This is a stunning figural tri-sconce candelabra made out of highly polished pewter showing an elegant woman in an evening gown fused with three lilies at her back which are designed to hold three candles. It is a masterpiece of Art Nouveau. The candelabra is signed at the base by C. Bonnefond, a French sculptor living around 1900, presumably referred to Claude Bonnefond, born in 1858. Informations about that sculptor and designer are hard to find. Whoever he was, his artworks, candelabras, lamps and vases represent hallmarks of the Art Nouveaus period. For literature, see Wolf Uecker, Art Nouveau and Art Deco Lamps and Candlesticks, Thames & Hudson, London, 1986, p 104. Similar candelabras has been traded by the auctioneers Christie’s in London and the Dorotheum in Vienna for 1440 Pound-Sterling already 15 years ago.
