A fine and rare pair of patinated and gilt-bronze six-light candelabra attributed to François Rémond, circa 1800, each with a black patinated classical female figure aside a central torch stem in the form of a Corinthian column decorated with an acanthus-leaf and floral garland and resting on a tripod base with rams’ head masks hung with floral swags above recumbent winged sphynxes. The central light with candleholder decorated with palmettes on a classical urn with satyr-head handles, the three lower scrolled acanthus reeded branches draped with ribbons and vines and two upper branches all terminating in drip-pans decorated with vine leaves and grapes supporting palmette candleholders. The cherry red marble pedestals are set with oval medallions of figurative reliefs with rounded ends mounted with gilt bronze ribbon-tied floral swags, h. 106 cm

Provenance: purchased by Xavier Givaudan, 5th November 1934 at Jacques Seligmann et Fils, 9, rue de la Paix, Paris, then by descent until the present day Similar items:

• Sotheby's Paris, Important French furniture and sculpture, 28 April 2009. lot 113
• P. Hughes, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Furniture, vol. III, Cambridge, 1996, n°254 (F156-7), pp.1283-85 

We would like to thank Mr. Fernando Moreira for his assistance in authenticating this lot.

Givaudan Collection

Originating from Lyon (France), Xavier (1867-1966) and Leon (1875-1936) Givaudan are prime examples of successful industrialists from the pre-war years. The brothers excelled in the production of synthetic perfumes, soaps and chemicals and made their fortune with the dawn of the 20th century.

Xavier Givaudan began his education at the Martinière School in Lyon alongside the Lumière brothers. He finished his schooling with Pharmacist diploma. In 1891 he created a company in Lyon which later took on the name Givaudan-Lavirotte & Cie making chemical products and pharmaceuticals. His brother, Leon, studied at the Polytechnic School in Zurich and carried out research on essential oils and synthetic perfumes.

With joint ambitions, the brothers rented a large plot of land in Vernier on the banks of the river Rhone near Geneva at the end of the 19th century. Here they built a factory for the business then named “Société Léon Givaudan et Compagnie” which became known fairly rapidly among perfume producers. When conscripted in 1914, Leon brought his brother Xavier from Lyon to take care of the business in Vernier. He settled in Geneva and bought a large neo-gothic townhouse at the corner of rue de la Cloche and Quai du Mont-Blanc. After the war, Leon settled in Paris and the house of Givaudan spread beyond the Franco-Swiss borders with branches opening in Germany, Great Britain, throughout Europe, Brazil and in the United States.

These two erudite entrepreneurs developed a certain taste for 18th century art. Their personal wealth afforded them assistance from the best art dealers of the early 20th century in creating a refined collection. Amongst their advisors was Jacques Seligmann & Fils from Paris, an important dealer whose client base included the likes of Count Moïse de Camondo, Baron Edmond de Rothschild and Henry Frick. The family archives show that Seligmann assisted Xavier with the purchase of a magnificent pair of candelabras attributed to Rémond (lot 591) and advised the brothers on purchasing paintings, notably those of Hubert Robert (1733-1808) (lots 803 and 804) from the Charpentier Gallery.

Upon his death in 1966, Xavier left his fabulous collection of gold and enamel snuff boxes to the Art and History Museum of Geneva and received the same year the ‘Genève reconnaissante’ medal thanking him for his philanthropy in the Canton.

All the lots marked in blue throughout the catalogue are from the Xavier and Leon Givaudan collection (the first having inherited part of his brother’s collection after his death in 1936) and have been passed down through the family to the current owners. A selection of 18th century books from the collection will be sold in June 2017 at our Antiquarian book sale.

The entire collection can be viewed at www.piguet.com by inserting the word ‘Givaudan’ in the search engine.