Pair of Louis XVI style candelabra

Beautiful pair of patinated and gilt bronze candelabra, finely engraved and gilded with matt and burnished gold. Representing the metamorphosis of Daphne through two naked women in patinated bronze transforming into tree branches, who stand opposite one another. They are joined by a hanging flower garland and support an urn on their backs, which is patterned with raies de cœur, a beaded and fluted neck and three light branches with foliage, finished with bobeches and drip pans and decorated with acanthus leaves.
White marble cylindrical-shaped base, moulded and flanked by a garland of intertwined foliage in its centre.

French work in Louis XVI style from the second half of the 19th century, around 1850.

In Greek mythology, Daphne, meaning laurel, is a nymph known for her great beauty. According to ancient sources, she is the daughter of the god Peneus and goddess Gaia.
Her myth is subject to many interpretations. However, the most well-known describes the god Apollo and Daphne being struck by arrows shot by Eros. As a result, Apollo relentlessly pursues Daphne until he is exhausted. Daphne implores her father to help her and he transforms her into a laurel tree to outsmart Apollo.