Lot 59
  • 59

An impressive Art Nouveau silver figural centerpiece and pair of matching seven-light candelabra, maker's mark SW, probably German, circa 1900

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
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Description

  • marked S.W., with Augsburg-style pseudo-hallmark and 800
  • height of centerpiece 22in., length 28 3/4 in.
  • 56 cm, 73 cm
the centerpiece composed of four shaped dishes with turned-over rims, surrounding four ecstatic female nudes emerging from stylized openwork lily blossoms and foliage, rising to a cluster of buds from which a central trumpet blossom forms a vase, the matching candelabra with two figures each and openwork stems, flower-form sconces and scrolling tendril drip-pans

Condition

good condition, large scale
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

This garniture is very much in the spirit of the French artist Maurice Bouval, whom Alastair Duncan described as "the champion of the Art Nouveau woman-flower hybrid" (Art Nouveau and Art Deco Lighting).  Bouvals pieces such as his candelabra "Obsession" and "Dream", featured in L'Art Décoratif, August, 1900 (and illustrated ibid., fig. XXIX) were cast both in silver and in bronze, through multiple foundries including Colin, Jollet, and Thiebaut Frères.

There are also elements of the naturalism of the South German Art Nouveau, such as Eduard Foehr's iris candlestick of c. 1900 now in the Wurtemburg Landesmusuem, Stuttgart, or particularly the female-plant candelabra designed by A. Strobl and executed by Eduard Wollenwever of Munich, now in the Germanic National Museum, Nuremburg (both illustrated Siegfried Wachman, Jugendstil Art Nouveau - Floral and Functional Forms, 194, fig. 47-48).  The WMF continued this aesthetic, but in silver-plated examples and much more spindly in conception than the vigorous forms seem on this garniture.