GALLÉ / ST. HONORÉ-LES-BAINS

Glazed earthenware with polychrome decoration, marked « Gallé / St. Honoré-les-Bains » on the base. Height approx. 24 cm each. France, late 19th – early 20th century.
Elegantly modeled as rampant lions, each holding a shield or turret between their forepaws, this pair of candlesticks features a cream-colored glazed ground with smoky blue-grey detailing on the bodies and manes, set upon shaped bases. The impressed mark « Gallé / St. Honoré-les-Bains » attests to production by the renowned Poterie de la Montagne factory in Saint-Honoré-les-Bains (Nièvre), active during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The choice of subject — symbolic animals such as lions bearing shields or turrets — reflects a decorative taste well suited to representative interiors or refined studies of the Belle Époque. The glossy glaze and clear signature make these pieces notably more collectible than typical production from the period. Their well-preserved condition, with no visible cracks or significant restorations, enhances their artistic and historical appeal.
No perfectly identical pair with the same decoration and subject has been identified online, suggesting a certain rarity or at least a limited production. While the “Gallé” signature is common in period glass and ceramics, the combination “Gallé / St. Honoré-les-Bains” on animal-themed candlesticks is less documented, making this pair of particular interest to collectors of late-19th-century French ceramics or works from Saint-Honoré-les-Bains.