A Pair of Impressive Louis XVI Style Chenets

Description

A Pair of Impressive Louis XVI Style Gilt and Patinated Bronze Chenets, Modelled With Lions Rampant.

The lions stand upright (rampant) on hind legs and holding a shield, on balustrade bases.

France, Circa 1870.

A pair of chenet of the same model were recorded in an inventory of 1873 of King Ludwig II of Bavaria’s apartments at the Munich Residence. Today they are part of the King Ludwig II Museum at Herrenchiemsee (König Ludwig II.-Museum, Herrenchiemsee : Katalog, Munich, No. 41, pp. 183-184 (one illustrated).

The lion rampant is a powerful heraldic symbol, most famously the national emblem of Scotland. Here the lions hold an apocryphal coat-of-arms with a band of three stars. Designed as ornamental andirons (chenets) they make for a most magnificent accompaniment for a palatial fireplace.

Drawings of lions used in architecture as published in ‘Materiaux et Documents D’Architecture et de Sculpture’ (1870-1914).