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Pair of gilt bronze candlesticks entirely and finely chiseled, binet decorated with small flowers and foliage, fluted shaft on a round base decorated with beautiful intertwined plant garlands as well as palmettes, from the 1st Empire period at the beginning of the 19th century.
These candlesticks are in good condition and are of exceptional quality and fineness of carving.
A note: some tiny shocks and deformations on the feet, some soiling and wear of time, see photos.
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The candlestick or torch becomes in the 17th century synonymous with candlestick , then more precisely of table candlestick or fireplace with a single light. Generally arranged in pairs, the candlesticks are made up of three parts made of silver, bronze or silver metal and which are screwed into one another: the foot, the shaft and the binet. In the 17th century , the torches had a fluted barrel , fairly short and square in section, resting on a large square base or with cut sides. Their silhouette is not very elegant but they are stable.
At the start of the 18th century , the candlestick adopted the slender shape that has become familiar to us: a cantilevered baluster shaft , slightly pyramidal octagonal base, surmounted by an inverted tulip bulge. The classic cut-off torch was made until the turn of the century. A society in love with refinement, however, prefers more sophisticated ornamentation: twisted ribs on the base, friezes of ovals, gadroons, cartouches, staples and rockeries sown on the shaft and the binet, garlands of flowers; other candlesticks are decorated with Cupids, extraordinary rockeries, caryatids .
Under the Empire, the truncated conical shaft on a circular base and the flared tulip binet abruptly replaced the baluster silhouette, the whole being enhanced by a slight frieze in palm leaves. After the Restoration , the silver or bronze torch returned to its previous forms. But it loses its utilitarian role and becomes a simple extra, on either side of the fireplace.
