Large Pair of Louis XVI Wall Lights with Rams in Chiseled and Gilded Bronze, circa 1770
Une importante et exceptionnelle paire d’appliques à trois bras de lumière, en bronze finement ciselé et doré, dans une magnifique dorure au mercure d’époque ; ornées de feuilles d’acanthe retenant des guirlandes de feuilles de chêne, réunies par une tête de bélier et sommées d’un pot à feu.
This magnificent French work fits perfectly within the neoclassical style of the 1770s. It is reminiscent of a design attributed to the famous architect and ornamentalist Jean-Charles Delafosse (cfr. H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, Vol. I, p.186, fig. 3.9.5.).
Dimensions:
Height: 20.5 inches.
Width: 15.4 inches.
Depth: 11 inches.
Our sconces are kept in fine original condition, they have been pierced to be electrified. They are offered in their original gilding with some small wear that make the charm of these objects of the French 18th century.
A pair of three-light wall sconces, with the shaft adorned in the center with a ram's head, is preserved at the Musée du Louvre and illustrated in ibid p.186, fig. 3.9.2.
Other examples with two lights are listed at the Residenz in Munich.
Jean Charles Delafosse (1734-1789) was a French architect, ornamentalist, painter and engraver.
His most famous collection of engravings is the Nouvelle iconologie historique, first published in 1768 and subsequently republished and modified many times.
He was an important theorist of the Louis XVI ‘square’ style and the beginnings of neo-classicism.
His influence was apparent in the decoration of Parisian houses between 1760 and 1780.
