Pair, Aesthetic Movement Style East Asian Bronze Floral-Repoussé Table Lamps

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This matched pair of table lamps appears to have begun life as late 19th century East Asian oil lamps, later … Read more This matched pair of table lamps appears to have begun life as late 19th century East Asian oil lamps, later electrified, with substantial bronze bodies worked in dense, allover floral relief and fitted with contrasting, brighter metal mountings. Each lamp is built around a squared baluster-form vessel with sharply angled shoulders and a gently tapering neck, the surfaces chased in high-relief with layered blossoms and scrolling foliage that read as chrysanthemum- and peony-like forms, the modeling deliberately varied to create a richly textured “carpet” of ornament across every plane. The opposing handles are cast as stylized elephants, their heads and trunks emerging at the upper shoulder and the elongated bodies forming the handle arc, a motif strongly associated with Chinese decorative bronzes and export wares, and often adopted for pieces intended for the Western market. Above the body, each lamp retains an elaborate burner collar assembly with a pierced gallery and lattice banding, including a projecting key used originally for wick adjustment. The lamps terminate in stepped plinth bases with openwork fret apron and bracket feet, the geometric “key-fret” vocabulary and the mixed dark patina/bright metal contrast reinforcing an East Asian revival taste as it circulated in export objects of the period.

Measurements: 22.5" h x 6.75" w (handles) x 6" d (base) See less