Vintage Pair of Louis XVI Style Two-Arm Candle SconcesGilt Metal with Flaming Urn Finials and Pierced Backplates, Late 19th Century, 26 cm

The pot à feu, a small urn with flames bursting from its top, was one of the favourite ornaments of Louis XVI design. It came from ancient Rome, where urns of burning offerings stood on altars and tombs. In eighteenth-century France it became a symbol of light, warmth and lasting devotion, crowning clocks, firedogs, mirror frames and, most fittingly, candle sconces.

This pair of candle sconces is crowned by just such flaming urns. Each has a tall, narrow backplate shaped like a tapering pilaster, pierced through in open panels so that the wall shows between the uprights. It is decorated with leafy drops and finished at the base with a small turned finial. At the top, a gadrooned urn sits within curving brackets, with a spiral flame rising from it. Two arms edged with leaves curve out from the backplate to wide, plain drip pans with leafy undersides and cylindrical candle cups with beaded rims. The gilt finish is warm and mellow.

The sconces are in very good condition. These are true candle sconces, made to hold real candles, and they are not wired. Each one has existing holes through which wiring could be passed if you would rather have them electrified. Hung either side of a fireplace or a doorway and lit with tall tapers, they bring a warm, classical glow to a dining room or a salon.

In short, this is a vintage pair of Louis XVI style two-arm candle sconces in gilt metal, with flaming urn finials and pierced backplates, attributed to the late nineteenth century. Each is 26 cm tall, and they are exactly as pictured.

DETAILS

Size: Height 26 cm (10.2 in); width 25 cm (9.8 in), each. Each is about the size of a dinner plate.
Material: Gilt metal
Style-Period: Louis XVI style; vintage, attributed to the late nineteenth century
Weight: 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) for the pair
Shipping: Professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide. We handle the paperwork, with all import duties paid by us; nothing to settle on delivery.
Condition: Very good; not wired, with existing holes for wiring if desired.
Returns: Accepted within 30 days.

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

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