Our hitherto unpublished burnished and patinated bronze tripod displays an eclectic assembly of elements borrowed from the figurative repertoire both of Classical antiquity – rediscovered during (and thanks to) excavations conducted at the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum – and of the Italian Renaissance.

The tripod rests on a triangular base with three feral legs alternating with stylised palmettes and lotus flowers. A bundle ending in a stag's head rises out of each of the legs. In the centre of the base we find a reproduction of Giambologna's celebrated statue of Mercury, the original of which is in the Bargello in Florence.

The three bundles support a circular base with a disc on which three stylised herons are arranged to support, in their turn, a circular brazier decorated on its external rim with embossed depictions of the twelve "Hours" dancing, inspired by frescoes from the famous Dancers cycle in Herculaneum. The external base of the cup also bears an embossd Gorgon's head based on the celebrated Rondanini Medusa. Three serpents coiled around the herons' necks support the cup, gazing into it from the rim of the brazier. 

In consideration of its outstanding quality, there can be no doubt that our tripod was one of the works in bronze cast by the celebrated Neapolitan Chiurazzi foundry famous for its reproductions of ancient sculptures, for producing copies of which it had been granted exclusive rights by Naples' leading museums.

Our tripod, an extremely sophisticated product of the late 19^th/early 20^th century, was probably commissioned by a private collector. It may be considered a unique item in its own right inasmuch as it is not a direct copy of an ancient object but rather a summa of several well-known elements of antiquarian culture. Similar objects to our precious tripod, such as tripod braziers and lamps, are illustrated in the Fonderie Artistiche Riunite Chiurazzi-De Angelis's general catalogue of works for 1911.