PAIR OF TRAVELLING TORCHES IN GILT, MASTER SILVERSMITH JEAN-FRÉDÉRIC SENCKEYSEN, RECEIVED IN 1744, STRASBOURG, 1744-1750 The triangular base, oval-moulded rim, unscrewable baluster shaft; engraved on the base with the coat of arms of Louis-Marie-Augustin, duc d'Aumont (1709-1782). Hallmarks: Master goldsmith and Reconnaissance of Strasbourg, 1736-1750 (Some scratches; wear and lack of silver plate under the base) A PAIR OF SILVER-GILT TRAVEL CANDLESTICKS, STRASBOURG, 1744-1750 9 CM - 3,5 IN. Weight : 326 g - W : 128,34 oz Provenance Sotheby's Paris sale, 3 May 2016, lot 172 Christie's Paris sale, 24 June 2002, lot 28 Coat of arms of Louis-Marie-Augustin, Duc d'Aumont (1709-1782), First Gentleman of the King's Chamber, Peer of France, then Marshal of Camp and Knight of the Holy Spirit. Louis-Marie-Augustin d'Aumont, 5th Duke of Aumont, Marquis of Villequier (1709-1782). Descended from the illustrious d'Aumont family, Louis-Marie Augustin d'Aumont was a worthy representative of this lineage to the King. Inheriting the office of First Gentleman of the King's Chamber on the death of his father, he enhanced this political role with his military involvement, becoming lieutenant-general in the King's armies in 1747. He used his power and fortune to patronise artists, promoting a taste for antiquity. The collection he amassed enabled him to furnish the hotel he had built on the brand new Place Louis XV (later Place de la Concorde) in 1758. Behind the façade designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel of what would later become the Hôtel de Crillon, Louis-Marie Augustin d'Aumont assembled one of the finest collections of decorative art of his time, mainly furniture and objets d'art in marble, jasper or porphyry, oriental porcelain, objects from India and all sorts of other curiosities. On his death, his possessions were put up for sale on 12 December 1781, and presented in the sale catalogue as "the most truly precious collection that a natural taste, enlightened by the lights and works of the most distinguished artists, had produced for a long time". Louis XVI himself purchased 51 lots from his collection. Some of the objects in this collection are now kept in major museums around the world.