Pair of Chamber Sticks, French Market, Qianlong, c. 1750. Photo courtesy Cohen & Cohen.

An extremely rare pair of Chinese export porcelain chamber sticks, of rococo form after European originals, the candleholder resembling an inflorescence with coloured bracts and foliate tendrils forming a handle, the bases in the form of a vine leaf resting on a rectangular plinth. Height: 6 ¾ inches (17cm)

This extraordinary pair of candlesticks are very rare - another pair and a single are the only others recorded. They appear to be copying a rococo form, probably originally moulded in French faience or silver, though the source has not been found. The plinth base is similar to that of some figures but the leaf and cup form is otherwise unkown.

Literature: References: Beurdeley 1962, p170, Cat. 96, a single example from the Roger Boutemy Collection, Paris.

Cohen & Cohen. MasterArt at TEFAF 2014. 14-23 march 2014 - http://www.masterart.com/