Silverleaf Dragon Torcheres

A pair of 19th C carved torcheres in the form of winged dragons. Later silver-leafed. In the manner of Luigi Frullini.

The carver Luigi Frullini (1839-97) was active during the latter half of the 19th century, producing, to critical acclaim, Renaissance revival objects and furniture from his Florentine workshop at 8 via Santa Caterina. He exhibited at the 1862 London International Exhibition, the Paris Expositions Universelles of 1867 and 1878, Vienna in 1873 and Philadelphia in 1876. Already known locally, his travels to London and Paris, were undoubtedly important in increasing his client base. In the years following the exhibitions, he obtained important commissions for the daughter of Queen Victoria and for the daughter of the Grand duchess of Russia (S. Chiarugi, Botteghe di Mobilieri in Toscana 1780-1900, Florence, 1994, pp.312-315, 474-477).

Frullini's illustrious private English patrons included Sir William Drake, for whom he produced an entire drawing room, commissioned through William Blundel Spence.

In America, Frullini produced an entire dining room and library for tycoon William S. Wetmore's Newport residence Château-Sur-Mer.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art retains a suite of library and dining room furniture by Frullini.

Further examples of his work can be found in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna.