PAIR OF WALL LIGHTS FROM THE LOUIS XV PERIOD Attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain Chased and gilt bronze, with two arms decorated with oak leaves, the shaft of one decorated with a boar's head, the other with a stag's head; restorations. H. 58 and 56.5 cm (22 ¾ and 22 ¼ in.) l. 28.5 and 26.5 cm (11 ¼ and 10 ¼ in.) Provenance: Aristocratic collection Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Comparative bibliography : H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, Vol. I, p.109, fig. 2.2.5. A pair of Louis XV gilt-bronze two-branch wall-lights, attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain This extraordinary pair of sconces with a hunting décor and extremely fine chasing can be attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain (1719-1791), master founder in 1748. The naturalistic treatment of the branches with their finely jagged oak leaf motif and the curves and counter-curves of the light arms are typical of his work in the 1750s. It is interesting to note that there is a pair of sconces of a similar design to ours by Saint Germain, made entirely of silvered bronze and illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, Vol. I, p.109, fig. 2.2.5. Comparable examples that have appeared on the market in recent years include : A pair with two arms of light signed Saint Germain sold at Sotheby's London on 11 December 1970, lot 34. A second pair with two arms of light sold at Sotheby's Monaco, 11-12 February 1979, lot 216. A third pair with two arms of light sold at Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 10 December 1993, lot 71. A fourth pair of two-light arms sold in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, on 31 March 2015, lot 66. A final pair with three arms of light sold at Sotheby's Paris, 05 May 2015, lot 171. A rare Louis XV gilt bronze frame with a similar design of hunting trophies and boar's heads was in the Alexander collection before being sold at Christie's New York on 30 April 1999, lot 127. The outer frieze of the frame featured the same motif of oves that can be found on the shafts of our sconces.