Capodimonte, Cage chandelier in crystal and porcelain characters, circa 1900

Capodimont porcelain, attributed to.

Cage chandelier with four arm lights with a gilt brass structure with a foliage decor adorned with drops and flowers shape tassels in facets cut crystal; the middle of the flowers is made of chiselled and gilt brass. Four other arms support Capodimonte porcelain items figuring characters in the taste of the 18^th century : a young man holding a flowers basket, a young lady holding on her knees a hat adorned with flowers… Chandelier finishing by a facets ball.

Work realized circa 1900.

Dimensions : H 85 x D 55 cm.

Reference : LS2479751

The porcelain manufacture of Capodimonte was founded in Naples in 1743 thanks to the king Charles of Bourbon and his wife Marie-Amélie of Saxe. It mainly produced a soft-paste porcelain statuary inspired by Meissen porcelain which is characterized by delicate details, expressive shapes and a great realism. At this time, the chemist Schepers improved the soft-paste composition and the sculptor Gricci and the decorator Casella created important works of art by developing new Italian shapes, famous in all Europe.

When Charles III moved to Spain in 1759, he transferred the manufacture in the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid. After his death, his son Ferdinand IV continued to support the manufacture production which developed prestigious table services. The production also turned, at the end of the 18^th century, to Antic style earthenware collections, in the Etruscan style. The manufacture developed the hard-paste porcelain production and was inspired by Herculanum and Pompeii excavations.

At the 19^th century, under the Murat’s reign (1808-1815), the production turned to floral shapes decorative items, which became a specialty of the manufacture and gave birth to the “Capodimonte style”. The royal manufacture closed in 1821 but the name of Capodimonte porcelain was reused by manufactures that opened in the second part of the 19^th century.