Empire-style Oil Lamp In Chiseled Bronze,

Empire Oil Lamp in Chiseled, Patinated, and Gilded Bronze – Circa 1810. A rare Empire period oil lamp in chiseled, patinated, and gilded bronze. The composition features a kneeling winged nymph pouring oil from an amphora into a brazier placed on a richly decorated parallelepiped base adorned with gilt-bronze appliqués depicting tambourine dancers and warriors in classical style. This model is directly inspired by early 19th-century creations attributed to the Girard Frères firm, which presented a spring-loaded candlestick to the Société d'Encouragement in 1806. This spring-loaded mechanism was designed to raise the candle as it burned—a system absent from the present example, and now missing. The quality of the chasing, the fineness of the gilding, and the powerful sculptural presence of the female figure testify to the skill of Parisian bronze workers of the First Empire, in the tradition of... Productions by Claude Galle and Thomire. Condition: very good overall condition, original patina and gilding well preserved. The spring-driven mechanism mentioned in the original model is missing.