Pair of firedogs

The decorative elements on these firedogs refer to the hunt, one of the most important pastimes of the nobility in the 1700s. These hunting elements include a stag and a wild boar, hound’s heads on the pedestals, and low relief panels of other animals. The firedogs are of a famous model, the first example of which was delivered to the royal palace of Fontainebleau for the Salon of Louis XV’s mistress Madame du Barry in 1772. As a fashionable and high-ranking woman at court, others sought to emulate her style; in response, artists created more firedogs made from this model and many exist today.