Oil lamp in the shape of a Satyr’s head

This is an inkwell or oil lamp, with an example in Vienna featuring a lid that closes the mouth (Planiscig 1924, fig. 53), and other examples having a point in the mouth where the wick could be inserted. As reconstructed by Cannata (2011), this object, inspired by ancient oil lamps, is engraved on a plate accompanying the entry “Antiquités, Lampes Antiques” in Diderot and D’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, likely taken from another Renaissance specimen that has not been identified. The artifact, part of Alfredo Barsanti’s Roman collection, has been documented since the 1920s (Pollak 1922; Planiscig 1927) and has been attributed to the workshop of Andrea Riccio (Santangelo 1954).
The type of oil lamp featuring a human or satyr’s head is documented in various works, such as those depicting bearded figures (e.g., The Fitzwilliam Museum, inv. M.12-1997) or Moor's heads (National Gallery of Art, inv. 1957.14.58; La Spezia, Museo Civico Amedeo Lia, inv. B101). Initially attributed to Andrea Riccio by Planiscig, these lamps were later assigned to Severo Calzetta da Ravenna (Avery 1998, 36–38 and cat. n. 51; Leithe-Jasper, in Leithe-Jasper, De Gramatica 2013, 68–70), or to their respective workshops. Current scholarship prefers to reference them generically to northern Italy, with specific attribution to Padua being considered only when necessary. The specimen closest to the Palazzo Venezia lamp is identified as inv. no. 1009B in the Museo Civico in Turin, as mentioned by Planiscig (1924). Additional variations can be found in Vienna (Kunsthistorisches Museum, inv. 5948; Planiscig 1924, featuring a snail on the handle), Paris (Louvre; Planiscig 1927), and Bologna (Museo Civico Medievale, inv. 1442 and inv. 1418; Ducati 1923; Beck, Bol 1985), in the Bardini collection sold in London in 1899 (Catalogue des objets 1899), and in the collection of Luigi Grassi (featuring a bird on the neck; Planiscig 2006). Moreover, a more elaborate variant with oak leaves instead of acanthus and a swan or snail on the handle is found at the Kunstgewerbe Museum in Berlin (inv. 88,329; Pechstein 1968) and at the Frick Art Museum in Pittsburgh (inv. 1970.90; formerly coll. Pierpont Morgan; Von Bode 1910; Avery 1993). The small bronze was previously dated to the latter half of the sixteenth century (Cannata 2011), which is applicable to modified examples such as those found in Bologna (Beck, Bol 1985). However, for stylistic reasons, it seems preferable to date it to the 1530s. The satyr’s head exhibits soft modeling details, lacking the rigidity characteristic of the early sixteenth century, while also not yet adopting a fully Mannerist decorative style. A comparable oil lamp with a curled handle and anthropomorphic features is depicted by Giorgio Vasari in his Portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificent housed in the Uffizi, dating from 1534. This painting symbolizes the virtues of the sitter, illuminating his descendants and the entire city of Florence (De Luca 2011). This depiction not only indicates the widespread presence of these antique objects in collections of that era, but also aids in understanding the symbolic values Renaissance individuals attributed to the artifacts surrounding them. In this instance, the lamps represented the brevity of human life and the virtue of Prudence (Frosien-Leinz 1985, 232-238).

Giulio Pietrobelli

Entry published on 12 June 2025

Good. Natural brown patina.

Rome, Alfredo Barsanti collection;
Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, donation, November 1934.

Catalogue des objets d’art antiques, du Moyen Âge et de la Renaissance provenant de la collection Bardini de Florence, London 1899, n. 51, tav. 2;
Von Bode Wilhelm, Collection of J. Pierpont Morgan. Bronzes of the Renaissance and Subsequent Periods, 2 voll., Paris 1910, I, n. 58, tav. XXXIX;
Pollak Lodovico [Ludwig], Raccolta Alfredo Barsanti. Bronzi italiani (Trecento-Settecento), Roma 1922, n. 25, tav. XII;
Ducati Pericle, Guida del Museo Civico di Bologna, Bologna 1923, p. 203;
Planiscig Leo, Kunsthistorisches Museum in Wien. Die bronzeplastiken statuetten, reliefs, geräte und plaketten, Wien 1924, pp. 34-35, n. 56, fig. 53;
Planiscig Leo, Andrea Riccio, Wien 1927, p. 173 fig. 182, p. 487;
Santangelo Antonino (a cura di), Museo di Palazzo Venezia. Catalogo delle sculture, Roma 1954, p. 33;
Pechstein Klaus, Kunstgewerbemuseum. Bronzen und Plaketten vom Ausgehenden 15. Jahrhundert bis zur Mitte des 17. Jahrhunderts, Berlin 1968, n. 75;
Beck Herbert, Bol Peter (a cura di), Natur und Antike in der Renaissance, ausstellung (Francoforte sul Meno, Liebieghaus, Museum alter Plastik, 5 dicembre 1985-2 marzo 1986), Frankfurt am Main 1985, p. 510, n. 223;
Frosien-Leinz Heike, Antikisches Gebrauchsgerät – Weisheit und Magie in den Öllampen Riccios, in Beck Herbert, Bol Peter (a cura di), Natur und Antike in der Renaissance, ausstellung (Francoforte sul Meno, Liebieghaus, Museum alter Plastik, 5 dicembre 1985-2 marzo 1986), Frankfurt am Main 1985, pp. 226-257;
Avery Charles, Renaissance & Baroque Bronzes in the Frick Art Museum, Pittsburgh 1993, pp. 58-59, n. 10;
Avery Charles, La Spezia. Museo Civico Amedeo Lia. Sculture, bronzetti, placchette, medaglie, La Spezia 1998;
Planiscig Leo, La collezione Luigi Grassi di piccoli bronzi del Rinascimento, Firenze 2006, p. 74, n. 38;
Cannata Pietro, Roma. Il Palazzo di Venezia e le sue collezioni di scultura. Vol. III. Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia. Sculture in bronzo, Roma 2011, pp. 40-41, n. 26;
De Luca, in Acidini Cristina, Funis Francesca, Godoli Antonio, et al. (a cura di), Vasari. Gli Uffizi e il Duca, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi, 14 giugno-30 ottobre 2011), Firenze-Milano 2011, pp. 130-131;
Leithe-Jasper, in Leithe-Jasper Manfred, De Gramatica Francesca (a cura di), Bagliori d’antico. Bronzetti al Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trento 2013.