IN THE MUSEUM
Two four-armed wall sconces – Louis XVI era
Two four-armed wall sconces made of chiselled, gilded openwork bronze
Vraisemblablement par Pierre Gouthière
D’après un dessin de François-Joseph Bellanger
Provenance: galerie Kraemer
J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
These two wall sconces are made with chiselled, gilded openwork bronze and feature a beribboned flower bouquet, from which four laurel branches coil outwards, ready to hold candles. In the centre sits a lyre with a flower-shaped pattern at the bottom and a classical female head at the top.
The image of the lyre grew quite popular in the 1750s, as people showed renewed interest in ancient Greece and Rome. This was a result of the development of an increasing number of archaeological search sites, such as Herculanum and Pompei, which were both destroyed after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
