Pair of Antique French Five-Arm Bronze Wall SconcesLion Mask Empire Style — France, Early 20th Century

DETAILS:
Size: each — Height 40 cm (15.7 in) · Depth 25 cm (9.8 in) ·
Material: matte gilt bronze
Style/Period: French Empire-Restauration style, early 20th century
Lampshade: sold without a shade — leaving you free to choose one that suits your room
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide — US import duties covered; local import taxes and duties elsewhere may apply and are payable by the recipient
Condition: very good; matte gilt bronze sound and well matched across the pair; full working order
Returns: accepted within 30 days

Before dispatch, our workshop will inspect and test the electrical system, with rewiring and replacement fittings where needed. Delivered working and ready to use.

The Empire sconce was Napoleon's lighting — designed for rooms that needed to declare something. Where Louis XVI had offered delicacy, the Empire style that followed answered with weight, symmetry, and military ornament: laurel wreaths, arrows, acanthus, and the lion, emblem of strength and vigilance. The five-arm sconce in particular was reserved for the grandest walls — ballrooms, dining rooms, the antechambers of people who understood that light, distributed across five flames, does something to a room that two flames simply cannot.

This pair is French, Empire-Restauration style, early twentieth century, cast in matte gilt bronze with a depth of ornament that repays close attention. Each sconce is built around a pierced, tapering backplate chased with acanthus scrolls and centred on a portrait medallion, rising to an openwork foliate crest at the top — the vertical spine from which everything else grows. At the centre, a lion-mask mount holds the five scrolling arms in its jaws, each arm terminating in a beaded bobèche and turned socket column. Note the arrows bound into the arm joints at either side — a motif lifted directly from the Napoleonic vocabulary of the original Empire period, here rendered with the precision of a foundry that knew its sources. The matte gilt finish gives the bronze a quieter authority than a high polish would: these are pieces that fill a wall without competing with it.

Whoever lit their rooms with these before you kept them in exemplary order. Both sconces are sound, well matched, and in full working condition. They will be inspected and tested before dispatch, with rewiring where needed, and delivered working and ready for installation— a pair scaled for a dining room, a grand hallway, or either side of a large mirror.

They arrive professionally packed and fully insured. US import duties are our responsibility. For other destinations, local import taxes and duties may apply and are payable by the recipient. Returns are accepted within 30 days.

Condition

Electrical details

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

A decorative style is not a guarantee of a particular maker or date. See the individual listing for the stated attribution and period.

Worldwide delivery is included in the price. Every piece is individually packed, tracked and fully insured. No shipping charge is added at checkout. If your destination is not listed, please contact us before ordering.

Maison Jaspers pays US tariffs and import duties. For other destinations, local import taxes and duties may apply and are payable by the recipient. Contact us before ordering if you need destination-specific guidance.

Dispatch timing is shown above. Transit time depends on your destination.

Delivery information

Notify us within 30 days of delivery if you wish to return a piece. No reason is required. You pay return shipping for a change-of-mind return.

Return instructions and your consumer rights