A lantern from Venice

Female Narrator:
The extravagantly carved and gilded wooden lantern was probably made between 1580 and 1620 in Venice. It is constructed of softwood, with carvings that are probably walnut, and is rectangular in shape. Gilding survives on almost all the outside surfaces. It's 213 centimetres high - that's six and a half feet - and each side has a depth of 86 centimetres - almost three feet. The light source was probably a large candle or oil lamp.

The main part of the lantern is a regular four-sided box with a large rectangular opening on each side to allow the light to escape. These openings would originally have been glazed. Beneath the main box is a smaller box with horizontal oval openings on each side. At each corner of the smaller box is a carved figure, a muscular naked satyr with hooves instead of feet. The satyrs perform the role of weight-bearing brackets. Their thighs are braced apart. Their arms, held behind them, appear to hook firmly around struts and their shoulders are pressed up against the upper box as if taking the strain of the load.

Moving upwards, on each corner of the main box is a female 'terminal figure.' They are naked to the hips. Instead of legs, their lower bodies taper into a scrolling gilded pedestal with a grotesque grinning mask at the base of each. The women have one arm clasped over their breasts and the other raised as if to support the projecting ledge of the cornice above. Sitting on top of each corner, perching on a gilded ball, is a naked podgy little boy - a putto. Each has his hand raised, mirroring the pose of the terminal figure beneath him.

These putti surround a gilded canopy, which culminates in a wooden urn with swags of carved drapery. There's also a hanging ring, although the lantern was originally supported from below. It appears to have been made for a Venetian galley, as it closely resembles those found in paintings of important naval battles. A large stern lantern was used in signalling between ships of the fleet. As a symbol of their rank senior naval commanders were permitted to display a gilded lantern, which was paid for and remained the property of the commander's family. In Venice, a naval lantern might be displayed in the entrance of the family palace as a trophy-reminder of the family's naval success.

Although the precise origins of the lantern remain uncertain, it does seem that this one is a unique survivor - no other lantern has the same elaboration of carved ornament. On a ship or in a palace, it must have looked especially dramatic when seen illuminated; light reflecting on the gilded surfaces.

Supported by The BAND Trust.