19th century
Pair of candlesticks
Bronze and sheet metal, cm height 42.5 x 22 x 13
Mark "JP" at the base
The pair of candlesticks features three flames in embossed and finely chiseled bronze with decorations of leafy volutes, plant motifs, a noble face within a reserve, and grotesque masks. In the center, two statuettes are placed (the factory mark of the JP manufacture is shown under the base) depicting two young people dressed in country clothes, representing the theme of pastoral love, also emphasized by the letter and the dove held by the boy and addressed to his beloved. This theme was highly appreciated by the aristocracy and the rising bourgeoisie, as an idealization of love between characters from the bucolic sphere. The artist's attention focuses on rendering the polychromy of the porcelains, not hesitating, however, to contrast these bright tones with that of the bronze, playing with the meticulous decoration made with a chisel, which makes some surfaces appear more opaque. The light is thus reverberated on the worked surfaces, creating an effect such that the eye can hardly pause on a detail, also thanks to the extreme attention dedicated to detail. The structure of the two objects is made of embossed and finely chiseled bronze sheet metal, which suggests that among the more than eighty workers who worked in Petit's manufactory, there were also some specialized in the casting and processing of bronze.
In Sèvres, the Musée National de Céramique, houses some pieces by the French Jacob Petit (Paris 1796-1868), a very original Parisian ceramicist with great imagination. From 1822 he joined the Manufacture de Sèvres, later opening one of his own, near Fontainebleau, which employed 80 workers and possessed a studio in Paris. His artistic production consists mainly of decorative objects such as plates, vases, teapots, perfume bottles, but also lights and even fireplaces. His works are in fact characterized by an audacious inventiveness that takes its cue from the different decorative repertoires, both of past and contemporary eras, also from different geographical areas, such as the East.
If for a long time Jacob Petit's creations were strongly criticized because of the garish colors and the excessive eclecticism that characterized them, today the objects that bear his signature are highly sought after for their originality, the richness of the polychromy and are considered a guarantee of quality.
The model to which reference is made for the pair of candlesticks is that of the famous Capodimonte porcelains. Produced from the first half of the 18th century in the Royal Factory of Capodimonte, founded in Naples by King Charles of Bourbon and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony.
(cfr. R. De Plinval de Guillebon, Porcelaine de Paris 1770-1850, Fribourg 1972)
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