Candleholder - Bronze

This elegant pair of gilded bronze table candlesticks was executed in the classical idiom of the French Régence period. Each candlestick rests on a profiled, stepwise ascending octagonal foot. The edge of the base is richly decorated with a frieze of stylized acanthus leaves, shell motifs and fine pearl borders. The tapering, baluster-shaped shaft with facets rises from a decorative knop. The shaft is adorned all around with refined reliefs, including medallions and garlands. The whole is crowned with an octagonal candle holder with diamond-shaped engraving work and accompanying wax catchers.

The Régence style (1715-1730) is a French art style that forms the transition between the heavy, symmetrical Baroque of Louis XIV and the playful Rococo style that gained prominence during the reign of Louis XV. Designs from this period retain Baroque symmetry but acquire more fluid and curved lines. Common motifs include acanthus leaves, arabesques, light floral garlands and shells.