PAIR OF LOUIS XV PERIOD ANDIRONS In chased and gilt bronze, representing a Chinese woman holding a dog and a man with a bird perched on his knee, resting on a base decorated with rocaille cartouches. H.37 and 36 cm (14 ½ and 14 ¼ in.) l.35 and 34 cm (13 ¾ and 13 ½ in.) A pair of Louis XV ormolu firedogs Andirons decorated with Chinese figures seem to have been extraordinarily popular in the middle of the 18th century. The Journal du marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux mentions the purchase from the Marquise de la Ferrière on 23 August 1756 of "Un petit feu doré composé de figures Chinoises avec ses garnitures de pelles et pincettes, 120L". This description could correspond to our model, of which we know several examples today, or to the variant in which the Chinese figures hold parrots in their hands (see Christie's London Sale, 5 July 2001, lot 88). A pair of andirons with figures identical to ours despite a smaller base is in the Wrightsman Collection in New York and is illustrated in F.J.B. Watson, The Wrightsman Collection, New York, 1966, Vol. II, p. 373. Rare on the market, the latest examples to come up for sale in recent years come from very prestigious collections, such as the pair from the Hubert de Givenchy collection sold at Christie's Paris on 17 June 2022, lot 779, or the pair from the collection of Mrs Charles Wrightsman sold at Christie's London on 17 June 2022, lot 779. 22 May 2019, lot 202. More recently, another pair sold at Artcurial Paris on 13 December 2023, lot 76.