Henry Dasson

HENRY DASSON (Paris, 1825- Saint-Germain en Laye, 1896).
Chandelier after the 18th century model known as "Les enfants souffleurs", now in the Grand Cabinet of Marie Antoinette at Versailles.
Mercury gilded and chiseled bronze.
Signed and dated 1879.
Measurements: 130 x 60 x 60 cm.

The exquisite six-light chandelier now on auction was made by the acclaimed Parisian bronze artist Henry Dasson. Its fine execution follows the model of the lamp known as "Les enfants souffleurs", a luminaire that is now part of the decoration of Marie Antoinette's great interior cabinet in the Palace of Versailles, which testifies to the interest of the Queen consort of France in the decorative arts. Formally the lamp is distinguished by its magnificent central shaft that takes the form of three children playing wind instruments (hence the name of the lamp, "Les enfants souffleurs"). The little ones rest on the capital of a fluted column while above them stands a flaming torch with flame. Six arms of light with scrolls of acanthus leaves and rosettes emanate from the column. Fluted corbels and pearl bells embellish the composition. The base is decorated with acanthus leaves and sown fruit.

Marie Antoinette of Austria (Vienna, 1755- Paris, 1793) married in 1770, at the age of fourteen, to the then dauphin and future Louis XVI of France, in an attempt to strengthen the ties between two dynasties that had hitherto been at loggerheads. Considered by the French people as a presumptuous and wasteful queen, the truth is that Marie Antoinette developed an exquisite aesthetic taste for the fine arts, today appreciable in the decoration of some of the rooms of the palace of Versailles. She had received some masterpieces as a legacy from her mother in 1781, a beautiful collection that the queen consort was able to expand with pieces acquired from Parisian merchants. Among all her artistic belongings, she had a special predilection for lacquered furniture, as well as for Chinese porcelain and gems.

Henry Dasson was one of the most acclaimed bronze and cabinetmakers of the second half of the 19th century. Author of ornamental works and furniture of great quality, always within a historicist style, he also made singular works such as the tomb of Adélaïde Louis Jeanne Victoire Herbemont, in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, cast by him and designed by the sculptor Léopold Morice. Dasson showed his works in various exhibitions of the time, being always awarded and highly valued by critics. His participation in the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1878, where he was congratulated by prominent figures of the time such as Louis Gonse, is especially noteworthy. He was later awarded the Grand Prix Artistique, among other prizes, and was named knight of the French Legion of Honor. For the realization of his pieces, Dasson was interested in the works of art of the past, especially those of the time of Louis XVI, the time of development of French neoclassicism. His ornamental vases, furniture and lighting pieces were in great demand at the time, both by the French clientele and in the rest of the world. Active in Paris, he not only made historicist pieces, inspired by the works of the 17th and 18th centuries, but also reproductions of the furniture of the courts of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. His works are always characterized by the high quality of their execution, and his extraordinary mercury-gilded bronzes are particularly noteworthy in this regard. Dasson was a more than worthy continuator of Charles-Guillaume Winckelsen, whose business he acquired after the latter's death in 1870. Even earlier in his early career, he had won the favor and recognition of the French aristocracy as a cabinetmaker, and in fact was the personal cabinetmaker to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. Like many others, the empress was impressed by Dasson's skill and refinement, and commissioned a large number of pieces for the decoration of her royal residences. She also counted among her clients the British royal family. Dasson's works are now housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among other notable public and private collections.