Meissonnier was an architect, painter, silversmith, and one of the leading Rococo designers, with the position of architecte-dessinateur de la chambre et du cabinet du roi. His boldly asymmetrical model for these candlesticks was recorded in three drawings that were then engraved by Gabriel Huquier and published in Dousième livre des oeuvres de J. A. Meissonnier, Livre de chandeliers de sculpture en argent (1728; pls. 73–75). The design became widely popular and was often executed in gilt bronze. Examples of the highest quality, such as the present pair, were probably supervised by Meissonnier himself. The model was also made in silver. It was used for a three-branch candelabra, part of a famous silver service acquired by the duke of Kingston in 1737, which is now in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.