CIRCA 1740, IN THE MANNER OF JUSTE-AURELE MEISSONNIER

Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1675-1750) was one of the greatest proponents of the genre pittoresque, now known as the Rococo style. The son of a silversmith and sculptor, he went to Paris in 1718, and later succeeded Jean Bèrain II as dessinateur de la Chambre et du Cabinet du Roi. The design for these candlesticks bears a close resemblance to nos. 10, 11 and 12 in his Livre de Chandeliers de Sculpture en Argent of 1728, although there the candlestick is supported by a pair of putti (H. Ottomeyer, P. Proschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 102, no. 2.1.1).