Pair of Napoleon III Period French Ormolu Bronze and Sevres Porcelain Candelabra
View Similar Items
Pair of Napoleon III Period French Ormolu Bronze and Sevres Porcelain Candelabra
About the Item
- Creator:Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 20.5 in (52.07 cm)Diameter: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Napoleon III (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1860
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages. there is a crack in the porcelain on one candleabra where the paint is missing. detail in listed photo.
- Seller Location:Charleston, SC
- Reference Number:Seller: 10371stDibs: LU92025063663
Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
A maker of exemplary European ceramics for hundreds of years, Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres has produced porcelain of the highest quality since 1740.
The factory enjoyed royal patronage from its earliest days, and its most prominent patrons in the late 1700s — King Louis XV of France and his mistress, Madame de Pompadour — commissioned some of the period’s most elegant and striking pieces (only the truly wealthy could afford porcelain at this time). The company was originally established in Vincennes but was moved at the request of Madame de Pompadour, in 1756, to Sèvres, near Versailles, so that its operations would be closer to her château.
Sèvres became a mighty and much-revered factory working under a special grant from King Louis XV — the company’s owner as of 1759 and whose abundance of orders for special state gifts put financial strain on the company. Madame de Pompadour is said to have commissioned Sèvres to create an entire indoor garden of porcelain botanicals, for example.
While Sèvres gained a sterling reputation for its soft-paste porcelain wares, the company was late in entering into the production of hard-paste porcelain.
Hard-paste porcelain is the most common type of Chinese porcelain, then a widely exported and profitable product that was not made in Europe until the 18th century. The resources at Sèvres were largely relegated to meeting the demands of Louis XV, and secondly, it did not acquire the secret formula for hard-paste porcelain until 1761. Until it obtained the coveted secrets behind hard-paste porcelain from a chemist named Pierre-Antoine Hannong — and, years later, gained access to the elusive raw materials to make hard-paste porcelain — Sèvres produced soft-paste porcelain for decades that was widely celebrated but is comparatively a far weaker type as opposed to the hard-paste productions of the company’s rival, Meissen, in Saxony, the first to produce true porcelain outside of Asia.
The artisans at Sèvres applied the rarest and most difficult-to-produce colors to their decorative objects and dinner services. One such color, the bright bleu de roi, became the manufacturer’s signature shade and is found on many of their objects. Sèvres also experimented with rarely glazed or unglazed works that bore no decoration at all — bisque porcelain, French for “biscuit,” refers to unadorned white porcelain sculptures made at Sèvres that resemble white marble after being kiln-fired.
Sèvres marks were applied over the glaze or rendered with cuts by a sharp tool — authentic Sèvres porcelain is most commonly marked with two interlaced Ls that are painted in blue and enclose a third letter. Painters and potters were tasked with affixing marks to record their role in the creation of a particular piece, and as a lot of these artisans’ names are recorded in archival factory materials — and there is also much to be learned at the Sèvres museum — it’s likely that you can accurately identify your Sèvres piece.
Find antique and vintage Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres vases, urns, sculptures and more on 1stDibs.
- Pair of Gilt Bronze Ormolu and Sèvres Style Porcelain CandelabrasBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in LA CIOTAT, FRAn absolutely stunning pair of late 19th century Louis XVI style two-light candelabras in Sèvres- style porcelain and gilt bronze ormolu. These magnificent candle holders feature pea...Category
Antique 19th Century French Louis XVI Candelabras
MaterialsBronze
- Antique Pair French Ormolu Gilt Bronze Sevres Porcelain Candelabras CandlesticksBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in Dublin, IrelandA Fine Stylish and Imposing Pair of French Three Light Table or Mantle Sevres Porcelain Ormolu Mounted Candelabra of outstanding quality. Mid to late Nineteenth Century. Each with ...Category
Antique 19th Century French Late Victorian Candelabras
MaterialsOrmolu
- Antique French Sèvres Porcelain Ormolu Gilt Bronze Candelabra Barbedienne, PairBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in Dublin, IrelandA fine pair of stylish and imposing French ormolu and hand decorated Sèvres panel four-arm table or mantel (fireplace) candelabras of exhibition quality, ...Category
Antique 19th Century French Late Victorian Candelabras
MaterialsOrmolu
- 1870 Antique French Pair of Napoleon III Bronze and Ormolu CandelabraLocated in New York, NYNapoleon III pair of bronze and ormolu candleholders, superb quality for the six branches of grand design with acanthus motif supported by a center...Category
Antique 19th Century French Napoleon III Candle Holders
MaterialsBronze, Ormolu
- Pair Sèvres Porcelain Ormolu Gilt Bronze Celeste Blue Candelabra CandlesticksBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in Dublin, IrelandA fine stylish and imposing pair of French three light table or mantle Sevres porcelain mounted ormolu candelabra of outstanding quality. Early to mid-nineteenth century. Each with...Category
Antique 19th Century French Late Victorian Candelabras
MaterialsBronze, Ormolu
- 19th Century French Pair of Bronze and Blue Sevres Porcelain CandelabrasBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in LEGNY, FRPair of candelabras in gilded bronze and blue Sèvres porcelain dating from the end of the 19th century. Vases adorned with branches of roses and different flowers (a few pistils miss...Category
Antique 19th Century French Porcelain
MaterialsBronze