THIRD QUARTER 18TH CENTURY

Of large scale, this well-proportioned rock crystal adorned ormolu lantern is designed in the Louis XV picturesque manner of the mid-18th century. Lanterns such as the present lot, were originally designed for the lighting of vestibules, hallways and staircases and were only later used to illuminate dining-rooms. P. Verlet illustrates a closely related lantern in situ in the Marquis de Contades' château de Montgeoffroy, Maine-et-Loire (French Furniture and Interior Decoration of the 18th Century, Fribourg, 1967, p. 215). Among further related rock crystal-enriched ormolu lanterns sold at auction, a lantern from the Riahi Collection was sold Ader Picard Tajan, Paris. 23 June 1988, lot 61 (FF250,000 with premium) and another was sold at Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 18 October 1995, lot 53. A further related pair, albeit devoid of rock crystal elements, was sold from the Keck Collection at Sotheby's, New York, 5-6 December 1991, lot 11.