Pair Of 19th Century Pompeian-style Oil Lamps

Pair of bronze sailboats inspired by models found in Pompeii, reproduced with great detail. Each piece stands on a tripod with curved legs topped with hoofed animal hooves, whose union is reinforced by a central openwork finial. The base is decorated with three winged sphinx figures in a seated position. From the base rises a sinuous tree trunk on which a heron with outstretched wings perches, holding in its beak a wavy bar from which lanterns and snuffers hang by chains.

The bronze, worked with precision in terms of volume and texture, has a uniform patina that accentuates the relief of the mythological figures and naturalistic motifs. These types of sailboats were conceived as decorative pieces with a marked historicist character, emulating the archaeological finds in the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which were highly prized in 19th-century Europe by cultured collectors and Grand Tour travelers.

The piece is part of the Italian neoclassical tradition of the mid-19th century, when copies of ancient bronzes proliferated for the decoration of salons and cabinets. These sailboats faithfully reproduce Roman iconography, where birds and sphinxes are combined with vegetal and functional elements, evoking the domestic luxury of Pompeian domus. Their paired nature reinforces the idea of symmetry, essential in neoclassical aesthetics.