An Italian silvered carved wood hanging lantern, Venice, late 16th/17th century

The present lantern is a rare surviving example of its type. A similar lantern is depicted in painting with a scene, possibly a wedding, in a Venetian palace attributed to Paolo Fiammingo (1540?-96), illustrated in Jonathan Bourne and Vanessa Brett, Lighting in the Domestic Interior, 1991, p.10, fig.8. The authors specify that this type of lantern, carved wood and gilded could have possibly been painted as well and would contain a small number of candles.