Michael Lake
Head of Department
Lot 46TP
A pair of early 19th century French patinated and gilt bronze figural twin light candelabra in the Egyptian tastecirca 1805, after models by Claude Galle (French, 1759-1815)
21 November 2018, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £10,000 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Home and Interiors specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
A pair of early 19th century French patinated and gilt bronze figural twin light candelabra in the Egyptian taste
circa 1805, after models by Claude Galle (French, 1759-1815)
each formed as a Naophori priestess supporting stylised cornucopia branches, the cylindrical nozzles with detachable crown drip collars, seated on rectangular tapering plinths cast with pseudo-hieroglyphics,
41cm high (2)
each formed as a Naophori priestess supporting stylised cornucopia branches, the cylindrical nozzles with detachable crown drip collars, seated on rectangular tapering plinths cast with pseudo-hieroglyphics,
41cm high (2)
Footnotes
Provenance:
Property of a UK gentleman collector.
The son of a farmer, Claude Galle rose beyond his humble roots to become an important bronze caster and gilder at the end of the 1700s. Although never apparently signing his works and producing in a variety of styles popular at the end of the 18th and start of the 19th century, he collaborated with numerous other craftsmen, and scholars.
By 1784 Galle had become extremely successful, producing mounts for furniture, clocks, and other objects in gilt bronze for the palaces of Fontainebleau, Versailles, Saint-Cloud, and Compiègne in his workshop and he was made a master bronzier in 1786.
After the French Revolution, Galle continued to produce numerous pieces for Napoleon Bonaparte, receiving an order worth more than 65,000 francs for the Château of Saint-Cloud. As many of his clients were slow to pay their bills, however, he fell increasingly into debt. In 1811 he was even forced to write a begging letter to the government asking for its help and protection reminding them of the awards he had won, the large family he had to feed, and the four hundred employees who depended on him for their jobs. However, he died in poverty four years later, having been forced to close his shop.