Pair Antique French Napoleon III Red Japanesque Ormolu Bronze Candelabra by Henri Picard

Included here is a pair of japanned metal vases with lids, adorned with ormolu bronze candelabra and feet, and pair of red scagliola stone pedestals, designed and produced by Henri Picard in the mid-nineteenth century.  Vase with candelabra each measure 46.5 by 22 by 22 in (118 by 56 by 56 cm). Pedestals measure 15 by 15 by approximately 40 in (38 by 38 by 102 cm).  The reverse of one scrolled foot on each vase is marked with the stamp H. Picard.  An exceptional designer, bronzier and fondeur, Picard established his firm in 1831 in Paris and is famous for creating decorative objects for the apartments of Napoleon III (1808-1873) at the Louvre.   These items come from private collection housed in an elegant estate on the ruins of a medieval mansion on the island of Corsica. Originally built by two local families to celebrate the end of a long feud, two houses stood side by side as a monument to peace. In the early 19th century, the houses were joined by a brick tower built for the French general, ambassador and politician Marêchal Horace Sébastiani Comte de la Porta (1772-1851), a close confidant of Napoleon Bonaparte. During World War II the building was used as a military base, but was neglected in the years following the war. The estate and its belongings were later sold and the home restored in the later part of the twentieth century.