Henry Dasson Beautiful pair of sconces attributed...

Henry Dasson Beautiful pair of sconces attributed to H. Dasson France Circa 1880 Gilt bronze, Marble Height: 63 cm; Width: 36 cm; Depth: 16 cm Rare pair of Louis XVI-style sconces in chased and gilded bronze and marble. They each feature an acanthus-leaf shaft supporting a Turquin blue marble truncated vase adorned with a garland of laurel leaves and a leafy handle, around which two snakes entwine, from the gules of which spring two fluted arms of light terminating in elegant beaded bobèches decorated with acanthus leaves. Related works : This ormolu sconce is based on a design by Jean-Charles Delafosse (1734-1789). It is reproduced in Plate 58 in Histoire du Luminaire depuis l'époque Romaine jusqu'au XIXe siècle, Henry-René d'Allemagne, Paris, Alphonse Picard, Libraire-éditeur, 1891. Biography: Jean-Charles Delafosse (1734-1789) was a French architect, ornamentalist and painter, an important theorist of the Louis XVI style and early neo-classicism. His most famous collection of engravings is Nouvelle Iconologie Historique, first published in 1768 and subsequently reissued and modified many times. A Paris-based cabinetmaker and bronzemaker, Henry Dasson (1825-1896) produced sumptuous copies of 18th-century royal furniture and a number of similarly inspired creations. His furniture was adorned with the finest bronzes, gilded with mercury. He participated brilliantly in various World's Fairs, such as the one in Paris in 1878, where he was particularly noticed by the jury for exhibiting a copy of the famous Louis XV desk (original preserved in Versailles) admired for its great delicacy, as well as a Louis XVI-style table, made entirely in bronze and considered "a masterpiece of chasing". At the 1889 Exposition Universelle, Dasson was awarded a grand prize for his furniture, which was judged to be admirable. Dasson's reputation was virtually unchallenged. He ceased to practice in 1894.