RICCIO, Andrea
(b. 1470, Trento, d. 1532, Padova)

The Cadogan Lamp

1507-10
Bronze, 13 x 21 x 6 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

This bronze oil lamp, the so-called 'Cadogan Lamp' is in the form of an ancient galley, on the sides of which are groups of sea gods and medallions and on the cover is a statuette of a cupid mounted on a dolphin. Many oil lamps have decoration that carries symbolic meaning and is now difficult to interpret. Here one side shows the Fall of Ignorant Humanity, in the form of a fat woman flanked by two females. The other, with a youth blowing a horn into a billowing sail, represents the motto 'make haste slowly'. Usually described as a galley, this ship is in fact a fantastical vessel.




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