Pair of two-branch gilded bronze light arms, decorated with - Lot 93

Pair of two-branch gilded bronze light arms, decorated with a bacchante in caryatid, foliage and vine branches; (pierced for electricity, small misses at the end at foliage level). Possibly after a model by Robert Joseph Auguste (1723-1805). Louis XVI period. H. 38 cm Although no bronzemaker is known to have cast, chased and gilded this pair of sconces, we do have an interesting lead on the model's inventor. In the sale of the famous collector Augustin Blondel de Gagny (Paris, December 10-24, 1776, lot 1033), we find the following mention: "Une paire de bras à trois branches de bronze doré, très bien exécutée, & de la composition de M. Auguste; le corps de chaque bras représente un terme de femme 510 livres". A similar pair is now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.