Located in Shippensburg, PA
FINE PAIR OF NEOCLASSICAL ORMOLU-MOUNTED ROUGE MARBLE TABLE LAMPS
France, probably Paris, circa third quarter of the 19th century
Item # 404LBP26Q
A magnificent pair of Neoclassical vases converted into lamps, they are designed loosely after the influential vases of Antiquity known as the Medici and Borhese Vases. Those Kraters were executed in marble and have been widely considered the finest and most well-conceived vases of Antiquity. They have been frequently copied and have been the inspiration for many decorative arts, including the present pair.
The original vases feature bas-relief scenes in the Medici vase of a seated Iphigenia beneath a statue of Diana surrounded by Achilles, Ulysses and Agamemnon and in the Borghese vase a scene of drunk Silenius, Dionysus wearing his animal skin garment and Ariadne all together accompanied by a procession of revellers.
The present example departs from antiquity, focusing only on the Bacchic revellers and have repeated this motif across the field of the vase. They carry in their outstretched arms wreathes and long drapes of their garments, several carrying in hand the Thrysus. The chorus of figures is loosely reminiscent to the Borghese Dancers, also known as the Dancing Hours, executed in bas relief in marble...
Category
19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Marble Lighting
MaterialsMarble, Bronze, Ormolu