Pair of Antique French Gilt Bronze Candle Wall SconcesEmpire Flambeau Two-Arm — France, Early 19th Century

DETAILS:
Size: each — Height 36 cm (14.2 in) · Width 19.5 cm (7.7 in) · Backplate diameter 5.5 cm (2.2 in) · Candle cup diameter 2.5 cm (1 in)
Material: gilt bronze
Style/Period: French Empire, early 19th century
Candle arms: two per sconce — non-electric; takes standard taper candles
Weight: 1.400 kg the pair (3.1 lb)
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide
Condition: very good antique condition; gilt bronze sound and well matched across the pair; casting crisp throughout
Returns: accepted within 30 days

The flambeau wall sconce — a torch body mounted to the wall, from which candle arms extend — was one of the Empire period's most direct quotations from antiquity. The Romans had carried torches in procession and mounted them on walls; Napoleon's designers translated the form into gilt bronze and placed it in every room that needed to declare something. The tapered torch body, the rope-twist arms, the paw foot at the base — each element was a deliberate reference, legible to anyone who had studied the originals, and that legibility was part of what made the object worth owning.

This pair is French, early nineteenth century, cast in gilt bronze, each sconce built as a tapered flambeau body — flat-faced, tapering from shoulder to base — from which two rope-twist arms curve outward and upward, each ending in a wide circular bobèche and candle cup. At the crown, a lidded urn with a small flame finial caps the backplate; at the base, a stylised paw or tulip foot completes the composition, the organic terminal that the Empire decorators used to ground their vertical forms. The rope-twist arms — each one individually cast with the precise helical turn of twisted cord — are the detail that places this firmly in the best Empire bronzework tradition; a simplified casting would render the twist as a surface texture rather than a structural element, and these do not. The gilt bronze carries a warm, slightly varied tone across both sconces, deeper at the recesses of the rope twist and brighter on the flat faces of the backplate.

These were kept with evident care across two centuries. The gilt is sound and present across the pair; the casting is crisp at the ornamental details; both bobèches are intact and the candle cups will take a standard taper. Non-electric candle sconces, ready to hang.

They arrive professionally packed and fully insured. Returns are accepted within 30 days.

Condition

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.

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Delivery information

Notify us within 30 days of delivery if you wish to return a piece. No reason is required. Returns are free within the Netherlands and Belgium; from elsewhere you pay return shipping for a change-of-mind return.

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