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Bouhon Frères
A Pair of Belle Epoque Figural Torchères
£48,000
A Pair of Belle Epoque Gilt and Patinated Bronze Figural Torchères, By Bouhon Frères, Paris. Each modelled as winged male and female genies emblematic...
Dimensions
Height: 127 cm (50 in)Width: 43 cm (17 in)
Depth: 47 cm (19 in)
PrintDescription
A Pair of Belle Epoque Gilt and Patinated Bronze Figural Torchères, By Bouhon Frères, Paris.
Each modelled as winged male and female genies emblematic of fame. The female figure holding a dragon-headed trumpet issuing a light. The male figure holding aloft a light. Each wearing billowing robes and standing on a shell-form gilt-bronze base headed by a roaring chimera.
Wired for electricity.
Signed ‘BOUHON PARIS’.
France, Circa 1900.
These magnificent candelabra are characteristic of the sculptural flamboyance of fin de siècle Paris. Designed to stand atop an opulent fireplace mantel or on the balustrade of a sweeping staircase, they were made by Bouhon Frères who specialised in bronze fireplace fittings and accessories. Although their large scale and sculptural vivre are unmistakably Belle Epoque, their design recalls Florentine sculpture from the renaissance.
Bouhon were a manufactory and employed and commissioned sculptors and architectural designers to create their sculptural bronze work. Although the sculptor of the present torchères is not known, they could be the work of Eugène Marioton (1857-1933) who designed for Bouhon a pair of Louis XVI style chenets with figures of Flore et Zéphir for the 1900 Paris Exhibition.
The inspiration for the distinctive design of these torchères is drawn from engraving of a lamp entitled ‘A winged figure of Fame sounding a trumpet’ by Cherubino Alberti (Zaccaria Mattia) (Italian, 1553–1615).
A winged figure of Fame sounding a trumpet’ by Cherubino Alberti (Zaccaria Mattia) (Italian, 1553–1615). Public Domain / MET Museum Object Number: 51.501.646.
Cherubino was a pictorial engraver, making over 180 prints after, among others, Raphael, Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino, and Polidoro da Caravaggio. His engravings were published and widely available in the 19th century. His engravings no doubt inspired the sculptor of these magnificent candelabra.
Date
Circa 1900
Origin
France
Medium
Gilt and Patinated Bronze
Signature
Stamped 'BOUCHON PARIS'.
Established by Édouard Bouhon, the ‘fabricante de bronzes’ had premises at 12 Debelleyme, Paris, and is recorded at the 1878 Paris Exhibition and the Exposition of d’Art Contemporain at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs (Palais des Tuileries, Pavillon de Flore) in 1879. At the 1889 Paris Exhibition, M. Bouhon was a member of the jury. Ownership of Société Bouhon et Cie was transferred by Dame Vve. Bouhon to their sons Thomas and Joseph Bouchon in 1898. Bouhon were awarded a Gold Medal at the 1900 Paris Exhibition where they showed a fireplace with mirror overmantel, in the Louis XV Style, but of entirely original composition and were congratulated for the considerable effort and their entire exhibition, which also included a series of new models of andirons or screens. The auction of the Emile Winter collection included ‘Lot 378: Pair Bronze and Bronze Dore Chenets, and a Fire Screen, Louis XIV Style. Seated bronze figures of male and female fauns, upon leaf-scrolled and shellmolded Baroque plinths in gilded bronze, with lion-paw feet; by Bouhon Freres, Paris. Together with a cartouche-shaped fire screen enriched with female busts and pendent trophy of Love. (Park Bernet Galleries, New York, 15-17 January 1942).
Literature:
Rapports du Jury, international Exposition universelle 1900, Paris, ‘Bronzes, Fonte et Ferronnerie d’Art, Zinc d’Art, etc.’ (Group XV.) p. 486.
