ORMOLU CHANDELIER. POSSIBLY FRANCE, NAPOLEON III, 19TH CENTURY.

Lamp or chandelier. Gilded bronze. Possibly, France, Napoleon III, 19th century. Ceiling lamp made of gilded bronze that has a central axis enhanced by three structures with volutes that accompany it from the crest with leaves at the top to the body at the bottom, in which a series of female grotesques crowned in busts stand out. on architectural moldings with scrolls. The radiating arms are spread over floors, and decorated with plant and architectural elements, ending in saucers that give rise to lighters with garlands and also classicist shapes and decoration, as in the entire piece. Stylistically, the influence of models taken from Ancient Greece and Imperial Rome is clear, as is common in neoclassical works of the 19th century. Note the laurel wreaths, the scrolls, the vegetal scrolls, the combinations with gallon motifs, etc. The taste of the 19th century can be seen, above all, in those feminine grotesques already mentioned, with their crowns and pearl necklaces from which a Greek cross hangs. The quality of the lamp is notable, both in the bronze and in the gold (probably mercury) and in its design. Compare, for example, with works by the well-known French firm Maison Mottheau et Fils, appreciated above all for its lamps (also for offering high-quality bronzes to prominent cabinetmakers) and famous throughout the 19th century. Or with works by Henri Vian (1860-1905), another master highly appreciated for his gilded bronzes. Weight: 85kg

· Size: 110x110x150 cms