Lot Essay
The C couronneé poinçon was a tax mark used between March 1745 and February 1749 on any alloy using the metal copper.
Of the many versions, including several modern after-casts, the present oil lamp stands out as a superb cast of superior quality. In Radcliffe's definitive article, he divides the many versions into three groups of variant models, with this type falling into the first category "In this, the sphinx wears a curious helmet-like headdress flanked by ram's horns, and has a face of a distinctly masculine cast" (p. 418).
Of the many versions, including several modern after-casts, the present oil lamp stands out as a superb cast of superior quality. In Radcliffe's definitive article, he divides the many versions into three groups of variant models, with this type falling into the first category "In this, the sphinx wears a curious helmet-like headdress flanked by ram's horns, and has a face of a distinctly masculine cast" (p. 418).