ALEXANDRE-LOUIS BELLANGÉ (Paris, 1799 - 1863)

PAIR OF TORCH HOLDERS " WITH RAMS ". Paris, circa 1820 Amaranth; gilt bronzes; porphyry H. 115cm, W. 34 cm, D. 34 cm Drawing directly from the creations of André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) (fig. 1 and 2), the model of these guéridons porte-torchères was developed at the beginning of the Restoration, around 1820, by Alexandre-Louis Bellangé, one of the most important cabinetmakers of the first half of the 19th century. He was in particular the patented cabinetmaker of the Duke of Orleans and of the July Monarchy. Of a particularly careful design, the torch holders have a flared shaft of square section in amaranth veneer. They are adorned with a rich ornamentation of gilded bronzes with flower falls and corner fillets. The whole rests on a square bronze base finished with four leafy lion claws. The whole is supported by small feet with acanthus scrolls enhanced by a small ball. Four ormolu ram heads emerge from an acanthus corolla and support an octagonal porphyry tray. Bellangé, before 1824, collaborated with a curiosity dealer, Philippe Claude Maëlrondt who seems to have inspired several models of this type of furniture and perhaps ours. The latter sent a good number of the cabinetmaker's creations to England, which at that time had great lovers of Louis XIV style furniture. Among them was King George IV of England from 1820 to 1830, a loyal customer of Bellangé. The sovereign thus acquired four pairs of torch stands similar to ours but decorated with porcelain plates (fig. 3 and 4). This model was a great success with wealthy amateurs such as the Earl of Pembroke, William Beckford and George Watson-Taylor. The latter gave a pair to George IV in 1825, of the same model as the one we present (fig. 5). It then passed into the collection of the Earl of Pembroke and became the property of Lord Normanton at Somerley (fig. 6). Closer to home, a pair of Bellangé tea-chests with porcelain plates was auctioned by Christie's New York on 20 October 2006 and sold for $273,600 (fig. 7).