Dreweatts & Bloomsbury (Dreweatts)
Lot 223A
Christophe Fratin, , a pair of patinated bronze four light candelabra Christophe Fratin, (French, 1801 - 1864), a pair of patinated bronze four light candelabra, mid 19th century, each with a raised candle socket clad with an oak wreath, on an acorn stem held aloft on a hind leg of a reclining bear, above three conforming sockets supported on its forelegs and the other rear leg, within the upper branches of a tree trunk stem, above further branches holding monkeys playing the flute, the triangle and castanets respectively, each stem with further branches half way down, supporting three seated monkeys cast with cymbals, a recorder and Pan pipes respectively, the bases of the trunk shafts each with three dancing bears, on circular bases cast as stylised foliage, each base stamped `FRATIN`, 58.5cm high Fratin was born in Metz, Moselle, the son of a taxidermist. He studied sculpture under Pioche in Metz, then moved to Paris to study under Théodore Géricault. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1831-1842 and 1850-1862, as well as at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 Fratin received monumental commissions in France and elsewhere, including the Deux Aigles Gardant Leur Proie (Eagles and Prey, created 1850) displayed since 1863 in New York City`s Central Park. Many of his small bronzes were sold commercially during his lifetime. Today, Fratin`s sculpture is on permanent display in the Louvre, the city museums of Metz, Lyon, and Nîmes; the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland; and the Georg Eisler archive in Vienna
