A pair of Italian bronze and marble Egyptian figures, circa 1800

These figures exemplify the taste for Egypt that started imbuing neoclassicism with Piranesi in Rome in the second half of the 18^th century and later swept Europe with the retour d’Egypte style after the Napoleonic campaigns. During this era, the neoclassical trend led to the creation of figural oil lamps, where human figures supported containers for whale oil. These lamps, often depicting human figures in Egyptian, Greek, or Roman clothing, adhered to the neo-classical aesthetic. They featured shades and were equipped with snuffers, tweezers, and extinguishers suspended from chains attached to the lamp's rod.

An identical pair to the present lot, without the candle accessories, is in the iconic Egyptian revival interior which is the dining room at Goodwood House, the main seat of the Dukes of Richmond, adorning the mantelpiece. Designed by Wyatt, it was started in 1802, the year of publication of the influential Household Furniture and Interior Decoration by Thomas Hope where a similar figure is illustrated, (plates 8 and 46).

A comparable Italian marble library lamp was auctioned at Sotheby’s London, 14 April 2011, lot 280 and a rosso antico example was sold in these rooms, STONE, December 2019, lot 33, and a further comparable example is at the Victoria and Albert Museum, bequeathed by the 7th Duke of Wellington. A drawing by Giovacchino Belli (1756-1821) resembling the figures on the present lot was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 13 January 1989, lot 335.