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an old wooden incense holder with a wooden stick sticking out of it
ALEXANDRE LANDRE - SEMUR-EN-AUXOIS

11 - Portable tripod candlestick in champlevé copper, enamelled, …
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Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
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Description
Portable tripod candlestick in champlevé copper, enamelled, engraved and gilded, with a hexagonal pyramidal base decorated with heraldic shields and foliage, in blue, red and white enamels. Coat of arms: Gules, three leopards Or arranged in a pale (England); parted in the middle, 1st gules with a gold escarboucle (Navarre), 2nd azure with a silver band accompanied by four gold cotices, each with a potence and counter-potence (Champagne); azure, strewn with gold fleurs-de-lis (France). Limoges, second half of the 13th century/early 14th century H_12 cm D_10.5 cm (minor imperfections and some missing enamel) This candlestick belongs to Type A, as defined by Anne-Clothilde Dumargne in her study of portable lighting fixtures from Limoges. The presence of a shield divided in two bearing the coats of arms of Navarre and Champagne places its date of manufacture between 1234—the year Count Thibaut IV of Champagne ascended the throne of Navarre—and 1305, the year of the death of his granddaughter Jeanne I. An object likely to have come from the same series, but missing its spike, was discovered near Montmorillon Castle (Vienne) in 1868. According to Jules Goudon de Lalande, this coat of arms could refer to two possible patrons: Princess Isabelle, daughter of Philip IV the Fair and Jeanne of Navarre (Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne), wife of King Edward II of England; or Blanche of Artois, niece of Louis IX, widow of Henry I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne, who remarried Prince Edmond, the second son of King Henry III of England. Recent historiography, however, urges caution regarding this attribution: it cannot be stated with certainty that this candlestick was made for a member of the Thibaudian dynasty. Art historians now generally agree that the use of armorial shields in Limousin craftsmanship is often purely decorative, without any systematic reference to a specific patron. This is likely the case here: the coats of arms of France and England, and to a lesser extent those of Champagne, are among the most common in the Limousin repertoire. The three colours used (medium blue, brick red and white) correspond, moreover, to the most common colour palette in this type of production, which lends support to a decorative interpretation rather than a strictly heraldic one. Bibliography: - A.-C. Dumargne, ‘Portable candlesticks and candle holders with enamelled decoration from Limoges from the 13th–14th centuries’, in *Cahiers LandArc*, 2016, 18, pp. 1–23. - J. Goudon de Lalande, ‘Description of a 14th-century enamelled and gilded copper candleholder’, Bulletin de la société des antiquaires de l’ouest, XII (1868), pp. 72–74. Expert: FLIGNY consultancy - Expert: Laurence FLIGNY
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About the sale Collection of the Château de Villebourgeon & others
Auction location
Auction time 10/04/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures modified on 09/23/2026 at 6:29 PM
Lot description modified on 09/23/2026 at 6:29 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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