Pair of mantle lustres or "mantle lustres". France, ca.1900

Pair of mantle lustres or "mantle lustres". France, ca.1900
Gilt bronze and glass.
One of the prisms is broken.
Measurements: 48 x 12 x 12 cm (each).

Elegant pair of "mantle lustres", decorative elements conceived to be placed on mantelpieces, consoles or sideboards. These pieces combine a gilded bronze structure with abundant pendants and cut crystal prisms, intended to multiply and reflect the light of candles or nearby lamps, creating sparkles and sparkling effects in the interior.

The design responds to the historicist taste of the late nineteenth century, inspired by French models of the eighteenth century. The vertical composition is articulated by means of a stylized shaft with an intermediate crystal sphere and stepped base, culminating in an upper body from which teardrops, faceted beads and cascading prisms hang. The small fluted lampshades reinforce the play of light, emphasizing their ornamental rather than utilitarian function.

Much appreciated in refined interiors at the turn of the century, mantle lustres embody the taste for brilliance, transparency and the dialogue between gilded metal and glass, becoming sophisticated light amplifiers and symbols of decorative elegance.