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Wall Light
Possibly by: François-Thomas Germain (French, 1726–1791)
Possibly by: Jean-Claude Duplessis (French, 1699–1774)
Possibly by: Jean-Claude Duplessis (French, 1699–1774)
French (Paris)
Louis XV
1750-1760
Medium/Technique
Gilt bronze, iron
Dimensions
Overall: 81.5 x 58 cm (32 1/16 x 22 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated anonymously and the John H. and Ernestine A. Payne Fund, William Francis Warden Fund, Frank B. Bemis Fund, Arthur Tracy Cabot Fund, Helen and Alice Colburn Fund, Edwin E. Jack Fund, Elizabeth M. and John F. Paramino Fund in memory of John F. Paramino, Boston Sculptor, Harriet Otis Cruft Fund, Frederick Brown Fund, Seth K. Sweetser Fund, Helen B. Sweeney Fund, Susan Cornelia Warren Fund, Samuel Putnam Avery Fund, Jane Marsland and Judith A. Marsland Fund, Alice M. Bartlett Fund, and Mary E. Moore Gift
Accession Number2017.83.2
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsTools and equipment – Lighting devices
DescriptionOne of a pair of Louis XV rococo style wall lights with a parrot perched among three branches of scrolling laurel leaves and berries, terminating in modeled sockets and drip-pans. The backplate terminates in c-scrolls with flowers and include the original screws.
Marks
None
ProvenanceArchduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria (b. 1883 – d. 1963), Vienna [see note]; upon her death, passed by descent within her family; 2005, sold by her estate to an unknown buyer. By 2010, Angela Gräfin von Wallwitz, Munich; 2017, sold by Angela von Wallwitz to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 1, 2017)
NOTE: The wall lights are from the personal collection of Elisabeth Marie of Austria. Because of their size and appearance, it has been speculated that they have a royal provenance, and it is very likely that they descended to her from a family member. Whether they had belonged to her grandmother, the Empress Elisabeth of Austria (b. 1837 - d. 1898), or came from the family of her first husband, Prince Otto Weriand von Windisch-Graetz (b. 1873 – d. 1952), from whom she separated in 1918, is not known.
NOTE: The wall lights are from the personal collection of Elisabeth Marie of Austria. Because of their size and appearance, it has been speculated that they have a royal provenance, and it is very likely that they descended to her from a family member. Whether they had belonged to her grandmother, the Empress Elisabeth of Austria (b. 1837 - d. 1898), or came from the family of her first husband, Prince Otto Weriand von Windisch-Graetz (b. 1873 – d. 1952), from whom she separated in 1918, is not known.