AN EXCEPTIONAL PAIR OF LATE 19TH CENTURY FRENCH GREEN WEARDALE FLUORSPAR AND GILT BRONZE MOUNTED CANDELABRA BY MAISON MILLET, PARIS the vases of baluster form with foliate ormolu collars and rope twist handles terminating in classical mask mounts, the acanthus cast covers surmounted by a profusion of ormolu lilies, seven fitted with candle nozzles, raised on ringed socles over gilt bronze re-entrant cut square plinths, the plinths signed 'MILLET A PARIS'  later drilled for electricity, 80cm high excluding electric fittings (2) The renowned cabinet maker and bronzier Maison Millet was established at 11 Rue Jacques-Coeur, Paris by Theodore Millet in 1853. The firm specialised in 'meubles et bronzes d'art, genre ancien et moderne' and the present pair of gilt bronze candelabra are typical of their work, clearly demonstrating the exceptional workmanship of their craftsmen and their talent for extremely fine gilding and chasing, beautifully sculpted and modelled bronze casting, and the successful re-interpretation of the Louis XVI style. The company was very successful throughout the 19th century, winning a gold medal at the 1889  Paris Exposition Universelle, and the Grand Prix in 1900. The firm ceased trading in 1918. Weardale Fluorspar is the rarer variant of Derbyshire Blue John stone and is considered by collectors to be amongst the finest and therefore valued of all hard stones, in the world. It is a semi-precious mineral or fluorspar and features a crystalline structure which has a great depth of colour varying in tone from green to yellows and white. It was highly prized as far back as the eighteenth century when it was mined in Weardale in the North of England and sought after by the French royals who had their designers turn the mineral into decorative vases and candelabra and mount them with ormolu. This pair of candelabra produced by one of the most renowned, prize winning designers of the nineteenth century and featuring this rare and exquisite stone can truly be described as exceptional in every sense of the word.