A Late 19th Century Gilt Bronze Chandelier

Beautiful Napoleon III chandelier with sixteen arms of lights in gilded bronze, sculptures of children and masks of women after the model by André-Charles Boulle. This well-cast Louis XIV style chandelier is based on an important model attributed to André-Charles Boulle, in the collection of the Louvre Museum (OA 5101). See Hans Ottomeyer “Vergoldete Bronzen I”; p. 13, Fig 1.6.5, for an illustration of this chandelier. Andre Charles Boulle's chandelier designs were first officially published in a folio of eight plates by Pierre-Jean Mariette between 1707 and 1730. André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) was undoubtedly the greatest cabinetmaker and bronzer of all time. Son of a master ebony carpenter, Jean Bolt, Boulle was already a master in 1666, and in 1672 was named Cabinetmaker, Carver, Gilder and Sculptor to the King. Boulle's fame rests on three main aspects: his extraordinary technical virtuosity as a craftsman, his innovation in technique and design, and his genius as a sculptor.
French work, around 1870.
Date: Around 1870 Origin France
Material: gilded bronze