A truly exceptional octagonal lantern of finely cast gilt ormolu brass in the manner of the 18th-century designs created for the Château de Versailles. 

The lantern is surmounted with an impressive regal coronet, supported by acathus leaf dragoons, above a 'behive' shaped body of 32 individually shaped glass panels.  The fine glazing bars are intersected by square ornamental connectors, with leaf decoration, each terminating in a delicately tapered round finial.   A concealed hinged door allows internal access to the single centrally mounted luminaire.

The base of the lantern is adorned with lion's head masks and acanthus leaf decorations. The base terminates in a decorative berry finial.

French, late 18th / early 19th Century