Excellent pair of Louis XVI gilt bronze candlesticks after a model by Etienne Martincourt (master 1762, died after 1791):
Candelstick shaft à l’Athénienne consisting of three caryatids with rams’ heads and hooves standing on a domed circular base with partially openwork foliage and pearl frieze decoration. In the center of the caryatids, a slender stem with a winding ivy garland. The rams’ heads hold the ovoid bobeche with acanthus foliage and removable drip pan.
Very rare pair showing excellent quality of chasing and a beautiful, vivid gilding with matte and polished parts.
After becoming a master in 1762, he was admitted to the Académie de Saint-Luc, a guild of decorative painters and sculptors. Membership in the guild of bronze casters and the Académie allowed Martincourt to design as well as to produce objects in gilt bronze. To do so without this dual membership would have brought stiff penalties from the guilds. Many well-known collectors owned candlesticks of Martincourt, from the Duchesse de Mazarin in the late 1700s to merchant Léopold Double in the late 1800s. Artists in the 1800s made candlesticks inspired by and closely following this design. Examples by Etienne Martincourt (active 1762-1791) can be seen in the Wallace Collection, the Huntington Collection, the British Museum and the Getty Museum. The “Athénienne” shape of this model is truly associated with Etienne Martincourt’s production. His most famous model has this shape and is kept in the Wallace Collection in London.
Condition: very good, min. wear consistent with age and use, min. fading – detailed condition report on request
