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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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A very elegant pair of Empire gilt and patinated bronze five-light figural candelabra attributed to Claude Galle, Paris, date circa 1810 Height 77.5 cm. each. As one of the finest fondeur-ciseleurs Galle, like Pierre-Philippe Thomire, enjoyed the patronage of royalty, the aristocracy and Napoleon. He was born at Villepreux near Versailles, where his father was involved in the poultry trade. During his youth he travelled to Paris to begin an apprenticeship, generally assumed to be under the fondeur, Pierre Foy at rue du Four, where Galle was given lodgings. In 1784 Galle married Foy’s daughter, Marie-Elizabeth and on his father-in-law’s death in 1788 Galle was required to pay off the latter’s debts before he took over the workshop, which he built up into one the finest of its kind, eventually employing about 400 craftsmen. Galle promptly moved the business to Quai de la Monnaie (renamed Quai de 1’Unité) and from 1805 operated from 60 Rue Vivienne, close to fellow fondeur, Pierre-Victor Ledure. From 1784 Galle began appearing in the trade registers; he became a maitre-fondeur in 1786 and in the same year received the first of many commissions from the Garde-Meuble to furnish the royal palaces. Among many contracts he gilded fine bronze mounts for the royal ébéniste, Guillaume Benneman. He also worked closely with others, gilding a number of fine bronzes for Pierre-Philippe Thomire, whose castings have often been confused with Galle’s due to their similarity. Like many, Galle suffered as a result of the Revolution though the situation dramatically improved when Napoleon came to power and regenerated interest in the arts. During the Consulate Galle was appointed an official supplier to the Garde-Meuble for which he was paid handsomely, receiving for instance 65,543 francs for bronzes at Saint-Cloud. He also supplied other palaces especially Les Trianons, Le Palais des Tuileries, Châteaux de Fontainebleau, Compiègne, Rambouillet and a number of the Italian palaces at Monte Cavallo Rome and Stupinigi near Turin. His commissions included numerous light fittings, figural clock cases, vases and other fine bronze furnishings. |