Italian Grand Tour ~ Baroque Revival

Pendant Oil Lamp

Gilt Bronze

Circa 1870 

DIMENSIONS

Height: 40 in. (101.6 cm)
Width: 12 in. (30.48 cm)
Depth: 12 in. (30.48 cm) 

DESCRIPTION

An exceptionally ornate Italian Grand Tour pendant oil lamp, dating to circa 1870 and executed in gilt bronze in the elaborate Baroque Revival or Historicist taste.

The lamp is conceived as a 19th-century interpretation of an earlier Venetian Baroque model and is believed to have been inspired by, or possibly made as a Grand Tour reproduction of, a historic lamp associated with the Church of San Sebastiano in Venice. 

The substantial circular oil reservoir is surrounded by an extraordinary sculptural arrangement of winged female figures or mermaid-like sirens, their bodies emerging dramatically from the sides of the vessel. These figures alternate with richly modeled grotesque and zoomorphic ornament, scrolling foliage, shells, masks and other Renaissance- and Baroque-inspired decorative motifs. The underside terminates in an elaborate sculptural pendant with a grotesque mask and foliate ornament. 

The lamp is suspended from three decorative bronze chains, composed of pierced and cast ornamental links, which rise to an equally elaborate ceiling canopy embellished with fantastic animal and grotesque forms. The combination of sculptural figures, masks, scrollwork and richly articulated chains gives the piece a particularly theatrical appearance when suspended. 

One side of the reservoir bears an ornamental cartouche inscribed “ANNO MDXLVIII” (1548). The date appears to reference the historical expansion and completion of the Church of San Sebastiano in Venice rather than the actual manufacture of the present lamp, which dates to the second half of the 19th century, circa 1870. 

A striking example of the 19th-century fascination with Renaissance and Baroque Italy, the lamp would have appealed particularly to affluent travelers participating in the Grand Tour, for whom architectural and decorative objects inspired by celebrated Italian monuments and churches served as sophisticated souvenirs of their travels.

The bronze retains areas of its original gilding, now substantially worn and mellowed through age, producing an attractive, richly varied antique surface and patina. Good overall antique condition consistent with age and use. One of the wings is bent, as illustrated in the photographs, and much of the original gilding has worn away.

A highly decorative and unusual piece of Italian Grand Tour, Historicist and Baroque Revival metalwork, impressive both as a suspended sculptural object and as an architectural decorative element.

$8,500