19th Century Neapolitan Porcelain Table Lamp

Table lamp built around a large hard-paste porcelain figural group made in Naples in the late 19th century, in the tradition of the so-called Capodimonte factories. The underside bears the blue mark with a crown above the letter “N”, historically associated with Neapolitan porcelain and frequently used by 19th-century successors to the royal manufactory.
The figure group was later mounted as a lamp and wired in the 20th century, on a wide circular gilt-wood base with a central neoclassical porcelain column.

The scene shows a young barefoot woman seated on a rocky mound, dressed in a white gown scattered with colourful flower bouquets and wrapped in a flowing blue-green shawl. Leaning forward, she lifts a voluminous pink drapery like a small tent. Beneath the cloth appears a winged putto, his body naked except for a yellow cloth, playing with a pair of doves drinking from a shallow bowl at their feet.

This charming pastoral composition is built around the themes of love and innocence. Doves, traditionally the birds of Venus, symbolise gentleness and fidelity, while the putto refers to Cupid as a playful child. The protective gesture of the young woman, sheltering the child and the birds under the drapery, suggests an allegory of maternal tenderness and protection.

Behind the group rises the lamp stem in the form of a fluted neoclassical column, decorated with gilt bands and foliate friezes. At the top, a gilt acanthus calyx supports the metal lampholder. The pleated pale-green fabric shade with gilt foliate trimming reinforces the Belle Époque character of the piece.

The main group is made of moulded hard-paste porcelain, assembled and hand-finished for the details of the faces, hands, feet and drapery. Decoration is painted in polychrome overglaze enamels, with rich floral sprays in iron-red, yellow, violet and green, and finished with gilding on the mouldings, column and terrace.

The base is turned gilt wood with an authentic aged patina. The lampholder and inner frame are in gilt brass. The shade is fabric (silk or taffeta) on a metal frame.

The refined modelling, the soft rendering of the flesh tones, the animated drapery and the intimate scene combining a young lady, a putto and doves are typical of late-19th-century Neapolitan porcelain, widely known on today’s market under the generic name Capodimonte. Comparable groups, also marked with the crown over N, are recorded in European decorative-arts sales and on the current market for Italian porcelain.

Porcelain in very good condition, with no visible chips, cracks or repairs. Original gilding well preserved with minor wear on exposed edges and the base. Gilt-wood base with small knocks and surface wear consistent with age. Old shade in good decorative order with some creasing, small stains and signs of use. The lamp is currently in working order, but as with all vintage lighting, rewiring or safety checking by a qualified electrician is recommended before use.

Overall height - 76 cm
Height of porcelain figure group - 40 cm
Base diameter - 27 cm