Ref. 2018

H. Beau

Lighting manufacturer (1855-1937)
(attributed to)

Cupids Chandelier

France
Circa 1890

Gilded bronze, Alabaster

Height : 50 cm (19,7 in.) ; Diameter : 46 cm (18,1 in.)

Charming Louis XVI style chandelier composed of a gadrooned basin sculpted in alabaster surrounded by a frieze in chiseled and gilded bronze on which lie three small winged Cupids looking downwards.
The whole is suspended from an elegant ceiling light, decorated with acanthus leaves and ending in a seed, by three chains connected to the basin by leafy scrolls.

Biography

Henri-Antoine Beau (1855-1937), polytechnician, joined the Corps of Telegraphs Engineers and then as a partner from 1879 to 1880 in the firm Lecoq et Beau, specialized in gas lighting. From 1881 to 1898, the firm took the name Beau et Bertrand Taillet, then became Henri Beau et Cie from 1898 to 1911. Under his leadership, the firm innovated in the field of electric lighting, and successfully participated (“la maison Beau qui, en 1877, s’occupa de rendre pratique l’éclairage électrique” Rapport du jury international, Classe 97 – Bronzes, Fonte et Ferronnerie d’art, Zinc d’art , Métaux repoussés – Rapport de M. H. Vian, p. 39) in the successive Universal Exhibitions from 1878 to 1900, while contributing to the construction of the telegraph and telephone networks in Paris.