An exceptional suite of four large ormolu candelabras with three arms of light and a rich rocaille décor of stylised acanthus leaves and clasps. The umbilical base is adorned with loves surmounted by a marquis's crown and the arms of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne surmounted by a ducal crown. Louis XV style, first half of the 19th century in the taste of Juste Aurèle Meissonnier. Height 50 cm - Width 30 cm Provenance: Poulain Le fur; Estate of the Comtesse de Pimodan; Paris; sale Thursday 09 December 1999; lot 148 Juste Aurèle MEISSONNIER was born in Turin and received his master's degree in Paris in 1724 by order of the Duke of BOURBON and at the special request of King Louis XV, then aged 14, as "architecte dessinateur de la Chambre et du cabinet du Roi". He was the great initiator of the exuberant "Rococo" style. These candelabras are based on the drawing kept at the Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Maciet Collection 251/4. MEISSONNIER's drawings were engraved and published in 1728 in the "Livre des sculptures de chandeliers". Bibliography: - Peter FUHRING - H. OTTOMEYER, P. PRÖSCHEL, Vergoldete Bronzes, Munich 1986, volume I, p. 104, 2.1.5 and 6. Other models by MEISSONNIER are in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris or in the Wallace. Collection.