Pair of Louis XV period crowned "C" andirons.

Rare pair of Louis XV period chased gilt bronze andirons decorated with putti seated on Rococo consoles.
Each andiron is hallmarked with a crowned "C".
This particularly prized hallmark was used in France between 1745 and 1749.

An identical pair of andirons is preserved in the Musée Carnavalet, inventory number MB459-2.

Louis XV period.

Very good condition, original gilding.

Old collector's inventory labels:
M-0238

Dimensions:
Height 21 cm
Width 25 cm

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An edict of 1745 required bronziers to stamp their work with a small distinctive letter, a C surmounted by a crown, thus subjecting them to the payment of a tax. This tax applied to both the objects and the furniture adorned with them.

This mark, which measures just a few millimetres (from 2.5 to 5, depending on the size of the piece), has long intrigued specialists. Is it the signature of bronzemaker Caffieri, foundryman Colson or cabinetmaker Cressent?
We had to wait until 1924 and Henri Nocq's thesis, Le Poinçon de Paris, to learn that it was a mark sanctioning a tax paid on bronzes and coppers between 1745 and 1749. Like all taxes, it was widely unpopular, and there were countless court cases pitting craftsmen against government officials. And yet, the edict of February 1745 was explicit: it applied to "all old and new works, of bronze, pure copper, cast iron, mixed copper, forged, ground, beaten, flattened, engraved, gilded, silvered and colored, without exception".
Each craftsman must go to the trademark office at the "cul-de-sac des Bourdonnais", in the Halles district, to have the hallmark inscribed and pay the fee. An important detail: this was the time of the War of the Austrian Succession, and military needs were pressing. In February 1749, the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed, and a number of personalities noted the "abolition of small new taxes".

In the meantime, however, the hallmark had to appear on all copper metalwork made or sold during these four years. The text also specifies that it applies to "any work, old or new". It is therefore possible to find it on pieces made before 1745. All that's needed is for the object to undergo a new layer of gilding, or for it to pass through the trade during these four years. This is the case with certain pieces of furniture by André-Charles Boulle, which were made in the Louis XIV period, but whose success was prolonged. It is therefore possible to find it on a piece dating from before 1745 - even if this is rare - whereas it will be absent from a more recent bronze, unless it is a fake.
Even if we limit ourselves to Louis XV bronzes, it's difficult to count them, as the crowned C seems to have invaded furniture bronzes and decorative objects both in Paris and in the provinces during these four years. We know how highly prized such objects were at the time, and how successful the bronziers were. The king found it a way to finance his campaigns, and the artists a reward for their talent. And while questions remain as to the various forms taken by the hallmark, its discovery remains a precious landmark for lovers of Louis XV bronzes.

Bibliographical source

"French gilded bronzes of the 18th century".

Pierre Verlet
Picard Editor - 1987

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