French Bronze Candelabra with Foliage Decoration

A pair of French seven light bronze candelabra, circa 1870 each with a spiral twist knopped stem decorated with trailing foliage engraving, rising to six foliate cast arms with floriform sconces, centered by a further sconce, on a cast triangular pierced base with claw feet, nicely patinated. Height 27.17 in.

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Foliate - Decorated with leaves or leaf-like forms.
Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.

The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.

It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture.
Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
Sconce - A light attached to a wall. Originally a candle holder that is attached to a wall with an ornamental bracket and sometimes with a reflective back plate, but now applied to an electric light that has been inspired by that design.

In recent times the word has also come into use to desribe the candle holders on a candelabra.

This item has been included into following indexes:

candelabra / candelabrum
- French 170
- ormolu and bronze 202
- pairs and garnitures 540
candlesticks, types - French 169