candle stick VON LATT

The “Herms as Candelabra” candlesticks, with their contemporary marble-like finish, are iconic masterpieces. In the spring of 1900, the sculptor Hans Latt (1859–1946) designed two table candlesticks featuring herms in the Neoclassical style. The two two-armed candelabras, featuring a female and a male “ figure ,” originally formed a set with a table clock. Hans Latt worked in Rome from 1883 to 1885, and his artistic work was influenced by the sculptures and architecture of antiquity. In 1886, he returned to Berlin and devoted himself to architectural sculpture, relief art, and portraiture. He created several mold designs for the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin. In the special edition shown here, the lampshade is artfully painted to resemble white marble, and individual relief ornaments are additionally decorated with 24-karat gold and polished to a matte sheen. The artistry in imitating the material is due to the rich palette of metal oxide colors and the craftsmanship of the porcelain painters at the Berlin manufactory. figure , a female figure draped in a cloth, is depicted in a semi-nude pose and holds a mirror in her right hand. In ancient culture, the mirror was regarded as a reflection of the soul; the hand mirror of Venus is still known today, in stylized form, as a symbol of femininity. The male counterpart, with a cloth draped over his shoulder, carries the fasces in his left arm—a bundle of rods that, in ancient Rome, was carried before the ruler by the lictors as a symbol of office. Neither of the figures, nor the heads attached to the sides of the candlestick base, are glazed, in order to better highlight the subtleties of the sculptural work. On either side of the figures are candlestick arms made of fluted brass, on which porcelain finials—shaped like flower calyxes, glazed, and decorated with a gold rim—are mounted.