Pair of Louis Philippe period ormolu eight-light chandeliers

This fine pair of ormolu chandeliers is crafted in the style dominant during the reign of Louis Philippe, who ruled France as King of the French from 1830 to 1848. The style of Louis Philippe’s time referred to the styles of the ancien regime, as France, not long out of the troubled Napoleonic period, sought to reassert the authority and grandeur of its recently reestablished monarchy.

The present chandeliers draw upon the Rococo of Louis XV: each chandelier is richly wrought with foliate detailing, with acanthus leaves and rocaille like forms abounding. Each chandelier features a pierced bowl-form body, the edges finished with rolled acanthus leaves. This body issues eight ormolu scrolled branches, each branch terminating in an ormolu foliate drip pan and each candle shielded by a hurricane lamp. The body of each chandelier is suspended by ormolu chains from a foliate ceiling mount.