Pair of gilt bronze and patinated sconces with... Lot 34

Pair of gilt bronze and patinated sconces with two arms of light, decorated with oak branches with leaves and acorns, the shaft in the shape of a couleuvrine. Our pair of sconces is to be compared with the very famous model that belonged to the Count of Artois for his bedroom in his folie de Bagatelle. A watercolor by François-Joseph Bélanger (1744-1818), first architect of the prince, allows us to find them on his project of decoration (fig.1). Other known examples are referenced, notably the one from the Georges Geoffroy Collection, sold in Paris on December 2, 1971, lot 82, then the Fondation Bemberg, Toulouse, and the one from the Lagarfeld Collection sold at Christie's in Monaco on April 24, 2000, lot 284. On these two pairs, the arms of light are formed of grained laurel leaves, the barrel enhanced with draperies and artillery balls supported by chains, which recalls the composition of a drawing by Jean-Louis Prieur, from around 1770, kept in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Finally, an exceptional pair was recently sold, from the Dillée Collection, at Sotheby's in Paris, on March 18, 2015, lot 129.