A pair of Regency oil lamp form candlesticks - Gilded and patinated bronze

A PAIR OF REGENCY BRONZE AND ORMOLU-MOUNTED CASSOLETTES
IN THE FORM OF ANTIQUE OIL LAMPS
English Regency circa 1805

Of classical outline after the antique. With a central reversible lid that turns over to reveal a candle holder and two flame-form candle nozzle. Each lamp raised on oval socle.

The form of these lamps is inspired by Roman antiquity but also harking back to the work of Boisot in France in the late Louis XVIth period. Evolving from the Neo-classical style of the 18th century, Regency Classicism was characterised by forms and motifs from ancient Greece and Rome, under the influence of artists such as Thomas Hope, who was determined to reform contemporary taste by returning architecture and the arts, including interior decoration and furniture, to what he considered to be the spirit of classical purity.