A PAIR OF STATUARY MARBLE AND GILT-BRONZE MOUNTED CANDELABRA

June 11 2009, 4:15pm

French. Circa 1930. These candelabra display a most intriguing and unusual blend of imagery derived from a variety of cultures. The double gourd form of the body has its origin in Chinese porcelain and this is underlined by the Chinese derivation of the pierced fretted gilt-bronze base. The naturalistically cast gilt-bronze roses bearing the candleholders issuing from stiff laurel leaves are a classical reference. The gilt-bronze handles in the form of braying donkey heads are without known precedent and could have a variety of meanings: A donkey may represent humility, honor or “Royalty” in disguise, as it was ridden by Christ on the Entry into Jerusalem, as well as by the Emperor Heraculis, divested of his robes, on entering the same city. The donkeys are tethered by a rope, which extends up towards and twists around the mouth of the gourd and then down to encircle its waist.