Claude Galle - Large Pair Of Early Empire Candlesticks With Zephyr - Circa 1805

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A truly rare large pair of early Empire candlesticks with celestial Zephyr motifs in finely chiselled, patinated, and gilded bronze, attributed to the renowned bronzier Claude Galle (1759–1815). Dating from circa 1805, the exceptionally refined detailing of these candlesticks showcases the mastery of Galle, who supplied a pair to the Château de Fontainebleau in 1805 and another to the Château de Saint-Cloud.


Each candlestick features a tapering shaft composed of stylized sunrays, rising from a circular base richly adorned with a central star and lightning bolt motifs. The shafts are crowned by celestial spheres, intricately encircled by a band of four zodiac signs—Libra, Capricorn, Aries, and Scorpio—highlighting the cosmic inspiration behind the design. The uppermost section is surmounted by a finely cast Zephyr, depicted in the act of blowing clouds, which elegantly form the bobèche — a strikingly poetic interpretation of natural forces in motion. Zephyr was the god of the west wind and the messenger of spring in Greek mythology. He was known as one of the four wind gods, each of whom represented a cardinal direction.


A pair of these candlesticks was delivered by Claude Galle to the Château de Fontainebleau in 1805, as recorded in the memoir of 26 Messidor, Year XIII (July 15, 1805): “A pair of torches with lightning bolts and rays, large model, chased and gilded in matt gold.” These candlesticks were later inventoried in the 2nd salon of the Empress in 1807.


The 1807 inventory of the Château de Saint-Cloud lists, for the first time in the salon of the princes of the Grand Apartments of the Emperor, “a pair of candlesticks, the feet decorated with thunderbolts and a large star bearing the stem in a radius and surmounted by a ball, decorated with friezes and heads of blowers carrying the light”. They remained in place for many years. This salon was repurposed as a representation room in 1824 and a games room in 1828. Moved during the July Monarchy, these torches were later used in the crimson salon and subsequently in the waiting room of the King and Queen’s apartment. They left the Palace of Saint-Cloud for good in 1857, transferred to the Garde-Meuble. In 1867 they were sent to Malmaison for the Empress’s bathroom on the first floor.


This grand pair of French Empire candlesticks retains its original matt and burnished mercury gilding and remains in excellent condition.


Origin: France, early Empire period, circa 1805.

Dimensions: Height 33 cm (13″), Base diameter 15 cm (5.9″).


Literature
- Jean-Pierre Samoyault, “Pendules et bronzes d’ameublement entrés sous le Premier Empire”, 1989, p. 40, p. 201 #189.
- Collection Château de Fontainebleau.
- Collection Mobilier National, Paris, inv.nr. GML 2931/1 and GML 2931/2.
- Marie-France Dupuy-Baylet, “L’Heure, le Feu, la Lumière. Les bronzes du Mobilier national 1800-1870”, Dijon, 2010, p. 386, notice 218.