Barbedienne: Pair of Louis XVI Gilt Bronze Candlesticks
A fine pair of Louis XVI candlesticks by the highly acclaimed bronzier Ferdinand Barbedienne. The gadrooned urn shaped nozzles with laurel wreath border standing on fluted columns with guilloche frieze, festooned with swags of berries and leaves and raised on domed, fluted bases with guilloche border interrupted by raised acanthus leaf blocks. Signed F BARBEDIENNE
Ferdinand Barbedienne (d. 1892) initially trained as a wallpaper manufacturer. He changed his profession to fondeur in 1838 and began his Parisian foundry in partnership with Achilles Collas (d. 1859) in 1839. Barbedienne eventually became one of the most active and distinguished bronziers of the 19th century, winning numerous medals at various major international exhibitions beginning in the 1850s.
The Barbedienne workshops were equipped to perform bronze reduction, fine metal cutting, bronze mounting, marble work, turning, enamel decoration and crystal engraving. They were celebrated for bronze editions, but also produced decorative objects in styles that reflected the various exotic and revival trends popular at the time.
