Pair Of Ormolu Candlesticks After The Model Of Etienne Martincourt By Maison Millet

Pair Of Ormolu Candlesticks After The Model Of Etienne Martincourt By Maison Millet.

Each with a swag-hung nozzle and tripartite stem with winged cherub heads joined by columns
12 in. (30.5 cm.) high (2)

These finely cast candlesticks, which retain their mercury gilding, are based on the celebrated model by the bronzier Etienne Martincourt, of which five stamped pairs are recorded, comprising one in the Wallace Collection, formerly in the collection of Léopold Double, one pair in the British Museum, two pairs in the Huntington Museum, Pasadena, and one pair in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, formerly in the collection of Mrs. Meyer Sassoon.

This model was much copied in the 19th century from the Restauration period onwards, and it is thought that the bronzier L-F Feuchère might have owned models of the candlestick, as his sale of stock in 1829 certainly included bas-reliefs by Martincourt. Among the 19th century versions are a pair supplied circa 1845 to the duc d'Aumale for the château de Chantilly (illustrated in P. Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1987, p. 387)

MAISON MILLET (FRENCH, FL. 1853-1918)
Maison Millet was a French furniture making house which operated in the last half of the 19th Century, and especially flourished during the period known as the Belle Epoque in France. It made furniture both in emerging modern styles like Art Nouveau, as well as in the more classic 18th Century Louis XV and Louis XVI styles, and in many cases blended a number of different styles to create their own unique pieces. The firm was founded by Theodore Millet in 1853.

They specialised not only in antique furniture but also in bronze sculptures, vases and other decorative pieces from their workshop in Paris. The firm was so highly regarded that in 1902 the Palace of Versailles commissioned them to replicate Marie Antoinette's famous Armoire à Bijoux. They also made a number of designs for the master maker of the period, Francois Linke.