Interesting Pair of William IV Period Bronze Colza Rhyton Lamps Attributed to Thomas Messenger and Now Electrified c.1835

An Interesting Pair of William IV Period Bronze Colza Rhyton Lamps Attributed to Thomas Messenger and Now Electrified c.1835 The lamps in the form of classical rhytons with covers and lighting elements, now electrified, in tubes attached to the front of the boars’ heads. These fine lamps were originally intended to be used with wicks and colza oil stored in the urn-shaped reservoirs. The design of the rhytons is taken directly from a plate in G. B. Piranesi’s highly influential series Vasi, Candelabri, Cippi, Sarcofagi, published in 1778. The rhyton was a classical drinking vessel but the enormous sculptural representation of one reproduced by Piranesi was highly influential on the generation of grand tourists, and would-be grand tourists, of the late 18th century and the design came to be reproduced in many branches of the decorative arts from porcelain versions to bronze and marble reductions and, as in the present example, as designs for lighting. The use of the rhyton as a colza lamp seems to have been popularised by the Birmingham manufacturer Thomas Messenger and Sons. Close examination of the firm’s trade card in the British Museum https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_Heal-66-45 reveals a rhyton on the ground in the foreground, surrounded by some of the firm’s massive candelabra and chandeliers. Messengers were incredibly important manufacturers who also had a showroom in London, allowing them to reach many of the leading aristocratic clients of the period. The BM’s trade card dates from 1833 and it is highly likely that the present pieces were made at around this time. A signed example of this model is in the collections of the Birmingham Art Gallery and Museum but sadly not illustrated online. Additionally, an unsigned pair in ormolu that once belonged to the Dukes of Newcastle at Clumber Park are in the collections at Temple Newsam, again sadly not viewable online, and, in the US, there is a pair attributed to Messenger in the collection of the Adams National Historic Site, Quincy, Massachusetts. These are perhaps one of the more iconic designs for table lighting created in England in the early 19th century.