PAIR OF LARGE HISTORIC SCONCES, formerly owned by Amélie d'Orleans, the last Queen of Portugal (28 September 1865 - 25 October 1951),
Louis XV style, Paris probably ca. 1860. In the style of Jean-Claude Duplessis.
Bronze, finely chiseled, in part pierced, and fire-gilt.
H 82 cm.

Provenance:
- formerly owned by Amélie d'Orléans, Queen of Portugal.
- Galerie Jürg Stuker, Berne.
- Swiss private collection.

The pair of sconces on offer was auctioned in the 1970s in the legendary Stuker auction with the estate of the last Queen of Portugal, and was described as dating from the time of Louis XV. Even if we date the two magnificent sconces on offer a little later, they show a casting quality like that which can be found in the 18th century. The sconces on offer go back to designs by Jean-Claude Duplessis (1699-1774). A pair of very related scones by this maître, Paris ca. 1745-55, was auctioned by Christie's London, on 6 December 2012, Lot No. 22 (£ 181,250), another pair is in the Wrightsman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (cf. Hans Ottomeyer/Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, p. 143, Fig. 2.11.17), another pair in the Louvre, Paris (OA3889-90).