An Exceptional Pair of Early 18th-Century Polychrome and Gilt Carved Wood Putti - 35½"

This grand pair of early 18th-century putti, carved in wood with gesso, polychrome, and parcel gilding, are likely French and were originally made for a church interior. Each figure stands in gentle contrapposto on a swirling blue-gray cloud base, their youthful faces modeled with remarkable sensitivity: full rounded cheeks touched with soft pink, delicately parted lips shaded with traces of red, and large almond-shaped eyes highlighted with expressive brows. The dark, tousled curls frame their faces in sculptural waves, giving each putto a distinct personality, one gazing outward with a lively, playful tilt, the other more introspective with a tender, contemplative expression. Billowing gilded draperies wrap the hips and fall in animated folds that catch and reflect the light. The richly polychrome and gilt surfaces show a beautiful timeworn patina with craquelure, rubbing to the paint and gilding, small chips to the gesso, and minor losses to extremities, notably fingers and cloud edges, all consistent with age and overall stable. These remarkable figures represent the late Baroque taste moving into the Régence and early Rococo, when sculpted angels and putti animated altars and devotional settings. Painted and gilded carving allowed ateliers to create expressive modeling and a shimmering sacred presence. Standing on cloud bases, these putti would once have framed a devotional image or cartouche, their buoyant poses suggesting ascent and divine light. In today’s interiors, the pair makes an exceptional statement of scale and grandeur. Ideal for flanking a mantel or console, or elevated on pedestals in an entryway or stair hall, they command presence, their gilded draperies catching the light with dramatic effect. They harmonize with gilt frames, stone, and plaster, and serve as a powerful counterpoint in minimalist settings, bringing historic depth, sculptural authority, and undeniable distinction to any room.