A BRONZE TRIANGULAR OIL LAMP

Details

A BRONZE TRIANGULAR OIL LAMP
ATTRIBUTED TO SEVERO CALZETTA, CALLED SEVERO DA RAVENNA, CIRCA 1525

The lid surmounted by a figure of St. Paul holding a book and a sword resting on his right foot, the base fitted with a well and cast with griffins' masks at the angles, each side with a frieze centered by a grotesque mask within a foliate cartouche, the supports termininating in lion paw feet
Golden brown patina with extensive black lacquer
7¼in. (18.5cm.) high

Literature

John Pope-Hennessy, The Frick Collection, An Illustrated Catalogue, vol. III, Sculpture Italian, 1970, p. 141-44
W. Wixom, Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections, Cleveland, 1975, no. 94
C. Avery and A. Radcliffe, 'Severo Calzetta da Ravenna: New York discoveries', Studien zum europäischen Kunsthandwerk. Festschrift Yvonne Hackenbrock, Munich, 1983, pp. 107-122
E. Munhall, Severo Calzetta called Severo da Ravenna, The Frick Collection, New York, 1978, no. 12
P.M. de Winter, Recent Accessions of Italian Renaissance Decorative Arts, Part I: Incorporating Notes on the Sculptor Severo da Ravenna, Cleveland Museum of Art Bulletin, March 1986, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 120, 138, fig. 120

Exhibited

E. Munhall, Severo Calzetta called Severo da Ravenna, The Frick Collection, New York, 1978, no. 12

Lot Essay

The present oil lamp is essential to the understanding and attribution of other triangular containers and small bronze statuettes to the workshop of Severo da Ravenna. The figure of St. Paul which surmounts the lamp is characteristic of Severo's work and forms the crux of the attribution for other triangular containers. The motif of satyr masks with scrolls also argues for the attribution of similarly decorated objects to Severo's workshop. The quality of the object and its importance in defining this artists oeuvre can not be overstated.