PAIR OF SCONCES FROM THE LOUIS XV PERIOD Attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain In chased and gilded bronze, with two arms of light decorated with oak leaves, the shaft of one of the two decorated with a boar's head, the other with a stag's head;restorations H.:58 and 56.5 cm (22 ¾ and 22 ¼ in.) w.:28.5 and 26.5 cm (11 ¼ and 10 ¼ in.) Provenance: Aristocratic collection Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Comparative bibliography : H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, Vol. I, p.109, fig. 2.2.5. A pair of Louis XV gilt-bronze two-branch wall-lights, attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain This extraordinary pair of sconces with hunting decor and extremely fine chasing can be attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain (1719-1791), master founder in 1748. The naturalistic treatment of the oak-leaf branches and the curves and counter-curves of the light arms are typical of his work in the 1750s. It is interesting to note that there is a pair of sconces of a similar design to ours, signed Saint Germain; this is made entirely of silver-plated bronze and is illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, Vol. I, p.109, fig. 2.2.5. Comparable examples that have appeared on the market in recent years include : A pair with two light arms, signed Saint Germain, sold at Sotheby's London, December 11, 1970, lot 34. A second pair with two light arms sold at Sotheby's Monaco, February 11-12, 1979, lot 216. A third pair of two-light arms sold at Hôtel Drouot, Paris, December 10, 1993, lot 71. A fourth pair with two light arms sold in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, March 31, 2015, lot 66. A final pair with three light arms sold at Sotheby's Paris, May 05, 2015, lot 171. Finally, a rare Louis XV-period frame in gilt bronze with a comparable decoration of hunting trophies and boar heads was in the Alexander collection before being sold at Christie's New York, April 30, 1999, lot 127. The outer frieze of the frame featured the same ove motif found on the shafts of our sconces.