A Pair Of 19th Century Candelabra, Napoleon III Period.

Important pair of candelabra in gilded and patinated bronze with vestals mounted on marble from the second half of the Napoleon III period. These two candelabras show two vestals from ancient Rome. Each of them wears seni crine and a stola. It is the traditional hairstyle and white tunic of the women in charge of the household and the veneration of Vesta. They carry above their heads a cushion from which emerge seven arms of light, symmetrical with stylized acanthus scrolls supporting a hearth; itself surmounted by a golden wick. Each of the fireplaces is decorated with scrolls of vine leaves. The Vestal Virgins stabilize the whole with their left arm for one, right for the other, their pendants languidly resting on their reeds. Each of them rests on a circular terrace surmounted by a foot in black marble with grooves flanked by gilded sausages; the whole resting on a curved base punctuated with rectangular cartouches at each of the cardinal points. In ancient Rome, vestals or virgins were priestesses of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. Vestal Virgins enjoyed privileges in return for their vow of chastity and their devotion to the goddess, who helps protect Rome from the wrath of the gods.