An esteemed producer of bronze for many of Paris’s prestigious cabinetmakers during the late 19th century, Maison Mottheau et Fils is also renowned for elaborate furniture designs that combine function and decoration.
Throughout the late 1800s, Maison Mottheau et Fils designed and produced decorative gilt-bronze objets d’art and furniture, including ormolu-mounted tea tables and ornate Neoclassical-style clocks. However, the company was mostly known for its lines of exquisite Louis XVI wall lights, chandeliers, candelabras and lanterns. With the introduction of electricity in the 1890s, Maison Mottheau et Fils incorporated the new technology into its lighting fixtures, and the company flourished.
Maison Mottheau et Fils was inspired by famed bronzier Pierre Gouthière (1740–1806) in many of its designs; it also collaborated with several well-known French sculptors. Among them was Frédéric-Eugène Piat (1827–1903), who designed an onyx and gilt-bronze torchère lumineuse for the company that was shown at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Maison Mottheau et Fils’s display also featured a pair of large Napoleon III gilt-bronze candelabras, each lit by ten electric lights.
The company’s electrical lighting exhibit garnered critical acclaim, prompting the Art Journal to write in 1900 that the “French Section shows many examples of fine work applied under the new conditions, but we doubt if a more complete success is to be recorded to the credit of any exhibitor that can be conceded to Messieurs Mottheau et Fils.”
Today, pieces by Maison Mottheau et Fils continue to be highly sought by collectors of late 19th-century furniture.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of antique Maison Mottheau et Fils lighting, decorative objects and other furniture and collectibles.
A 19th Century Louis XV Style Ormolu & Cut-Glass Chandelier by Mottheau et Fils
By Maison Mottheau et Fils
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very fine and rare French 19th century Louis XV style ormolu-mounted and cut-glass eight-light chandelier with a suspended bell-shaped blown-glass candle-bowl, by Mottheau et Fils,...
Bronze
19th Century Baccarat Crystal Chandelier Five-Light Chandelier
Located in Frankfurt am Main, DE
A lovely antique Baccarat crystal electrified chandelier, gilt brass beautifully decorated with several tiers of large pendaloques in different shapes and sizes, finishing at the bot...
Crystal, Brass
Louis XVI Bronze d’Ore Chandelier, French 19th Century
Located in New Orleans, LA
This French Louis XVI chandelier is made of bronze d’ore, dates back to the 19th century, and is elegant in simplicity. The piece features ...
Bronze, Gold
$4,286
H 45 in W 21 in D 21 in
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Five-Light Chandelier
Located in Frankfurt am Main, DE
A fine Louis XVI style five-arm chandelier of gilt bronze and parcel patinated, extremely ornate with great details, France, 1880-1890. This wonderful piece is in its original condi...
Bronze
Large 19th Century Regency Style Bronze and Cut-Glass Lantern
Located in Frankfurt am Main, DE
Heavy, large Regency style lantern, France, circa 1870-1880. This lantern is of solid bronze and parcel brass with six frosted cut glass windows....
Brass, Bronze
19th Century Louis XV Style Brass Lantern with Beveled Glass
Located in Montreal, QC
Louis XV style three-light hexagonal lantern fitted with beveled glass panels , the frame applied with foliate forms.
Brass
A French 19th Century Louis XVI Style Ormolu & Carved Alabaster Chandelier
Located in New York, NY
A spectacular French Louis XVI style gilt bronze and carved alabaster chandelier. The chandelier is suspended from a domed gilt bronze canopy with acanthus leaf motifs and a heavy ch...
Alabaster, Bronze
Unique Antique French Louis XVI Style Ormolu and Cut Crystal Chandelier
Located in New York, NY
A unique antique French Louis XVI style ormolu and cut crystal chandelier. The chandelier is designed in a tent and bag form, with strands of faceted cut crystal beads descending fro...
Crystal, Bronze
19th Century Neoclassical Ormolu, Opaline Glass, and Crystal Chandelier
Located in New York, NY
A palatial and large antique Neoclassical gilt bronze and crystal chandelier. The chandelier is arranged in multiple tiers, incorporating a complex structure of ormolu-mounted elemen...
Crystal, Bronze
19th Century Louis XV-Style Chandelier
Located in New Orleans, LA
This refined ten-light chandelier is a grand example of 19th century French opulence. Crafted in the Louis XV style, this fixture emits a soft glow tha...
Bronze
19th Century Large Lantern in Louis XV Style
Located in Paris, FR
Large ormolu lantern with polylobed mounts decorated with palmettes, acanthus leaves and foliated scrolls. This naturalist decoration is inspired by the Louis XV style. This entrance hall lantern...
Bronze
$5,875
H 20 in W 8 in D 8 in
19thc XL French Louis XV Gilt Bronze Sconce Signed by Maison E. Mottheau & Fils
By Maison Mottheau et Fils
Located in Opa Locka, FL
Rare 19thc Massive French Louis XV Gilt Bronze Gas Converted Wall Sconce Signed by Maison E. Mottheau & Fils Paris. Masterpiece large and heavy figural Sconce. Room dominating C...
Bronze
Large Antique French 19th Century Ormolu and Glass Multi Light Lantern
Located in New York, NY
A large and exquisite antique French 19th-century ormolu and glass multi-light lantern. The lantern has a cylindrical form with a frame of gilt bronze, enclosing four curved glass pa...
Bronze