Three-branch wall light (one of a pair) (bras de lumière) ca. 1785 French, Paris Functional and exceedingly decorative bronzes dameublement, the so-called furnishing bronzes - wall lights, candelabra, and other types of lighting, firedogs, hearth furnishings, and clocks - were an important aspect of the eighteenth-century décor. Well-known artists and sculptors designed them closely following the latest styles. An elaborate guild system regulated the process of their creation and maintained high standards of craftsmanship. Consisting of many different steps, the manufacture of gilt-bronze objects was principally in the hands of the bronze workers, who were divided in eighteenth-century France in two guilds: that of the fondeurs-ciseleurs, or casters and chasers, and that of the ciseleurs-doreurs, or chasers and gilders.These wall lights, consisting of a set of six [see also 1979.172.11-.14, are made of chased and gilded bronze and epitomize the neo-classical style prevalent at the ti