A pair of German neoclassical gilt-metal and cut-glass five-branch wall lights, after a design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, possibly by Werner & Neffen, Berlin, circa 1820-30

The present pair most closely relates to a chandelier and a pair of wall-lights on either side of pier mirrors seen in a watercolour circa 1830/31 by Schinkel for the rear wall of the Marble Hall in the palace of Prince Albrecht of Prussia (Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, inv. SM 49.46). Distinguishing characteristics are the overall restrained neoclassical form, the trumpet-shaped candleholders, the scrolls and medallions bordered with beading or gadroons. Two chandeliers after Schinkel, and combining most of these characteristics, include one at Begas House in Heinsberg and one by Werner & Neffen in Charlottenburg Palace - the latter with scrolling branches issuing from a roundel like the present. Finally, a seven-branch wall-light, firmly attributed to Werner & Neffen, joined the collections in 2018 of the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin. 

Almost identical examples were sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 3 February 2024, lot 1158 ($12,065) and at Sotheby’s, New York, 26 October 2012, lot 217 ($12,500). A pair of torchères with similar scrolling branches was sold at Phillips, New York, 4 June 2002, lot 44 ($30,000).

Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841)

He was a leading designer and architect to the Prussian court in the first half of the 19th century and one of his first recorded commissions was a bed and toilet table for Queen Louise designed in 1809 for the Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin. He was appointed Geheimer Oberbaurat (Director of Works) in 1815 in the Prussian Office of Public Works which was the start of his career as an architect and he had the greatest impact on the applied and decorative arts and was concerned with the revival of historic forms and techniques and an notable connoisseur and collector and was at ease in both the Greek and Gothic style.

Werner & Neffen

The Berlin-based Werner & Neffen manufactory was founded in 1792 by Christian Gottlieb Werner and Gottfried Mieth, two former modelers at the Royal Porcelain Manufactory (KPM). According to their own account, Werner & Neffen worked around 1820 primarily based on designs by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841), an artistic collaboration that can be documented in various other works by the Berlin bronziers and can most likely also be assumed for the present.