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Gagneau Frères
A Rare Set of Four Highly Important Bronze Torchères
£750,000
A Rare and Monumental Set of Four Highly Important Bronze Torchères. Originally made for gas the torchères have now been wired for electricity. These...
Dimensions
Height: 315 cm (125 in)Width: 104 cm (41 in)
Depth: 92 cm (37 in)
PrintDescription
A Rare and Monumental Set of Four Highly Important Bronze Torchères.
Originally made for gas the torchères have now been wired for electricity.
These exceptional torchères are typical of the high quality work produced in Paris during the second half of the nineteenth century. The form of the scrolled arms corresponds closely to a lamp shown at the 1851 Exhibition in London by the Paris firm of ‘Gagneau Freres’.
The evident quality and exceptional size of these torchères would suggest a distinguished provenance. It is reputed that they came from the Rothschild collection and were formerly in Château de Ferrières. This is further supported by the fact that they bear a very close similarity to the set of four lamps which can be seen in a watercolour by Eugene Lami of the stairway at the Château.
The Château de Ferrières was built in the nineteenth century for James de Rothschild by the English architect Joseph Paxton. This magnificent residence was a testament to the wealth and power of the Rothschild family.
Originally made for gas the torchères have now been wired for electricity.
Date
Circa 1870
Origin
France
Medium
Patinated Bronze
Gagneau Frères, was founded in 1839 by brothers Édouard and François Gagneau at Lafayette Street, Paris. The ‘maison’ became a celebrated ‘bronzier’ and lighting manufacturer exhibiting at the Exhibition of the Products of Industry, the Universal Expositions and was a juror for the bronze section of the Universal Exhibition of 1889.
