Louis XIV, Stone Candle

Immortalized in a 7-meter high monumental sculpture by François Girardon (1699), the ‘Louis XIV à cheval’ took centre stage Place Vendôme before the statue was raised to the ground, in 1792, during the French revolution. Today a resident of the Musée du Louvre, the bust still stands tall, reproduced in a smaller scale. An iconic royal figure and messenger of “l’art à la française”, Louis XIV now looks over Trudon’s collection of busts.

In collaboration with The Plaster Cast Workshop of the Rmn - Grand Palais.

Trudon

In 1643, Claude Trudon sold his first candle out of a small Parisian shop on rue Saint Honoré. Nearly a century later, his heir would buy the Royal Wax Manufacture—the only one of its time to innovate perfectly white beeswax candles that would then supply the Imperial court of France. Honored with a gold medal at the World Exposition in 1889, Trudon’s legacy would continue until it was finally secured by the launch of the Cire Trudon candle line in Normandy, 2007. 

Hand-poured into Tuscan-made glass inspired by traditional champagne buckets, each candle is fitted with a cotton wick and filled by beeswax scented with an expert hand. The emblem is a nod to a bas relief found at the old Royal Wax Manufacture, and honors the bees that make each candle possible. 

Their perfumes are a more recent, yet no less decadent creation meant to transport the senses to other cultures and locations around the world, crafted by masters of modern parfumery while their novelty candle sculptures prove a fascinating addition.