The Cadogan Lamp
by RICCIO, Andrea, Bronze, 13 x 21 x 6 cm
Although members of Riccio’s workshop and followers issued, on a level of mass production, bronze oil lamps as well as inkwells and candlesticks, Riccio himself produced only a handful of them, including some unique oil lamps, which transcend utility to become masterpieces. Three superlative examples of them are the Rothschild Lamp (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), the Morgan Lamp (Frick Collection, New York) and the Cadogan Lamp (Victoria and Albert Museum, London).
Though a functional object, this elaborate lamp is above all a work of art, designed to take its place alongside other collectibles in a scholar’s study that would have primarily been illuminated by candlelight.