The Michelangelo Lamp
Lamp
after 1780 (made)
after 1780 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This lamp is highly decorative and was probably intended as the focal point for a chimney-piece or table. It was probably rarely, if ever, used to provide illumination. To function as a lamp, wicks would have been threaded through the three nozzles and the bowl filled with oil. Whale oil, which created a great deal of smoke, was the most common type used in Britain when these lamps were first made, but colza (vegetable) oil later came into use. Whale oil is lighter than colza oil. It would have been best for a lamp of this construction as it rises up the wick by capillary action alone.
Design & Designing
The lamp combines classical and Renaissance elements. The bowl is based on an ancient Greek bronze hanging lamp of about 400 BC, but the figures are copied from the base of a 16th-century silver-gilt crucifix. These figures were thought in Wedgwood's time to have been made by Michelangelo, but they are now attributed to the Italian goldsmith Antonio Gentili (1519-1609). Similar figures appear on ormolu (gilt-bronze) items by Matthew Boulton. John Flaxman Senior (1726-1795, father of the famous sculptor, John Flaxman) probably supplied casting models for the figures to both Boulton and Wedgwood.
This lamp is highly decorative and was probably intended as the focal point for a chimney-piece or table. It was probably rarely, if ever, used to provide illumination. To function as a lamp, wicks would have been threaded through the three nozzles and the bowl filled with oil. Whale oil, which created a great deal of smoke, was the most common type used in Britain when these lamps were first made, but colza (vegetable) oil later came into use. Whale oil is lighter than colza oil. It would have been best for a lamp of this construction as it rises up the wick by capillary action alone.
Design & Designing
The lamp combines classical and Renaissance elements. The bowl is based on an ancient Greek bronze hanging lamp of about 400 BC, but the figures are copied from the base of a 16th-century silver-gilt crucifix. These figures were thought in Wedgwood's time to have been made by Michelangelo, but they are now attributed to the Italian goldsmith Antonio Gentili (1519-1609). Similar figures appear on ormolu (gilt-bronze) items by Matthew Boulton. John Flaxman Senior (1726-1795, father of the famous sculptor, John Flaxman) probably supplied casting models for the figures to both Boulton and Wedgwood.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Title | The Michelangelo Lamp |
| Materials and techniques | Black Basalt |
| Brief description | Black basalt lamp and cover, supported by three figures. British, design introduced about 1772; this example possibly 19th century. Made by Wedgwood. |
| Physical description | Black basalt lamp and cover, consisting of a bowl supported by three stooping male figures, the cover being surmounted by three draped female figures seated beneath a palm-tree which are said to have been designed by Josiah Wedgwood. The bowl is decorated with floral scrolls in relief and rests on a fluted column round which the three figures are grouped; on the shoulder are three small shells through which pass tubes for the wicks. The base is triangular with incurved sides. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street |
| Object history | Made at Josiah Wedgwood's factory, Etruria, Staffordshire Historical significance: This piece illustrates the way in which Wedgwood's connections with influential collectors, antiquaries and architects enabled him to gain privileged access to a wide range of design sources. The caryatid figures are copied from the base of a silver-gilt crucifix made by the 16th century Italian goldsmith Antonio Gentile, believed, in the 18th century, to have been made by Michelangelo. Matthew Bolton used similar caryatids in his ormolu, the models for which were supplied by John Flaxman (1726-95). Flaxman was probably also the source of Wedgwood's models. Three of Gentile's figures are illustrated in William Chambers' A Treatise of Civil Architecture (1759) where they are stated to have been 'cast from models of Michel Angelo Buonarroti, and repaired either by himself or under his direction'. A similar grouping also occurs in a highly problematic drawing, the back of which is inscribed 'Stuarts Sale 1788'. Presumably referring to James 'Athenian' Stuart, who died in that year and is known to have lent models to Wedgwood. |
| Production | In production from about 1772; this example possibly 19th century. |
| Summary | Object Type This lamp is highly decorative and was probably intended as the focal point for a chimney-piece or table. It was probably rarely, if ever, used to provide illumination. To function as a lamp, wicks would have been threaded through the three nozzles and the bowl filled with oil. Whale oil, which created a great deal of smoke, was the most common type used in Britain when these lamps were first made, but colza (vegetable) oil later came into use. Whale oil is lighter than colza oil. It would have been best for a lamp of this construction as it rises up the wick by capillary action alone. Design & Designing The lamp combines classical and Renaissance elements. The bowl is based on an ancient Greek bronze hanging lamp of about 400 BC, but the figures are copied from the base of a 16th-century silver-gilt crucifix. These figures were thought in Wedgwood's time to have been made by Michelangelo, but they are now attributed to the Italian goldsmith Antonio Gentili (1519-1609). Similar figures appear on ormolu (gilt-bronze) items by Matthew Boulton. John Flaxman Senior (1726-1795, father of the famous sculptor, John Flaxman) probably supplied casting models for the figures to both Boulton and Wedgwood. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 4790&A-1901 |
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| Record created | July 1, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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