A Pair of Candelabra for the Surtout de Table of the Duc d'Orléans

The recent gift of the two candelabra to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York offers a wonderful opportunity to reexamine this extraordinary centerpiece, which was arguably the duke's most important commission. Kisluk-Grosheide aims to reconstruct the surtout as a true collaborative effort and discuss it as a high point of Ferdinand Philippe's art collection. In addition to contemporary paintings, the duke purchased medieval and Renaissance objets d'art, including Palissy ware and Urbino majolica. The commission of the surtout de table was a newsworthy event. The weekly journal L'Artiste first mentioned Philippe's table decoration in 1834.