Pair of Monumental Bronze Torcheres from a Chicago Courthouse, Dated 1927.

A striking pair of monumental Art Deco torcheres, salvaged from a historic Chicago courthouse and inscribed “LEX”(Latin for Law) and “1927”. These architectural torchieres embody the grandeur and optimism of early 20th-century civic design — where sculpture, illumination, and symbolism were harmoniously intertwined.

Each torchere is composed of a tiered fluted bronze column with acanthus and egg-and-dart motifs, surmounted by a crown of opalescent glass globes radiating upward in concentric formation. The bases are square and deeply molded, decorated with stylized foliate ornamentation and monumental inscriptions referencing the principles of justice and the year of construction.

Originally designed to flank the grand entry of a courthouse rotunda, these pieces exemplify the monumental scale and geometric ornament characteristic of American Art Deco architecture in the 1920s — blending neoclassical gravitas with the modernity of machine-age materials.

Dimensions: Height 83 in. × Width 28 in. × Depth 28 in.