A Florentine standard lamp, carved, painted and gilded wood,…
click the photo to enlarge
A Florentine standard lamp, carved, painted and gilded wood, circa 1930, 135 cm high

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
  • Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.

    For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.

    Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.

This item has been included into following indexes:

Visually similar items

A pair of George I style silver foil overlaid torcheres, each with a lobed stem and a platform base, 77 cm high

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

A large cast brass pricket stick, the fluted column with an urn form capital and lower section, on a triangular plinth with panels decorated with ecclesiastical motifs and acanthus scroll and paw feet. Height 74 cm

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

Spanish 19th century, a good pair of giltwood ecclesiastical altar candlesticks. Height 65 cm. Provenance: Purchased from Wendy Hart antiques

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

A pair of gilt lotus torcheres, 70 cm high

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.