Colonne Corynthienne

The architect Callimachus, it is said, invented the Corinthian capital on seeing acanthus grow around a basket left on a tomb. The maison Charles has crowned the shaft of this lamp with such a capital — acanthus leaves chased and scrolled into volutes — cast in bronze on a stepped square base. It is the most ornate of the three Greek orders. The brass shade, topped with a finial, crowns the column. The light plays over the relief of the leaves at the top of the shaft.