaped column decorated with pearls, round base chiselled foliage and pinecones, signed F. Barbedienne & Co. *, Napoleon III nineteenth century.
These candlesticks are in good condition and are of high quality. They are signed on the back busts.
A note: the silvering is clean, some small shocks and wear of time, see pictures.
was a French industrialist. He is best known for his bronze foundry art reproduction. The son of a small farmer Norman, he made a first fortune in wallpaper before teaming up in 1838 with the mechanic Achille Collas (1795-1859), who had invented a process of reproduction in bronze and smaller scale art objects. In 1839, Barbedienne founded the house in which he reproduced in bronze statues of most European museums, small enough to be able to decorate the modern interiors. His idea was to democratize art by making it accessible to faithful reproductions of masterpieces. The themes chosen are often allegorical, and largely draw from the ancient repertoire. Even today, it is quite common to find in the "bourgeois" Homes Barbedienne signed bronzes. He applied his methods to the work of the sculptors of his era (Barye, Fremiet, Lead, etc.) and created a large number of bronze models of furniture, enamel, cloisonné, tops and wooden reliefs etc. By publishing contracts he proposed to them, he contributed to their success through the dissemination of their works. Being childless is his nephew and successor, Gustave Leblanc-Barbedienne who developed the foundry specializing in monumental bronzes. In France, many memorials are signed Leblanc-Barbedienne. The quality of the casting, the chasing and patina, the Barbedienne own way made gradually, the signature of the founder has gained importance. Thanks to Ferdinand Barbedienne, the chipmaker to report sculptor has become analogous to the relationship between composer and interpreter of music. Ferdinand Barbedienne rests in the cemetery of Père-Lachaise in Paris.
