ANTIQUES: Egyptian Revival Candlesticks

 

The enigmatic sphinx and the iconic obelisk are two of the most enduring motifs that mark the Egyptian Revival style of architecture and decorative arts popular in the mid-nineteenth century, part of the European craze for all things Egyptian that followed, among other events, Napoleon Bonaparte’s ill-fated 1798 expedition to the land of the Nile.

 

These eleven-inch-tall Egyptian Revival candlesticks ($3,400) were probably made in France circa 1870. The candlesticks, featuring two bronze sphinxes guarding obelisks marked with hieroglyphics and topped with lotus-shaped candle cups, are mounted on black marble bases. Egyptian mythology portrays the sphinx with a recumbent lion’s body and a human head—the Great Sphinx at Giza being the most famous example. In Greek myths, the sphinx’s lion body is supplemented with eagle wings and a woman’s head. The sphinx guarding the entrance to the city of Thebes supposedly posed a riddle to visitors before allowing passage; as the story goes, there were severe consequences for those not able to supply the answer. [JUNE 2009]

 

THE GOODS

Susan Silver Antiques
755 N. Main St.
Sheffield, Mass.