POSSIBLY ROME OR TURIN, CIRCA 1770

This elegant pair of à l'antique wall lights, with term figures in the form of Pan and a Bacchante, reflect the classically inspired vocabulary typical of Italian ornamental bronzes of the 1770's. Likewise, the remarkable level of detail of the term figures, revealing a true sculptor's hand, together with the fact that they were cast using the lost wax process and have a high level of copper in the bronze alloy, are also typical of Italian production.

The motif of classical terms emerging from billowing drapery relates them to an earlier pair of wall lights from the mid-18th Century attributed to the Turinese scultore Francesco Ladatte (1706-1787), sold Sotheby's, London, 13 June 2001, lot 251 (£102,500). Although most famous for his work in the rococo style, mainly executed for the Turinese court, Ladatte must have remained active into the 1770's as in 1775 he was made scultore in bronzi di S.M. by Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia.

Rome, with its abundant access to classical ornament and the influence of designers such as Piranesi, was also an important center for ornamental bronzes in this period, with makers such as Francesco Righetti and Luigi and Giuseppe Valadier creating a distinctly classically inspired production.