PAIR OF CHENETS LOUIS XVI period Gilt bronze... Lot 98

PAIR OF CHENETS LOUIS XVI period Gilt bronze and lacquered steel, iron H. 40 cm, L. 50 cm This very beautiful pair of andirons is decorated with three stylized pine cones with chiseled and openwork twists. The base is decorated with a frieze of gadroons and is punctuated with three dice with quartefoils and rows of pearls. They stand on lacquered steel legs topped with bronze rings and are fitted with irons. This combination of steel and bronze was rare in the decorative arts in the 18th century. Considered a real innovation at the time, steel was a complex material to work with and consequently furniture or objects made of these two materials were very expensive. A comparable pair of andirons from the London home of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman sold at Sotheby's New York on April 28, 2010, lot 99. More recently, another sold at Sotheby's Paris, 19 April 2016, lot 174.