French neoclassical wall sconces with lion mask head cast body

• Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.
  
  Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins.
• Lion Mask - The lion mask has been used for centuries in various forms of art and design, including furniture, silver, and ceramics, and is usually y depicted as a stylized representation of the face of a lion, often with an open mouth and protruding tongue. and is often used as a handle, knob, or other decorative element.
  
  In furniture design, lion masks were popular in the neoclassical and Empire styles of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They were often used as decorative elements on the legs or arms of chairs, as well as on cabinet and drawer pulls. It was also used as a handle, knob, or other decorative element.
  
  In silverware design, lion masks were often applied to tea and coffee pots, as well as on candlesticks, snuff boxes, and other small silver items. The lion mask was often used in combination with other neoclassical motifs, such as laurel wreaths or acanthus leaves, to create a sense of grandeur and classical elegance.
  
  In ceramics, lion masks were often depicted in relief, and were sometimes used in combination with other decorative elements, such as garlands or swags.
  
  

• Acanthus - A stylized leaf motif, one of the primary decorative elements of classical Greek and Roman architecture, derived from the genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Mediterranean area. It is a common element in classical Greek and Roman design, and is often seen in Corinthian and Composite order columns and used as a decorative element in English, European and Australian furniture, particularly on the curve of a leg, and as decoration for a corbel.
• Sconce - A light attached to a wall. Originally a candle holder that is attached to a wall with an ornamental bracket and sometimes with a reflective back plate, but now applied to an electric light that has been inspired by that design.
  
  In recent times the word has also come into use to desribe the candle holders on a candelabra.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• wall lights - sconces 391