Nightlight In Gold Metal And Glass. Rooster Decoration. France, End Of The 18th Century.

This night light is composed of a very thick glass container of truncated oblong shape supported by a tripod base in cast lead (or tin), each foot has a rooster's head at its top and a goat's foot at its base. The metal is cold gilded with gold leaf held by a thick lacquer of the "martin varnish" type, very solid and which has resisted the centuries. It is exceptional to come across such an object in lead or tin, because the fragility of the material made them perishable objects. We think that this is a night light rather than a condiment container, because the glass is very thick. In addition, the rooster heads remind us of dawn, announcing the victory of light over the night, which is the function of a night light. The rooster was widely used as an emblem during the French Revolution and we think that this night light dates from this period. The use of lead rather than bronze for such a small, precious object with careful design, could be explained by a national economy in great difficulty, which was the case at that time. Height: 125mm. Good condition. No restoration. Original gilding. Wear visible on photo. Cracked but solid lacquer.