A pair of Regency oil lamp form candlesticks - Gilded and patinated bronze

A PAIR OF REGENCY BRONZE AND ORMOLU-MOUNTED CASSOLETTES
IN THE FORM OF ANTIQUE OIL LAMPS
English Regency circa 1805

Of classical outline after the antique. With a central reversible lid that turns over to reveal a candle holder and two flame-form candle nozzle. Each lamp raised on oval socle.

The design of these lamps, with their distinctive shuttle-shaped form, draws inspiration from a Roman bronze lamp unearthed during the excavations at Herculaneum in the late 18th century. It was widely disseminated through an engraving published in the Voyage pittoresque de Naples et de Sicile by the Abbé de Saint Non, 1782), (Volume II, Vases trépieds candélabres de bronze, plate no. 13). Originally housed in the Cabinet of Antiquities of the King of Naples at Portici, the original lamp is today in the collection of the Naples Archaeological Museum.