Large candlestick-torchiere. France, Empire period, XIX century.

Large candlestick-torchiere. France, Empire period, nineteenth century.
Patinated and gilded bronze, with base in pink marble veined.
Exhibits wear consistent with age and use, patina and signs of age.
Needs restoration (slight separation in one of the arms and blow with loss in the marble of the pedestal).
Measurements: 215 cm (sculpture); 81 cm (base); 300 x 80 x 80 cm (total height).

Monumental French candelabra-torchiere of the Empire period, conceived as a piece of apparatus destined to a great representative interior. The composition is articulated around a female figure of classical inspiration, made in patinated bronze, holding on her head a complex structure of lights in gilded bronze. The sculpture is dressed in a tunic with moving folds, in an elegant and dynamic posture that refers to the neoclassical taste of the first third of the nineteenth century.

The piece combines the patinated bronze of the figure with the gilding of the ornamental elements, creating a marked chromatic contrast characteristic of the furniture and decorative objects of the Empire period. The upper candelabra is richly decorated with scrolls, vegetal motifs, cups and architectural finials. The pink veined marble base is enriched with gilded bronze applications, garlands, scrolls, central shield, zoomorphic legs and animal masks of fantastic character, close to the aesthetics of gargoyles, which give expressive force and a marked ornamental sense to the whole.

Due to its monumental scale, material richness and scenographic character, it is a piece conceived for palatial spaces, performance halls or large galleries.