Getty Museum
Pair of Firedogs
Creator
Charles CressentFrench Artist · 1685–1768
All works by this person →Charles Cressent, a leading *ébéniste* and sculptor of the late Régence and early Rococo periods, became a master sculptor in 1719. He worked as both *ébéniste* and sculptor to the Regent, Philippe II, duc d'Orléans. His furniture was often decorated with plain veneers, usually of satinwood and amaranth, or veneers in patterns of parquetry. Though Cressent was best known for the highly sculptural
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1735
- Medium
- Gilt bronze
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Decorative Arts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
Designed to hold logs, firedogs or *chenets* take their name from the French word for a small dog. Pairs of firedogs were placed inside the fireplace, with their gilt bronze decoration concealing wrought iron bars that supported the burning wood. To earn money to pay fines and mounting debts, the *ébéniste* Charles Cressent was forced to sell these firedogs, which he made, along with the contents of his house and workshop at auction in 1757. In the entry in the sale catalogue for number 163, he proudly described these pieces in the following words: *[A pair of] firedogs which represent two sphinxes, one playing with a cat and the other with a monkey, mounted on two feet, of the grandest taste. Amateurs will remark that these sphinxes are not treated like those one usually finds on firedogs; these could be considered to be one of the finest treatments in France, garnished with their sculpted and gilded ornament.*
The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Get printable QR codesHide QR codes
Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Getty Museum and other institutions.