One of a set of four wall-lights (F366-369) of the same model that were made for the 'salon des jeux de la reine' (the Queen's games room) at the palace of Compiègne. Marie-Antoinette ordered extensive alterations to her apartment in the palace and work on the interior began in 1783 and continued for some years. However, she appears to have lost interest in the project, embarking instead on the refurbishing of her newly acquired chateau at Saint-Cloud, and never returned to Compiègne so did not see the works completed. Three pairs of gilt-bronze wall-lights for the games room were cast by the Forestier brothers, an old Parisian family of founders with a workshop in Versailles who supplied the royal arts administration regularly. These were then chased, gilded and assembled by Pierre-Philippe Thomire, one of the most successful chasers and gilders of his generation, who survived the Revolution and went on to run a thriving large-scale workshop during the Empire and Restoration periods. The Wallace Collection lights do not carry any royal inventory marks and were not part of the set supplied to Compiègne, but they are casts taken from the master model.
1787 - 1797
Gilt-bronze and steel thread
76.5 x 63.0cm
F368
Images and text © Wallace Collection, 2017
Where you'll find this
The Wallace Collection
Permanent collection