Along with firelight, candles were the only sources of illumination after dark in the 1700s. Wall lights such as these were usually fixed on either side of a mirror so that the reflection multiplied the flames of the candles.
Scholars know of no other example of these wall lights, which each show a domesticated animal hunting its prey. On one, a dog climbs through the curving branches, stalking a bird that perches above its head. On the other, a cat hunts a squirrel. As bronze workers rarely signed their designs, scholars do not know who made these pieces.
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