AN AMUSING PAIR OF GILT-BRONZE AND CARVED WOOD THREE-LIGHT CANDELABRA

June 10 2009, 5:13pm

Continental. The Figures Circa 1730. The Candelabra Nineteenth Century. This pair of figural candelabra uses the intriguing combination of gilt-bronze and carved wood. The delightful figures represent jesters or sprightly figures, dwarfed by the foliate candle arms they sit beneath. It is more traditional for the anthropomorphic shapes in figural candelabra to be incorporated into the design, most often acting as supports for the lighting elements. Because the present figures pre-date the pair of candelabra they adorn, they are allowed to remain passive and decorative rather than functional. A comparable concept is seen on some Louis XV and XVI gilt-bronze candelabra, which sometimes incorporate earlier Chinese figural porcelain. However, the use of carved wood in combination with gilt-bronze is extremely uncommon.