AFTER JUSTE-AURELE MEISSONNIER (1695-1750): A PAIR OF 19TH CENTURY GILT BRONZE LAMP BASES

AFTER JUSTE-AURELE MEISSONNIER (1695-1750): A PAIR OF 19TH CENTURY GILT BRONZE LAMP BASES

of large size, derived from the Louis XV period original candlesticks designed by Meissonnier, possibly previously candelabra but now ready to be fitted as a lamps, each cast with a central cartouche surmounted by putti caryatids holding aloft the candle nozzle, raised on circular base with lappet casting and guilloche borders,

54cm high, the bases 19cm diameter (2)

Catalogue Note:

These impressive and very finely cast ormolu lamp bases are derived from Meissonnier's design for a pair of silver candlesticks of much smaller size. A drawing of this design by Meissonier is illustrated in P.Fuhring, Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier, un Génie du Roccoco, 1695-1750, Turin, 1999, vol.II, pp.193-197. Is is thought that Meissonnier created this model on the occasion of the birth of the Dauphin in 1729, as the original design has cartouches cast with symbols that represent the event. According to Peter Fuhring, the meaning of the symbols adorning the cartouches would be as follows: the phoenix symbolizes the durability of the monarchy, ensured by the birth of the Dauphin, the flaming rose represents a reminder of the marriage of Marie Leczinska with Louis XV in 1725 where the Queen was represented by a rose and the sundial crowned with a sun is the metaphor for the fireworks given during the wedding. The inscription MINC PURAE SEMINA FLAMMAE, or "from there the descent of a pure flame" also refers to the birth of the Dauphin.

The 18th century model is extremely rare, with only three pairs known to be in existence, one formerly from the Patino collection, one kept at the Calouste Gulbekian museum in Lisbon and a further pair sold at Christie's, 14 December 2004, lot 229, 35,000 euros.

A further pair are in the Wallace Collection, London, but these are thought, like ours, to be 19th century copies. The pair in the Wallace Collection (F75) are inscribed with the personal motto of Louis XIV, 'NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR' in the cartouches, this, on a Louis XV model, is a historical solecism that implies a nineteenth-century origin.