Fine Pair of Antique Neo-Classical Bronze Standing Lamps
£14,500
A fine pair of Neoclassical bronze standard lamps, probably by the Chiurazzi Foundry of Naples, in Etruscan revival Thymiaterion style and each in the form of a vase cast with a leopard supported on a columnar stem faced with a Bacchic trophy incorporating pan-pipes and a mask, raised on a zoomorphic tripod bases. Originally oil lamps and now wired for electricity.
The most famous producers of bronze sculpture in the antique style was the Chiurazzi Foundry in Naples, and they may well have sculpted the present lamps. The Manufactory was founded by Gennaro Chiurazzi in 1840, after having been apprenticed to the Neapolitan sculptor, Pietro Masulli, who first conceived the idea of copying some of the ancient artefacts found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The company achieved its apogée towards the end of the 19th century, under the auspices of Gennaro’s sons, Frederico and Salvatore and, after great acclamation at the World Exhibition in St. Louis in 1900, they took America by storm.
Replicas of related pieces from Pompeii and Herculanium are illustrated in the 1910 catalogue of the Fonderie Artistiche, J. Chiurazzi & Fils-S. De Angelis & Fils.
