AIGLE-3 WALL SCONCE

While the base of this wall sconce—its three light arms—is inspired by a very classical design, closely resembling the 1760 model by Joseph Silffred Duplessis housed at the Louvre Museum, the rest of the composition is entirely original. Emerging from a finely chiseled, flower-shaped light plate, an eagle with outspread wings holds the chain supporting the three light arms in its beak. The very linear and symmetrical shape of the arms is skillfully balanced by the floral ornamentation covering them, whose rounded forms echo the eagle’s plumage. While the choice of this animal evokes the First Empire, it should nevertheless be linked to earlier models, such as the eagle-and-caduceus arms at the Palace of Versailles (dating from 1789).