Pair of James I Carved Atlantes

A highly distinctive pair of early 17th-century carved Atlantes figures, originally architectural or furniture supports. Each figure is depicted as a bearded male, draped in classical manner, with one hand raised to the chest and the other holding attributes of learning and wisdom. Their heads are crowned by stylised fruit and foliage, symbolising fertility, prosperity, and divine abundance.
Atlantes, the male counterpart to caryatids, were fashionable decorative motifs in Jacobean architecture and furniture, representing strength, guardianship, and the supporting of worldly or spiritual weight.
The differing timbers—oak and ash—suggest that these figures may have been carved for distinct but complementary positions, possibly flanking a chimneypiece, overmantel, or monumental piece of furniture. Their bold modelling and expressive faces are characteristic of the early Stuart taste for vigorous, sculptural ornament.