A pair of Regency 'bronzed' plaster figural lamps circa 1810, by Humphrey Hopper

Born in 1767, Humphrey Hopper attended the Royal Academy Schools and in 1803 was awarded a Gold Medal for his 'Death of Meleager'. His most famous work is the marble monument to General Hay in St. Paul's Cathedral, which was commissioned by the government in 1814. Hopper exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1799 and 1834, and together with busts, statues and other sculptures in marble, produced a wide range of ornamental figures in plaster and terracotta intended as supports for lamps, candelabra and clocks.

In 1813 the architect Lewis Wyatt supplied a set of four related figures by Hopper for the wall niches of the dining room at Hackwood Park, Hampshire Park, sold Christie's, 20-22 April 1998, lot 159. Other related examples include a pair of candelabra sold in these Rooms, 4 July 1997, lot 4 and a pair of figures again sold in these Rooms, 29 November 2000, lot 6.