Set – Ceiling Lamp and Wall Lamp with Arrow Motif – Empire Style, France, circa 1800–1830 (5389)

Ceiling Lamp and Wall Sconce with Arrow Motif and Draped Figures — Empire Style, France, circa 1800–1830

This rare ensemble — a ceiling lamp and a bras de lumière wall sconce — embodies the most dramatic and distinctive expression of the Empire style: the central axis is an arrow (flèche) — a straight spear-like element with a feathered tip (plume) at one end and a pointed blade at the other. The arrow in Napoleonic imperial symbolism united two layers of meaning: Eros’s arrow of love from Greek tradition and the lance of Roman military triumph — amor et imperium — love and power in one form.

The ceiling lamp’s central node is a smooth sphere — globe — between three arms, each formed as a draped figure (figure drapée) in a helmet or laurel wreath. In Empire bronze, such figures are identified as Victoires — goddesses of victory — or Vestales — Roman vestal priestesses. The wall sconce repeats the same vocabulary in more compact form: the arrow as central plate, two figural arms, a spherical junction point at the centre. Both lamps together constitute a unified lighting programme — evidently produced in one workshop to a single commission.

Empire period snapshot: In 1807, shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit, Napoleon’s marshal Joachim Murat was furnishing his Paris residence — architect Charles Percier supplied the furniture, the bronzier supplied the lamps; Murat entered the salon, paused beneath the ceiling lamp with arrows and draped figures, and simply nodded — that was enough.

No maker’s mark visible. The plastic quality of the figures — facial expressiveness, drapery detail — and the precise finish of the sphere point to a first-rank Parisian bronziers workshop. The stylistic and proportional unity of the two pieces confirms they were created as a matched ensemble, possibly to an architect’s design.

The arrow (flèche) as central lighting axis is among the rarest Empire decorative solutions. The presence of figural arms — Victoires or Vestales — places these lamps in the sculptural category considered the highest tier among Empire bras. A matched ensemble of ceiling lamp and wall sconce in this condition is exceptionally rare. The condition of the item is fully reflected in the photographs.

Deckenleuchte: Höhe 61 cm × Breite 27 cm Wandleuchter: Höhe 43 cm × Breite 20 cm

Preis pro Stück angegeben. Deckenleuchte — 1 Stück (300€), Wandleuchter — 1 Stück (150€).