Pair of Antique French Bronze Wall Sconces, Louis XVI Style Double Arm Candle Lights — France, Early 20th Century

The two-arm bronze wall sconce was one of the great inventions of the Louis XVI interior. Developed in the second half of the eighteenth century, when Versailles set the standard for every drawing room in Europe, it solved a practical problem with unusual elegance: how to throw light at the level of a seated conversation, without the bulk of a chandelier or the instability of a candelabra. The form — a tapered backplate, two scrolling arms, a bobèche to catch the drips — barely changed for a hundred and fifty years, because it was already right.

This pair is French, early twentieth century, cast in gilt bronze in the Louis XVI manner. Each sconce is built around a tapered, faceted backplate chased with basketweave and acanthus ornament, terminating at the base in a ram's-head mask — the detail that places this firmly in the neoclassical vocabulary of the late eighteenth century, revived here with the confidence of a foundry that knew the originals well. Two scrolling arms sweep outward from the body, each ending in a toothed bobèche and a turned socket column topped with a small urn finial. Note the rope-twist border that frames the backplate on all sides — it is the same motif repeated at the arm joins and the bobèche rims, the discipline of a designer who treated the piece as a unified object rather than assembled parts. The gilt has mellowed to a warm, even tone across both sconces.

Whoever lit their rooms with these before you kept the bronzes in fine order. Both sconces are sound and well matched; the wax sleeve covers will be replaced with new ones before dispatch. They arrive fully rewired and ready to hang — a pair ready for a dining room, a hallway, or either side of a mirror.

They arrive professionally packed and fully insured. All duties and import charges are our responsibility — you pay nothing beyond the listed price. Returns are accepted within 30 days.

DETAILS:
Size: each — Height 22 cm (8.7 in) · Width 18 cm (7.1 in)
Material: gilt bronze; decorative wax candle sleeves (to be replaced before dispatch)
Style/Period: Louis XVI style, French, early 20th century
Shades: not included; candle-style sleeves fitted
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide — all import duties paid by us, nothing to settle on delivery
Condition: very good; gilt bronze sound and well matched across the pair; wax sleeves to be replaced before dispatch
Returns: accepted within 30 days

Read our condition standard. Please ask if you need additional photographs or measurements.

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