A Pair of Silver Directoire Candlesticks, 1798-1804

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Dealer

Kollenburg Antiquairs BV

Price

Price on request

Status

Available

Period

1798-1804

Material

Silver

Description

These delicate candlesticks are from the hand of the French silversmith Jean Joseph Baudet who became maître orfèvre on juli 20. 1782 in Paris. He has been working there until at least 1809.

The candlesticks are made in the turmoil of the ‘directoire’ immediately after the French Revolution. The year letters were abolished by the government. This hinders an exact dating. The hexagonal base is decorated with ornamental leaf. The also hexagonal stem is decorated with female bustes ‘a l’Egypte’. The decoration is arguably inspired by Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s ‘Diverse maniere d’adornare i cammini’ (Various ways to adorn mantelpieces) from 1769. Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition stimulated the revival of Egyptian motives that had been used by Piranesi some thirty years earlier. The object also shows the influence of the French bronze founder Claude Galle, famous for his furniture fittings and the candelabra he made for the ‘Garde-Meuble impérial’.

Hallmarks: Maker’s mark: JBL with a crowned fleur-de-lis over a bird (Jean Joseph Beaudet) Assayer’s mark: Cock 1 (for Paris) in use from june 6. 1798 to september 1. 1809 Office mark: Male head 85 Hallmark of the ‘Association d’orfèvres’: head of Minerva 1 (in use from 1795-1797 and 50 years thereafter) Reseller’s hallmark: AEG with fleur-de-lis in diamond (unidentified) (from 1797 onwards)