This post is a riff on last week's post about busts, seen
here. For years, I have been walking by the Paris storefront of Cire Trudon, the oldest wax manufacturer in the world (
cire means wax in French), and admiring their bust candles. Founded in 1643 by wax merchant Claude Trudon, this venerable company made candles for Versailles, Louis XIV, and through the end of the monarchy with Louis XVI. They subsequently provided candles for Napoleon and the Empire. In fact, Napoleon gifted his newborn son, Aiglon, a single Cire Trudon pillar candle adorned with three gold pieces featuring the profile of the Emperor. That candle model is still available for purcahse; called The Imperial Pillar Candle, it is in the fourth image down. And their bust candles come in different designs: Marie-Antoinette, Napoleon, Louise and Alexandre (the children of architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, famous for designing the Stock Exchange building in Paris and transforming the Père Lachaise Cemetery), Benjamin Franklin (well, he
was Ambassador to France), and the figure of a slave. The windows of the Paris store often feature busts burning down, melting into drips and puddles...
Above photos by Jeff Fiorito
Above photos from Cire Trudon
Imagine a Continental-themed dinner party with a centerpiece of a Napoleon bust surrounded by smaller busts and a few glittering glassed candles. And you don't have to go to Paris to buy: visit their e-shop at:
http://www.ciretrudon.com/ and conjure up images of French palaces in your own home.
Happy designing!
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