Pair of Empire candlesticks; Russia, c. 1820.

Pair of candlesticks Empire; Russia, c. 1820.
Bronze.
Reproduced in; Igor Sychev., "Russian lamps of the Classicism period 1760-1830", P.V.B.R. St. Petersburg, 2003. p. 191. i. 968.
Measurements: 36 x 14,5 cm (x2).
This pair of candlesticks belongs to the Empire style of the first decades of the 19th century, an artistic language that, inspired by the French models of the Napoleonic period, reached in Russia an interpretation of great sumptuousness and technical rigor. Executed in gilded bronze, these pieces reveal the mastery of the Russian workshops, especially those of St. Petersburg, where the art of bronze reached a level of excellence comparable to that of the most renowned Parisian goldsmiths, such as Thomire or Galle.
The pieces present a balanced and monumental structure, typical of the classical vocabulary reinterpreted under the Empire. The shaft, elegantly fluted in a spiral, stands on a sphere supported by stylized lion claws, a recurring element in the neoclassical symbolic repertoire associated with strength and nobility. In the upper part, under the cylindrical candle holder, there are delicate reliefs with goat heads, precisely integrated into the architecture of the design.
The circular base is decorated with a garland of acanthus leaves and veneras, motifs that refer to the Greco-Roman tradition but treated with the austerity and refinement characteristic of the Empire taste. The finely burnished and gilded surface gives the candlesticks a warm and uniform glow.
The ensemble embodies the synthesis between French monumentality and the solemn sobriety of Russian classicism, a fusion that manifested itself with particular force in the time of Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I. During this period, the Russian Empire adopted the French decorative language as an emblem of power and modernity, adapting it to a courtly context that privileged magnificence and order.
These candlesticks, probably destined for a palatial interior or a ceremonial hall, are testimony to the extraordinary technical and artistic quality of Russian bronzework of the early 19th century. They show not only the influence of the Parisian school, but also the consolidation of their own identity.