CIRCA 1800, PROBABLY ST. PETERSBURG

This jewel-like bouillotte lamp is typical of the production of luxury bronzes d'ameublement by St. Petersburg bronziers in the early 19th Century. Two similar lamps at Tsarskoe Selo are illustrated in I. Sychev, Russian Bronze, Moscow, 2002, pp. 126-7, while a further related pair of bouillotte lamps, also featuring entwined snakes, was sold Christie's, London, 25 November 2008, lot 44 (£7,000 exc. premium).