A pair of polished bronze and white marble four light 'Burgoyne' style candelabra In the late 18...

A pair of polished bronze and white marble four light 'Burgoyne' style candelabra In the late 18th century taste, modelled after designs by Matthew Boulton Each of ovoid pedestal vase form with three U shaped acanthus leaf scrolling arms with florette knopped buttons to the angled shoulders and palmette cast shaped collars with gadrooned rims and fluted urn nozzles issuing from rams mask head mounts, the arms applied to wide pierced formalised floriate scrolling and flowerhead frieze borders above floral garlanded swags, the upper section with knopped covers reversing to additional stiff leaf and laurel swag cast bellied urn candle nozzles, the vase bodies on palmette and laurel cast waisted socles, raised on cylindrical pedestals with applied caryatids, drapery swags and patera, the stepped circular bases with applied unpierced guilloche bands, 38cm high x 30.5cm diameter approximately (2) Footnotes: Provenance Acquired by Mr J. Carson from M.Turpin Ltd, 63 Knightsbridge, London, 1975 (£4,500) Thence by descent to the present owner. The design of the candelabra forming the offered lot draws closely from designs from a small group of recorded period late 18th century candle vases or candelabra which incorporate central cassolette fittings designed and manufactured by Matthew Boulton's firm, Boulton and Fothergill, first produced in the 1770's. Referred to tentatively by Sir Nicholas Goodison in his 2002 book 'Matthew Boulton: Ormolu' as 'Burgoyne's' vase(s), the name commemorates an early wealthy client and buyer of the candle vases, Colonel (later General) Burgoyne who resided in Hertford Street, London. Burgoyne is recorded as purchasing girandoles (a description which at the time referred not only to wall mounted candle sconces or appliques but to 'branched' candle vases or candelabra) in Boulton's purchasing records of 1771. Goodison comments that 'Burgoyne' candle vases with differing stone bodies were recorded as still being produced in 1775 with the stones for the vases still in stock until 1782. In his 'List of Patrons' Goodison more fully records that Colonel (later General) Burgoyne (1722-92) was son-in-law of the eleventh Early of Derby and famous for his defeat at Saratoga in 1778. He is recorded as visiting Soho on the 1st November 1771 as Colonel Burgoyne and later in August 1778 as General Burgoyne. A comparable near identical pair of late 18th century candle vases are now in the permanent collection of The City of Leeds art gallery at Temple Newsam, and are illustrated in Goodison's 2002 book as pl.263 and pl.264 (detail), p.298, and a further pair of candle vases in blue john with undecorated stepped bases are illustrated as pl.265 and pl.264 (detail), p.301. A small group of comparable candle vases with white marble bodies and stepped plinth bases were apparently recorded prior to Goodison's book. These included a pair which were illustrated in 'Treasures of Art in Russia'. St Petersburg 1903, pp.338-9, when they were part of the 'Cabinet de Grand Duc Paul at Pavlosk (these were not at Pavlosk in 1979) and a further pair which were apparently sold at Lepke's in 1931 but these may have been destroyed in the Second World War. It is also worth noting that a single vase was apparently illustrated in 'The Finest Houses of Paris' (New York, 2000) in a room at the Hotel Lambert owned by Baron Guy de Rothschild. However this vase had lost its central finial and had been converted to electricity. Literature N. Goodison, 'Matthew Boulton, Ormolu', London, 2002, C.Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lothertan Hall, Vol II, National Art Collections Fund, 1978, p.385. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing