KPM porcelain and gilt bronze chandelier

This rare twenty-one light KPM porcelain and gilt bronze chandelier is a truly remarkable piece of decorative art, and a splendid example of the idiosyncratic German Rococo style that flourished under the reign of Frederick the Great.

The chandelier is crafted from gilt bronze mounted with vibrantly painted and parcel gilt KPM porcelain decoration, the individual pieces of porcelain intricately modelled and shaped into a variety of charming forms. The chandelier is supported by a shaped and pierced central porcelain foliate column, which is crowned by pineapple and terminates in a flambeau finial. The chandelier’s twenty-one lights are supported on scrolled foliate gilt bronze arms, which are arranged on two tiers. The arms support porcelain drip-pans shaped like flowers and bud-form capitals, within which sit the lights. Flower models and sculptural cherubim beautifully decorate the chandelier, and the colour palette is breath-taking: Rococo tones predominate, particularly pinks, reds, and greens.

The entire piece is light and joyful—though no less serious a piece of decorative art for that fact—in the manner that characterises the very best of the German Rococo.