Pair Of Museum Quality Bronze Candlesticks

A magnificent and extremely rare pair of bronze pique-cigeres, an elegant multi-tiered Mannerist structure in finely chased and darkly patinated bronze. Stylistically, the design - like 16th-century bronze art in France - was influenced by the famous Florentine Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1557). Cellini first visited France in 1535. For Francis I, he created the "Saliera", the world-famous gilded salt barrel, which is now in Vienna. Cellini's style, which already had Mannerist features, had a lasting effect in France.
The overall form tapers into individual steps, each decorated with figures.
The large three-sided base rests on feet in the form of bearded heads of Silenus with ram's horns, with stag-footed figures of Pan crouching above them.
The feet connected by festoons of shell leaves. The slightly concave walls are decorated with bead-framed fields in which further horned faun masks are set in relief. The next tier is formed by three winged lion protomes supporting a round base. Above are three curved S-shaped clasps. These in turn swing to a tapered base, decorated with figures of winged griffins with lion paws.
Finally, a very oval-shaped baluster shaft, surrounded by acanthus leaves, rises to form a markedly widened collecting tray. The candle spine is broad and cone-shaped. The design and artistic execution of the highest quality, reworked in cold work. The style evokes few known or surviving works of the French High Renaissance under the influence of Mannerism. Unlike the Italian bronzes of this period, the French works are much more delicate and finely divided.
Dark patina, impeccable condition.
PERIOD: 19th century
DIMENSIONS: 53cm SIZE: 20.9"