ST. PETERSBURG OR BERLIN, CIRCA 1800

Although certainly of North European origin, these candelabra relate to designs featured in the Oeuvres of the Parisian décorateur et dessinateur Richard de Lalonde, published between 1780 and 1796. Based on their distinctive design and craftsmanship, similar candelabra are usually attributed to Russian or German workshops. The present lot’s oval acanthus-cast scrolls to the branches and the flattened rectangular volute-form bases suggest that it is of North German, more specifically Berlin, manufacture. French designs were widely disseminated in numerous German media. Such a medium was the Weimar-published magazine entitled Journal des Luxus und der Moden, issued monthly between 1787 and 1812. The periodical featured content ranging from fashion to interior decorations and is known to have included designs for candelabra and chandeliers now closely associated with German ateliers, such as those in the July 1792 and March 1790 issues, plates 15 and 24, respectively. The candelabra offered here are of the same design as the single candelabrum attributed to a Russian workshop sold first Dealing in Excellence: A Celebration of Hotspur and Jeremy; Christie’s, London, 20 November 2008, lot 161, and then Anonymous Sale; Christie’s, London, 22 May 2019, lot 319 (£27,500).