A Pair of Belle Epoque Gilt and Patinated Bronze Figural Torchères, By Bouhon Frères, Paris.
Each modelled as winged male and female genies emblematic of fame. The female figure holding a dragon-headed trumpet issuing a light. The male figure holding aloft a light. Each wearing billowing robes and standing on a shell-form gilt-bronze base headed by a roaring chimera. Wired for electricity.
Signed ‘BOUHON PARIS’.
France, Circa 1900.
These magnificent candelabra are characteristic of the sculptural flamboyance of fin de siècle Paris. Designed to stand atop an opulent fireplace mantel or on the balustrade of a sweeping staircase, they were made by Bouhon Frères who specialised in bronze fireplace fittings and accessories. Although their large scale and sculptural vivre are unmistakably Belle Epoque, their design recalls Florentine sculpture from the renaissance. Bouhon were a manufactory and employed and commissioned sculptors and architectural designers to create their sculptural bronze work. Although the sculptor of the present torchères is not known, they could be the work of Eugène Marioton (1857-1933) who designed for Bouhon a pair of Louis XVI style chenets with figures of Flore et Zéphir for the 1900 Paris Exhibition. The inspiration for the distinctive design of these torchères is drawn from engraving of a lamp entitled ‘A winged figure of Fame sounding a trumpet’ by Cherubino Alberti (Zaccaria Mattia) (Italian, 1553–1615). Cherubino was a pictorial engraver, making over 180 prints after, among others, Raphael, Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino, and Polidoro da Caravaggio. His engravings were published and widely available the 19th century. His engravings no doubt inspired the sculptor of these magnificent candelabra.
By appointment only.
