A pair of silver two-armed torches. The shape is the same as that of single candleholder, in the socket of which are two arms of light. The curved base is decorated with rocaille ornaments in curves and counter-curves, worked in repoussé. The cast silver shaft rises in a spiral movement with a shoulder under the socket. The grip reveals itself to be a feat of rocaille exuberance where sinuous lines are made and unmade in an almost infinite bubbling. Here and there, a few flowers or chiseled fruits appear, combining plant and ornamental motifs. Two “S” shaped arms extend on either side to two large hammered bobbins with cut out edges. Two sockets with rocaille motifs complete the ensemble.
A true apotheosis of German rocaille, these two torches, made in Augsburg, echo the engravings of Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695-1750) or Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt the Elder (1685-1751).
Master silversmith : Johann Philipp HECKENHAUER, received in 1741 – died in 1793
Period : 1761-1763
Dimensions :
Height : 32,5 cm for both
Width : 38 cm for both
Weight : 1315 g + 1316 g = 2631 g
Condition : good
