Maison Tisserant - Pair of chiseled gilt bronze snake sconces 20th century
Our sconces by Maison Tisserant come from one of the great Suites vue Tuileries at Le Meurice, the famous and historic Palace on the Parisian Right Bank.
Magnificent pair of two-light sconces in chiseled and gilded bronze, with simulated lyre-shaped shafts, suspended from laurel festoons held by a moving, ribboned snake, deploying two acanthus-leaf scrolled light arms, joined by a garland of grapevines adorned with a falling satyr mask and musical trophy, leaf-decorated binnacles and wicks.
Elegant work by the Maison Tisserant in the Louis XVI style, based on a model circa 1780.
Sizes: H 29.92 In.
In excellent condition, magnificent gilding.
A similar pair of light arms was described in 1786 on a marble pilaster in the petit salon of the Hôtel de la Famille des Deux-Ponts in Strasbourg, and later moved to their residence in Munich, before arriving today at Schloss Aschaffenburg.
We find another similar pair in the dispersal of the Bardac collection, sold on December 8, 1927, under no. 74 at Hôtel Drouot.
A very similar pair is also in the Wrighstman Collection in New York.
Two other pairs, with a slight variation (a knot instead of a snake), are displayed on the woodwork of the canopy room at the Hôtel Tessé (located on Quai Voltaire in Paris) in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Maison Tisserant biography:
In 1925, fresh from his studies at the École Boulle, Émile Tisserant took part in the Decorative Arts exhibition, where he won a prize. A few years later, at the height of the Art Deco boom, he founded his own company, collaborating with Ruhlmann and designing lighting fixtures for the ocean liner Normandie.
In the 1970s, his son Bernard Tisserant took up the candlestick of taste and exacting standards but devoted himself more to stylish chandeliers and restoration. Also a graduate of the École Boulle, he headed the bronze jury at the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition for 15 years.
Today, the company is run by the founder's grandson, Antoine Tisserant, assisted by his wife Catherine, who has enriched the collection with several hundred new models. Never one to shy away from new technologies, he was one of the first to use LEDs in high-end lighting, such as this lantern with rock crystal doves, designed in partnership with Pierre-Yves Rochon for the Grand-Hôtel du Cap Ferrat.
The 4th generation, Marie and Pierre Tisserant are preparing and training to ensure that this beautiful story continues.
