Paris c. 1750/60, brass fire-gilt, colourfully painted branches and leaves, with white porcelain blossoms, each designed for three lights, wall plate in animated filigree Rococo decor with flowers, height c. 40 cm, width c. 40 cm, professionally restored condition. (DOC)

Provenance:
An identical pair is preserved in the collection of the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin, inventory no.: VIII 740, this one illustrated among others in the literature.

Cf. lit.:
Kronleuchter des 17. bis 20. Jahrhunderts aus Messing, Bronze doré, Zinkguss, Porzellan, Holz Geweih, Bernstein und Glas, page 137, fig. 78, Verlag Schnell + Steiner by Käthe Klappenbach 2019.
Described on page 138 as follows: "To a certain extent, the auctioning of Madame de Pompadour’s works of art after her death in 1764 also contributed to this. The inventory of her estate, the “Inventaire des Biens de Madame de Pompadour rédigé après son décès,” provides precise information about this. Although there is no concrete evidence, it is believed that Frederick II also acquired objects from his opponent's collection, at least for the decoration of the New Palace built between 1763 and 1769. This is especially true of the delicate historical wall sconces with porcelain flowers, identical models of which were in Madame de Pompadour’s possession (see ill. 78). Five pairs of these dainty candlesticks with two or three candle sconces are mentioned in the 18th-century inventories of the New Palace. Frederick II had them hung in the stairwells.
It is possible that the present pair is a pair of wall sconces owned by Frederick II from the New Palace in Potsdam or from the estate of Madame de Pompadour. Only one pair remains in the SPSG collection. An almost identical pair - with two lights - is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Wrightsman Collection, inv. no.: 222 A and B, formerly owned by Baron Louis de Rothschild, Vienna.