Wall Light, One of a Pair

This wall light model was originally made for the bedroom of Marc-Antoine Thierry de Ville d’Avray (1732–1792), the Intendant du Garde-meuble de la Couronne (Steward of the French Royal Furniture Repository) in what is today known as the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris. The model was created in 1787 by leading Parisian gilt-bronze maker Pierre-François Feuchère. A modified version of this wall light model was also created by Feuchère and in 1788, two pairs of this three-armed model were produced for Queen Marie Antoinette’s dressing room at Chateau de Saint-Cloud, as well as another pair, with a slight variation, that was produced for King Louis XVI’s inner cabinet at the same palace.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Collection of Sir Richard Wallace [1]; Jacques Seligmann & Co., New York, by 1917 [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1917; by bequest to the Walters Art Museum, 1931.

[1]. Said to be from Richard Wallace’s collection by Seligmann.