Large French Empire Bronze & Ormolu Palace Candelabra
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An Important Empire Ormolu or gilt bronze and patinated bronze near life size Palace candelabra. French, circa:
1805-1810. Measuring: 52" high and Weighing 100 Pounds.
This Large and Important bronze candelabra is one of a few know to exist. A dark patinated bronze neo-classicaly
draped female maiden holds aloft a eight(8) lights with its original removable flame candle snuffer. The base is
Ormolu mounted Rouge Royal marble and a solid specimen which is mounted with four(4) Ormolu mounts one on
each panel/side. The Present candelabra is based on the original
drawings and designs by Charles Percier (1764-1838). The present candelabra is Signed "RABIAT" both Rabiat
and Pierre-Francois Feuchere both created similar candelabras of the exact scale and size using the the same exact
casting of the female maiden in each of their designs. They also both used similar and sometimes the same ormolu
candelabra stems and branches too.
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Literature:
Rabiat's name is included in an inventory of the business of M. Disenmartin, taken on 24 December 1790 under the
heading of 'Flambeaux argentes de diff modeles were'Quatre paires de grand uni Rabiat...a 16 64' (H. Ottomeyer, P.
Proschel et al, Vergoldete Bronzen, 1986, vol. II, p. 700). A pair of wall-lights signed Rabiat is at Fountainebleau,
see Musee National du Chateau de Fontainebleau, Catalogue des Collections de Mobilier, vol.1, Pendules et
bronzes d'Ameublement entres sous le Premier Empire, p. 149, cat. 127. This pair of wall-lights was delivered to
Fontainebleau by Thomire-Duterme et Cie in 1810.
A pair of very similar candelabra with the same figures, bases, and branches but only in one tier, on differing plinths
is
the Residenz, Munich in the Salon of Queen Caroline of Bavaria (op. cit., vol.1, p. 332, fig 5.2.11). The Munich
candelabra are attributed to Pierre-Francois Feuchere on the basis of their similarity to a sketch in a collection of
designs for metalwork supplied by the Feuchere workshop to the architect Salins de Montfort. There is another pair
of the same model in the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, England (North Drawing room).
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